219 pgs, 2011, ASCD.
Well, I loved this book. I really enjoyed reading Kathleen Cleveland's writing style - she has that effortless, easy to read but not dumbed down style that really helps you to take on board what she's saying. And here, she's saying a lot. And she manages to get her message across without alienating any one group. Magic.
As you may have guessed from the title, this book is about ameliorating the "problem" of boys underachieving at school. To begin, Cleveland first sought the guts of the issue. Was it really a problem? Was it as much of a problem as what the media intimated? And what were the main tenets of the issue?
She found there was a problem, though not as much as the media will tell us it is. There are boys - and any practising teacher will tell you this - that do struggle in our classrooms, and there is an urgent need to do something about it. But this change does not need to come at the expense of girls' education, nor anything else, it can be slotted into our current teaching. "Tweaking" what you already do.
Cleveland proposes a 6 step Pathways program that can underscore everything you do. She explains it at length, though not laboriously, and it is a solid structure. I am inspired to go ahead and begin making subtle changes to the way I teach, to take advantage of these very helpful suggestions.
Some of the important concepts I gleaned from the book include: experience learning, or active learning is essential - it is better to do things rather than just talk about them abstractly; collaboration is important, as are co-operative skills and social skills; informational feedback is important to provide direction; regular breaks and activity changers are essential. These are just some of the many helpful ideas within. As Cleveland herself says in the introduction - this isn't a book filled with strategies, it's rather a book about a way of thinking about teaching the kids in your class. Although it's mainly aimed at struggling boys, girls will also benefit from the ideas you try. Highly recommended.
