School Matters: The Trouble With Boys
0001 10:00:13:02 10:00:16:15
(woman) Boys have more learning
difficulties, struggle to read,
0002 10:00:16:15 10:00:20:24
and are outperformed by girls
in all GCSE subjects.
0003 10:00:20:24 10:00:25:13
We are entering into
a period in time now
0004 10:00:25:13 10:00:30:11
where boys are really struggling
to fulfil their potential.
0005 10:00:30:11 10:00:34:06
- I don't like science.
- Don't really like geography.
0006 10:00:34:06 10:00:36:24
(woman) There's only one area
where they steam ahead -
0007 10:00:36:24 10:00:38:21
exclusion from school,
0008 10:00:38:21 10:00:42:21
and in special units
they outnumber girls by six to one.
0009 10:00:42:21 10:00:45:04
It's a depressing picture.
0010 10:00:45:04 10:00:49:06
- I don't like literacy.
- Don't really like maths.
0011 10:00:49:06 10:00:51:11
People don't wanna be called a swot.
0012 10:00:51:11 10:00:56:18
They just want a persona
of being tough and hard, really,
0013 10:00:56:18 10:01:00:16
rather than being a clever clogs.
0014 10:01:00:16 10:01:04:21
If we don't do something
about the nature of the curriculum,
0015 10:01:04:21 10:01:07:02
the nature of
the examination system,
0016 10:01:07:02 10:01:10:08
we are going to be failing
more and more young men.
0017 10:01:11:07 10:01:13:08
(woman) The gender gap is no myth.
0018 10:01:13:08 10:01:17:08
It's at crisis point in many schools
and it's not going away.
0019 10:01:17:08 10:01:20:12
In this programme we look at
why boys underachieve,
0020 10:01:20:12 10:01:22:24
how their methods of learning
differ from girls',
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and what you can do
to reduce the gender gap.
0022 10:01:32:08 10:01:35:19
Male and female differences
start at an early age,
0023 10:01:35:19 10:01:39:05
with boys trailing behind
from the very beginning.
0024 10:01:39:05 10:01:45:17
Child psychiatrist Sebastian Kraemer
is an expert in boys' behaviour.
0025 10:01:45:17 10:01:48:06
A newborn girl is usually,
on average,
0026 10:01:48:06 10:01:52:10
a few weeks more grown-up
than a newborn boy.
0027 10:01:52:10 10:01:55:24
This is quite a surprising finding,
0028 10:01:55:24 10:01:59:04
but it's been well known
for many years.
0029 10:01:59:04 10:02:02:24
Therefore, when you're born, you
need a good deal more looking after
0030 10:02:02:24 10:02:05:01
if you're a boy
than if you're a girl,
0031 10:02:05:01 10:02:07:01
because you're more
all over the place,
0032 10:02:07:01 10:02:09:17
you're a bit more confused,
a bit more restless.
0033 10:02:09:17 10:02:12:05
The trouble with boys
is they look more mature
0034 10:02:12:05 10:02:14:20
cos they're heavier and bulkier,
more muscular,
0035 10:02:14:20 10:02:17:15
but actually
they're more immature.
0036 10:02:17:15 10:02:20:14
Males in general are better
at a few things
0037 10:02:20:14 10:02:24:23
which seem to have very little
function in a modern world.
0038 10:02:24:23 10:02:27:11
They're usually better
at throwing balls,
0039 10:02:27:11 10:02:30:08
throwing spears -
which isn't a surprise.
0040 10:02:30:08 10:02:33:23
But these are the main skills
which men have better than women.
0041 10:02:33:23 10:02:36:22
Most of the other things
that are valued in modern society -
0042 10:02:36:22 10:02:40:00
like academic prowess,
social skills -
0043 10:02:40:00 10:02:41:21
women are better.
0044 10:02:42:18 10:02:46:14
(woman) So boys start out with
innate biological disadvantages
0045 10:02:46:14 10:02:49:13
that are going to affect
life at school.
0046 10:02:49:13 10:02:53:09
Problems fester in junior school
and can lead to total disengagement
0047 10:02:53:09 10:02:57:15
with the education system
by high school.
