Graham Smith: Boys will be boys - and what a joy they are to teach

COMMENT

Yes, it is definitely time to give our schoolboys a break. I am an English teacher in a large Auckland boys' school, and boys are a delight to teach. In fact, after 20 years of enjoying working in girls-only and co-ed schools, I am having more fun teaching than ever.

Boys study Keats' poetry and Macbeth with interest and enthusiasm. They write excellent literature essays on Romeo and Juliet. Whole classes of Year 9 boys are quite happy to memorise Ozymandias.

Senior boys in rugby teams take great pride in learning Shakespearean love sonnets. Boys enjoy creative writing, producing whole books full of well-crafted writing about their grandmothers, and being attacked by lions. Boys read.

Boys want to use language well and be able to express their ideas, thoughts and observations clearly. They enter poetry contests. They stand up in class and meet the standards for delivering speeches. These boys have thoughts, hearts and feelings, and muscles as well. They are whole human beings.

In our English department we work hard at teaching boys the way they like to be taught. Structured classes mean boys of a wide range of ability are taught effectively.

Our boys are taught well by dedicated male and female teachers, who like boys. We produce our own textbooks to show boys how to write clear, structured English. We use boys' writing to show boys what can be done with words, if you're a bloke.

Boys respond with interest when taught in a clear, structured manner. Boys like systems, guidelines and clear pathways. They work well when there are tough goals to reach. Boys can and do like getting good results in examinations. Show them how, and they will work hard. Don't ask them to be girls.

Allow them to - but don't insist that they - express their feelings. They don't want to be mothered all the time: you can tease them, laugh with them. Boys have a good sense of humour; they don't get upset over trivia - tomorrow is another day. They are polite and well-mannered and say "thank you" when they leave class in an orderly manner.

And, yes, some are disruptive or immature, but it's often a pleasure to see them grow and start making adult choices. And, yes, there is a need for special tactics when dealing with bulk testosterone. This is why we need to listen to people like Celia Lashlie, with her "Good Man" project.

The cruellest thing to do to boys is to approach them with stereotypical thinking that locks them up in unfair assumptions.

"Boys don't read." Rubbish.

"Boys don't like poetry." Not true.

'Boys are lazy." I don't think so.

"Girls want to learn; boys don't." Only if you need it to be that way.

Before the "girls can do anything" campaign, it was acceptable for teachers to stereotype girls into a lesser role in schools. The boys were the focus in those pre-feminist days. The girls would soon be at home with the whiteware and the babies. My experience is that boys and girls are equally capable of doing anything, if you expect it of them.

Yes, why not give our schoolboys a break? There are a lot of good, enthusiastic young blokes out there who will be going to school this morning. They want to work hard and get their lives on the right track.

Let's hope it will not be prejudice that holds them back.

* Graham Smith teaches English at Westlake Boys' High School.