Boys in Literacy

Ms George and I attended the 'Boys in Literacy' PD lead by Marshall Diggs. Here are some of the gems that I took away from the PD. It was informative
and very good!

1) LEARNING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAT THE RESULT - this was a phrase repeated throughout the PD. Sometimes as educators we can lost in the pace of assessments and deadlines that the learning can take a backseat. This phrase made me think about this very thing, what is essential in a student's learning journey - is it the number of credits or the skill and learning?

2) DON'T DUMB DOWN THEIR GIFT - When you over scaffold it can stifle the learning, they write bits of everything with no substance - This has made me think about my the scaffold practices that I give to my boys. I need to review as I want my boys to feel empowered with their own writing. I will help them as best as I can but I do not want to baby them through writing. I want them to feel free and empowered to use their voice in their writing.
Boys engage when writing tasks involve:

• Facts - what are the facts - compare and contrast the facts around the setting and compare to the conflict in the text
• Competition
• Humor
• Survival - The Cay (Theodore Taylor) links to survival/description of survival type writing
• Conflict - Write about the conflict with the Titans and the Olympians and the radical conflict in the text
• Adventure
• Overcoming adversity - write about an experience when you overcame adversity - link to the film Wonder (Julia Roberts) 
• Socially engineer the choices boys have when it comes to writing. 
• Writing is about QUALITY not QUANTITY

3) SAFE SPACE - Boys thrive in a structured learning environment - they feel safe and feel free from the put down of peers. 

4) EFFECTIVE PEDAGOGY - Effective pedagogy is about connecting and building relationships.
Always speak clearly, maintain eye contact, wait for compliance, repeat and estate instructions - never rephrase, use of inclusive language is not helpful - give the boys the headline not the paragraph. Boys respond best when there is visual representations (LADS - Listen and Draw Something) and when we de-escalate tension - go shoulder to shoulder before you go face to face.

Final take away quotes that stood out for me: 
"Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs" - Mandy Hale
"Speak to the boy before you speak to the issue" - Marshall Diggs
"Greatest contribution to the sector is not what you teach but who you teach" - Marshall Diggs