0048 10:03:03:00 10:03:05:00
Gary Wilson is a busy man.
0049 10:03:05:00 10:03:07:09
He's based in Kirklees,
West Yorkshire,
0050 10:03:07:09 10:03:10:10
working as the UK's first
school improvement officer
0051 10:03:10:10 10:03:13:14
responsible for raising
boys' achievement.
0052 10:03:13:14 10:03:17:13
I got involved with boys'
underachievement in 1993
0053 10:03:17:13 10:03:21:10
when we had an Ofsted at the school
where I was head of English
0054 10:03:21:10 10:03:24:10
that told us that we had
a problem, basically.
0055 10:03:24:10 10:03:28:06
In fact, we had a problem twice
as bad as the national problem.
0056 10:03:28:06 10:03:34:08
In other words, the gender gap was
around 17 per cent at five A* to C.
0057 10:03:34:08 10:03:36:09
I set up a working group.
0058 10:03:36:09 10:03:38:15
We did a lot of research
into the issue.
0059 10:03:38:15 10:03:40:24
We could have
saved ourselves the trouble
0060 10:03:40:24 10:03:43:21
because all we really needed to do
was talk to the boys,
0061 10:03:43:21 10:03:46:08
because the boys know
what the issues are.
0062 10:03:46:08 10:03:53:00
I think we did fairly significantly
change the culture of the school.
0063 10:03:53:00 10:03:55:20
Perhaps the most significant
strategy was just having
0064 10:03:55:20 10:03:58:07
the whole issue out in the open
0065 10:03:58:07 10:04:02:00
and letting boys know that
we were on their case, if you like.
0066 10:04:02:00 10:04:06:10
(woman) ColneValleyHigh School
is one of Gary's success stories.
0067 10:04:06:10 10:04:09:03
The national average gender gap
is ten per cent
0068 10:04:09:03 10:04:13:13
but at ColneValley two years ago
it was a staggering 22 per cent.
0069 10:04:13:13 10:04:16:00
Working with Gary,
they've more than halved this.
0070 10:04:16:00 10:04:17:22
They've also aimed at encouraging
0071 10:04:17:22 10:04:20:17
better boys' behaviour
and a more caring masculinity.
0072 10:04:20:17 10:04:25:09
What you've got here is a display
of a whole pyramid arts day
0073 10:04:25:09 10:04:29:15
when these 300 new pupils
from the feeder schools
0074 10:04:29:15 10:04:33:14
came up to celebrate expressive,
creative and performing arts.
0075 10:04:33:14 10:04:36:15
That was particularly
directed at boys
0076 10:04:36:15 10:04:39:07
who, we are aware,
are losing interest
0077 10:04:39:07 10:04:42:03
in creative arts
when they hit the high school.
0078 10:04:42:03 10:04:44:12
You know,
dropping out of orchestras,
0079 10:04:44:12 10:04:47:07
and drama,
and art-based activities.
0080 10:04:47:07 10:04:49:19
And so the message to them was,
0081 10:04:49:19 10:04:52:06
if you're into those things
in primary school,
0082 10:04:52:06 10:04:56:04
we want you to continue to do so
at the high school.
0083 10:05:04:10 10:05:08:11
(woman) Once a school recognises a
problem with boys' underachievement,
0084 10:05:08:11 10:05:11:07
Gary's role is to help identify
the problem areas
0085 10:05:11:07 10:05:15:08
and prioritise them for action.
0086 10:05:15:08 10:05:18:06
He has advice for any school
with a big gender gap.
0087 10:05:18:06 10:05:21:00
I think what they need to do
is look at the barriers
0088 10:05:21:00 10:05:23:16
to boys learning
within their own context,
0089 10:05:23:16 10:05:25:18
and to see
where those barriers impinge
0090 10:05:25:18 10:05:27:23
mostly upon their own youngsters.
0091 10:05:27:23 10:05:31:09
In other words, first of all you
need to talk to the boys themselves.
0092 10:05:31:09 10:05:33:07
Have you any ideas as to why
0093 10:05:33:07 10:05:35:22
boys might not be doing as well
in schools as girls?
