Why Boys Fail

"We have spent a lot of time over the past decade talking about the racial achievement gap, which is incredibly important. But the achievement gap between boys and girls is also an incredibly important issue for the future of education, and it’s an issue that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Often the warning signs that teachers or parents could pick up on get brushed aside. Richard shows that people aren’t taking the issue nearly as seriously as they should. We need to look at boys as a subset of kids, just as we track educational outcomes by socioeconomic status, grade et cetera. Focusing on the differences in achievement levels that are occurring will enable educators to focus resources on ensuring there is parity. I think the focus has to remain on how you meet the individual needs of kids. I wouldn’t want to say that all boys have certain characteristics and all girls have certain characteristics – that’s just not the case. There are rambunctious boys but there are also rambunctious girls. One of the hardest things to do as a teacher is to differentiate, to see every kid in your class as an individual and to tailor your instructions toward every kid, to make sure that every kid is getting what they need, no matter where they are. Kids do learn differently. I remember a little boy whom I taught in the second grade, who for the first few months of class was very, very active and unable to focus on any lesson. I couldn’t get him to settle down and focus, until one day when he knocked something over and I asked him to sweep up the mess he made. I was doing a read-along and asking kids questions and all of a sudden he started. I realised that the physical activity of cleaning up gave his body something to do and allowed his brain to focus in on what I was asking. I realised that this was just a very kinesthetic kid and I was able to develop strategies so he could concentrate better."