0094 10:05:35:22 10:05:40:12
Because girls concentrate more
0095 10:05:40:12 10:05:44:24
and boys mess about sometimes,
0096 10:05:44:24 10:05:51:17
and that makes
their learning difficult.
0097 10:05:51:17 10:05:54:08
(Gary) Why do you think
boys tend to mess about?
0098 10:05:54:08 10:05:58:07
Because they talk about football
and sport and that.
0099 10:05:58:07 10:05:59:10
(Gary) Yeah?
0100 10:05:59:10 10:06:01:07
I think it's an image thing as well,
0101 10:06:01:07 10:06:05:01
because some boys
don't want to do well in school,
0102 10:06:05:01 10:06:08:19
because it's seen as bad and all
their friends will pick on them.
0103 10:06:08:19 10:06:13:15
If you went to a homework club then,
you know, it's a bit sad to do that.
0104 10:06:13:15 10:06:15:14
It isn't, but you know what I mean.
0105 10:06:15:14 10:06:21:01
I think we then need to look
at how indeed it is
0106 10:06:21:01 10:06:25:12
that those barriers have an impact
on specific key stages,
0107 10:06:25:12 10:06:28:14
how they have an impact
on specific subject areas.
0108 10:06:28:14 10:06:31:01
I think once schools
have actually identified
0109 10:06:31:01 10:06:33:21
where the priority areas
are for them,
0110 10:06:33:21 10:06:35:22
there are plenty of strategies
out there
0111 10:06:35:22 10:06:37:22
which can be used to counter them.
0112 10:06:38:21 10:06:41:20
We're just going to look at
Carl Bower in action.
0113 10:06:41:20 10:06:45:03
He's an excellent teacher
who really has good ways
0114 10:06:45:03 10:06:47:14
of engaging boys
in modern languages,
0115 10:06:47:14 10:06:49:14
and modern languages are a big issue
0116 10:06:49:14 10:06:53:14
as far as boys' underachievement
is concerned.
0117 10:06:54:13 10:06:57:01
..clearly understood. Hi.
0118 10:06:57:01 10:06:59:21
OK, so you've got
about five or six minutes.
0119 10:06:59:21 10:07:03:08
You've got the ten adjectives.
Only use them once, yeah?
0120 10:07:03:08 10:07:05:07
Just once only.
0121 10:07:05:07 10:07:08:15
(woman) Gary pinpointed a number
of strategies schools can adopt
0122 10:07:08:15 10:07:11:00
to make lessons more boy-friendly.
0123 10:07:12:11 10:07:15:03
Find class resources
that turn boys on,
0124 10:07:15:03 10:07:17:01
not tune them out.
0125 10:07:17:01 10:07:19:04
(Gary) The resources
are significant.
0126 10:07:19:04 10:07:24:09
Where there is a choice for
resources that might "turn on" boys,
0127 10:07:24:09 10:07:27:08
then that choice needs to be
made very consciously.
0128 10:07:27:08 10:07:30:23
Huddersfield und Leeds.
Huddersfield und Leeds. Yeah?
0129 10:07:30:23 10:07:33:05
Was hast du
fuer Huddersfield und Leeds?
0130 10:07:33:05 10:07:37:01
- (boy) Interessanter als...
- Huddersfield ist interessanter.
0131 10:07:37:01 10:07:41:00
Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue.
0132 10:07:41:00 10:07:44:15
- It's up to you. Tom, was hast du?
- Dicker als...
0133 10:07:44:15 10:07:47:09
(Carl) Britney Spears
ist dicker als Kylie Minogue.
0134 10:07:47:09 10:07:49:11
She's fatter than Kylie Minogue.
0135 10:07:49:11 10:07:53:00
Sometimes the things that are in the
syllabus are a little bit remote.
0136 10:07:53:00 10:07:57:12
If they've got no interest
in something, then it doesn't work.
0137 10:07:57:12 10:08:00:07
But if you bring it down
to something they can engage in,
0138 10:08:00:07 10:08:02:24
then they're really going
to remember it a bit more.
0139 10:08:02:24 10:08:08:11
OK, yeah. Jetzt Fussball und Rugby.
Was hast du fuer Fussball und Rugby?
0140 10:08:09:14 10:08:12:06
(woman) Make learning
outcomes explicit.
0141 10:08:12:06 10:08:18:04
Relevance, as far as boys
are concerned, is major.
0142 10:08:18:04 10:08:22:13
If a subject, a whole subject,
is perceived as irrelevant,
0143 10:08:22:13 10:08:24:12
then clearly it's a huge turn-off.
0144 10:08:24:12 10:08:29:00
With maths, it doesn't link
to the outside world,
0145 10:08:29:00 10:08:32:06
other than adding your shopping up.
What else are you gonna do?
0146 10:08:32:06 10:08:35:19
If elements of learning -
for example, copying from a board...
0147 10:08:35:19 10:08:38:18
Sadly we're still doing
a significant amount of that.
0148 10:08:38:18 10:08:41:02
You can see the questioning
in boys' minds:
0149 10:08:41:02 10:08:43:14
"Why should I copy that down?
I've just read it."
0150 10:08:43:14 10:08:45:22
We tend to do an awful lot of that.
0151 10:08:45:22 10:08:48:15
Why am I doing English?
But then I'll think,
0152 10:08:48:15 10:08:50:19
for most jobs
I'm gonna need to read things.
0153 10:08:50:19 10:08:53:22
Boys particularly need to know
0154 10:08:53:22 10:08:58:03
how this links in with not only
their learning but with real life.
0155 10:08:58:03 10:09:01:02
"Is it meaningful? Does it have
a real sense and purpose?"
0156 10:09:01:02 10:09:03:22
"Otherwise, I'm not going
to engage with it."
0157 10:09:03:22 10:09:09:13
Maths is a challenge. People think
it's a bit rubbish, but it isn't.
0158 10:09:09:13 10:09:14:09
It's a challenge. And you need maths
for your other jobs.
0159 10:09:15:15 10:09:17:23
(woman) Control where
pupils sit in class.
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Pupil grouping is very significant,
0161 10:09:20:10 10:09:24:13
ranging from the notion
of a whole school seating policy,
0162 10:09:24:13 10:09:29:14
which in my mind is best described
as "I decide where you sit".
0163 10:09:29:14 10:09:31:12
The teacher decides where you sit.
0164 10:09:31:12 10:09:34:11
It's important those seating
arrangements are flexible,
0165 10:09:34:11 10:09:38:13
that it's not just boy-girl-boy-girl
all the time, for example,
0166 10:09:38:13 10:09:41:02
that pupils aren't allowed
to sit wherever they want,
0167 10:09:41:02 10:09:46:13
because we know where the boys we're
concerned about will start to move -
0168 10:09:46:13 10:09:51:05
outside of the sphere of the
teacher's perception, if you like.
0169 10:09:51:05 10:09:56:06
It's important that youngsters
are sat and working with
0170 10:09:56:06 10:10:00:02
other youngsters
from whom they can benefit.
0171 10:10:01:09 10:10:03:11
(woman) Deal with coursework
in chapters,
0172 10:10:03:11 10:10:06:04
with clear criteria
and useful feedback.
0173 10:10:06:04 10:10:08:20
Where schools are actually
having success
0174 10:10:08:20 10:10:12:02
with raising boys' achievement
with their written coursework,
0175 10:10:12:02 10:10:16:17
what they're doing, quite rightly,
is to chunk down the coursework
0176 10:10:16:17 10:10:21:00
rather than set a piece of work in
October and ask for it in February.
0177 10:10:21:00 10:10:24:14
Many of the boys
used to start that work in February.
0178 10:10:24:14 10:10:28:07
Now they're saying, "These are
the criteria we want you to hit."
0179 10:10:28:07 10:10:32:10
"This is the next piece of work,
and we'll move on from here."
0180 10:10:33:20 10:10:38:06
(woman) Decide whether your reward
system has credibility for boys.
0181 10:10:38:06 10:10:40:13
(Gary) Boys, and girls
to a certain extent,
0182 10:10:40:13 10:10:44:08
shy away from the notion of publicly
celebrating their achievement.
0183 10:10:44:08 10:10:48:21
They'd rather that the ground
open up before they reach the stage
0184 10:10:48:21 10:10:51:05
than actually get up there
to receive an award,
0185 10:10:51:05 10:10:53:05
say, for contributions to poetry.
0186 10:10:53:05 10:10:55:11
People are scared
what people think of them
0187 10:10:55:11 10:10:57:12
if they go up and collect a reward.
0188 10:10:57:12 10:10:59:19
Because people cheer,
0189 10:10:59:19 10:11:02:23
but you just know
that people are looking at you
0190 10:11:02:23 10:11:05:10
and thinking,
"That guy's a swot."
0191 10:11:05:10 10:11:09:13
We review reward schemes. We've made
the reward schemes boy-friendly.
0192 10:11:09:13 10:11:12:24
If I explain what I mean by that...
Firstly, it has to be open and fair.
0193 10:11:12:24 10:11:16:23
A boy will not take part in a reward
scheme he perceives to be unfair.
0194 10:11:16:23 10:11:20:18
What's been far more successful now,
and which they like very much,
0195 10:11:20:18 10:11:22:24
is the postcard home system.
0196 10:11:22:24 10:11:26:03
They wanted the parents
to know they'd done well,
0197 10:11:26:03 10:11:30:03
but they wanted it to be private
rather than public.
0198 10:11:30:03 10:11:32:04
Like with the postcard home,
0199 10:11:32:04 10:11:35:03
where your parents can sign it
and they know that...
0200 10:11:35:03 10:11:38:13
If your parents know that you're
doing well, that's the main thing.
0201 10:11:38:13 10:11:40:22
But we are also trying to chip away
0202 10:11:40:22 10:11:44:06
at the notion of this
"public praise is humiliation",
0203 10:11:44:06 10:11:49:00
so we do still have a degree
of semi-public praise, if you like.
0204 10:11:49:00 10:11:51:13
So things may be given out
in form context.
0205 10:11:51:13 10:11:56:12
So we are trying to encourage them
to accept praise,
0206 10:11:56:12 10:11:58:08
but we're doing it by stealth
0207 10:11:58:08 10:12:03:07
rather than by applying it
with a big hammer in assembly.
0208 10:12:03:07 10:12:06:13
(Carl) OK, sehr schoen.
Let's just recap on that, then.
0209 10:12:08:07 10:12:12:17
(woman) Boys' literacy issues
need to be tackled from day one.
0210 10:12:12:17 10:12:16:14
There is a gap
in every area of literacy
0211 10:12:16:14 10:12:19:10
right from when boys and girls
are assessed.
0212 10:12:19:10 10:12:21:22
From the foundation stage profile,
in fact.
0213 10:12:21:22 10:12:24:19
Girls are outperforming boys
in reading and writing.
0214 10:12:24:19 10:12:29:11
The biggest gender gap of all is in
writing at the end of key stage 2.
0215 10:12:29:11 10:12:32:22
I think boys prefer to read
magazines and papers and things,
0216 10:12:32:22 10:12:36:00
whereas girls go for
the fiction books.
0217 10:12:36:00 10:12:39:05
(Gary) Have you any idea why?
0218 10:12:39:05 10:12:43:01
Not really, no. It's just seen as
a more masculine thing to do,
0219 10:12:43:01 10:12:48:01
reading newspapers, cos people do it
on building sites and stuff.
0220 10:12:48:01 10:12:51:17
You go into any playground
in a nursery or primary school,
0221 10:12:51:17 10:12:54:08
and you will see boys
charging around very often,
0222 10:12:54:08 10:12:56:23
mindlessly being
Power Rangers or whatever,
0223 10:12:56:23 10:13:00:16
whilst the girls are standing around
keeping the oral tradition alive.
0224 10:13:00:16 10:13:04:16
In other words, they're doing
rhyming games or skipping games,
0225 10:13:04:16 10:13:08:04
or they're with an adult so they can
have an intelligent conversation.
0226 10:13:08:04 10:13:12:06
I think, as a whole, the younger
generation today don't read much,
0227 10:13:12:06 10:13:15:13
because there's so much
other things to do -
0228 10:13:15:13 10:13:18:02
like music,
and going out and things -
0229 10:13:18:02 10:13:20:08
that reading's become
a thing of the past.
0230 10:13:22:19 10:13:25:14
(Gary) The development
of language in girls
0231 10:13:25:14 10:13:28:14
is far, far in advance
of that of boys.
0232 10:13:28:14 10:13:31:13
We need to be
engaging boys very much
0233 10:13:31:13 10:13:37:07
in speaking and listening activities
right from the very earliest stages.
0234 10:13:38:08 10:13:41:23
(woman) Gary has an innovative way
of getting boys and girls to read
0235 10:13:41:23 10:13:47:02
that involves the whole school,
teachers included.
0236 10:13:47:02 10:13:50:12
Reading week. What happens
essentially is every half term
0237 10:13:50:12 10:13:54:18
there is one period in the day
each day in that week,
0238 10:13:54:18 10:13:56:16
say, period one every day,
0239 10:13:56:16 10:13:59:15
Monday to Friday,
the whole school reads.
0240 10:13:59:15 10:14:03:09
The whole school reads
fiction or biography,
0241 10:14:03:09 10:14:08:07
because we're looking at creative
writing rather than factual writing
0242 10:14:08:07 10:14:12:13
which is often perceived as the sort
of writing that appeals to boys.
0243 10:14:12:13 10:14:16:03
But it's fiction that they need
to extend their creative writing.
0244 10:14:16:03 10:14:20:00
I'm very strongly fixated on
the idea of boys reading fiction,
0245 10:14:20:00 10:14:24:12
largely because it helps to develop
their abilities to reflect.
0246 10:14:24:12 10:14:27:15
Boys' abilities to reflect
0247 10:14:27:15 10:14:30:24
are key in terms of
the learning process.
0248 10:14:30:24 10:14:33:02
We want it to be
a pleasurable activity
0249 10:14:33:02 10:14:36:15
where people see reading not as a
job - you just do it for pleasure -
0250 10:14:36:15 10:14:39:14
and that everybody,
normal people do this,
0251 10:14:39:14 10:14:42:01
and therefore boys will enjoy it.
0252 10:14:42:01 10:14:45:03
We wanted to expose them to reading
so that they would find out
0253 10:14:45:03 10:14:48:04
that actually they did enjoy it.
It's gone down very well.
0254 10:14:48:04 10:14:52:02
It's a nice chance to just sit down
and read a book and get on with it.
0255 10:14:52:02 10:14:54:11
No one can say,
"What are you doing that for?"
0256 10:14:54:11 10:14:58:02
because you have to do it -
so I think it's quite a good idea.
0257 10:14:58:02 10:15:02:18
I don't read at home, and the
reading week just allows you to read
0258 10:15:02:18 10:15:05:20
without anyone putting pressure
on you not to do so.
0259 10:15:05:20 10:15:10:17
I think it definitely does help
with your English work a lot,
0260 10:15:10:17 10:15:13:11
cos it makes you think
about what you're reading.
0261 10:15:13:11 10:15:17:11
It's really good because it's,
like, girls read more
0262 10:15:17:11 10:15:20:03
because there's
these Jacqueline Wilson books,
0263 10:15:20:03 10:15:26:07
but boys don't tend to read, and if
they read, they read football books.
0264 10:15:26:07 10:15:29:00
It really develops
the boys' reading.
0265 10:15:29:00 10:15:31:08
I don't get time to read at home.
I will try to,
0266 10:15:31:08 10:15:34:04
but I'll always get distracted
by something else,
0267 10:15:34:04 10:15:39:20
so on reading week I'll get
chance to get a book finished.
0268 10:15:39:20 10:15:43:16
(woman) So have Colne Valley's
many strategies worked?
0269 10:15:43:16 10:15:47:18
This is the seventh year that
we've had improved GCSE results,
0270 10:15:47:18 10:15:51:16
and we're very pleased with that
sustained improvement, obviously.
0271 10:15:51:16 10:15:54:20
The girls have improved,
but the boys have improved faster.
0272 10:15:54:20 10:15:57:14
We did have one very bad year
when we had a 22 per cent gap
0273 10:15:57:14 10:15:59:13
at five A to C at GCSE,
0274 10:15:59:13 10:16:03:16
and we have that down now
to 8.9 per cent difference.
0275 10:16:03:16 10:16:06:02
But, as with all things educational,
0276 10:16:06:02 10:16:10:24
there are myriad different facets
to this and we can't necessarily pin
0277 10:16:10:24 10:16:14:11
any one particular success
down to one particular strategy.
0278 10:16:14:11 10:16:18:08
But as long as results go up and
we have a good learning atmosphere,
0279 10:16:18:08 10:16:23:05
we're pleased with that and we'll
carry on with what seems to work.
0280 10:16:27:09 10:16:32:07
The issue of boys' achievement
is very big and it's not going away.
0281 10:16:32:07 10:16:35:23
It's not just a British issue,
it's around the world.
0282 10:16:35:23 10:16:40:10
In all the developed countries
there is an issue, except Finland,
0283 10:16:40:10 10:16:43:08
where they don't start school
till they're seven
0284 10:16:43:08 10:16:46:05
and for the first two years
all they do is literacy.
0285 10:16:46:05 10:16:49:09
They've got this crazy idea
that unless you can read and write
0286 10:16:49:09 10:16:51:15
you can't access
the rest of the curriculum.
0287 10:16:51:15 10:16:56:18
It's an issue because boys are
becoming more and more disaffected.
0288 10:16:56:18 10:16:59:03
There are more young women
going to university,
0289 10:16:59:03 10:17:02:02
more young women going to
management training colleges.
0290 10:17:02:02 10:17:06:21
The only two areas in which boys
are outperforming girls
0291 10:17:06:21 10:17:10:01
are in permanent exclusions
from school
0292 10:17:10:01 10:17:13:22
and in being part of
the prison population.
0293 10:17:13:22 10:17:16:09
Parents need to know what role
0294 10:17:16:09 10:17:21:15
they can play in helping to raise
their boys' achievement at school,
0295 10:17:21:15 10:17:25:05
in terms of the kinds of behaviours
that they might encourage,
0296 10:17:25:05 10:17:29:06
in terms of what support
they might give with organisation.
0297 10:17:29:06 10:17:32:20
I don't mean doing everything
for the boys, but helping them,
0298 10:17:32:20 10:17:36:02
showing them ways to plan
and prepare and so on.
0299 10:17:36:02 10:17:39:10
By encouraging them
to talk through their day
0300 10:17:39:10 10:17:42:00
and to reflect on
what's been going on at school.
0301 10:17:42:00 10:17:46:09
It is significant that we start
with parents, really,
0302 10:17:46:09 10:17:49:18
before their children
have even started school.
0303 10:17:49:18 10:17:53:13
It's why I'm out and about
a lot of the time
0304 10:17:53:13 10:17:57:21
working with early years providers,
preschool providers,
0305 10:17:57:21 10:18:00:13
child minders and so on.
0306 10:18:04:00 10:18:06:03
(woman) Playing footy
and having fun
0307 10:18:06:03 10:18:08:24
is often understood
to be a dad's natural role,
0308 10:18:08:24 10:18:11:17
but boys need more.
0309 10:18:11:17 10:18:15:04
Education can be perceived by boys
as a female pursuit.
0310 10:18:15:04 10:18:17:09
They're taught by women
at junior school,
0311 10:18:17:09 10:18:20:23
and it's their mums
that get stuck into school stuff.
0312 10:18:20:23 10:18:23:07
Dads need to be
good role models too.
0313 10:18:23:07 10:18:25:22
Getting involved with school work
0314 10:18:25:22 10:18:29:02
shows that men are
interested in learning.
0315 10:18:29:02 10:18:31:08
Simply turning off the TV
and reading a book
0316 10:18:31:08 10:18:34:06
is a huge step
in the right direction.
0317 10:18:34:06 10:18:36:08
Come on, let's read a book.
0318 10:18:36:08 10:18:39:00
Let me sit down here, you monkey!