Boys in a class of their own

By ED PTILIDI news@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
An innovative experiment with boys-only classes at Wanganui's Rutherford Intermediate could be expanded.
The programme, which has run with a class of 25 boys aged between 11 and 13 since the start of the year, is designed to cater to the boys' individual needs in a way that standard co-education classes cannot.
Rutherford's class teacher Peter Hickey said the programme taught generic subjects such as maths and English, but balanced these with necessary physical activities.
"I think boys learn in smaller chunks and they like lots of hands-on stuff," he said. "We are feminising our school system and it doesn't allow boys to let off steam."
"It's about capturing the boys' interests."
Many blamed the National Certificate of Educational Achievement's heavy reliance on internal assessment, which suited girls better, for boys' poor academic performance, he said.
Research showed that risk-taking raised boys' adrenaline and testosterone to natural levels, and physical activities often involved risk-taking.
"I have found that the boys' behaviour has improved and they work well together. They are more settled during reading, writing and maths, and are now more co-operative and tolerant of each other," Mr Hickey said.
To get the boys' respect, he had to be upfront and honest with them and give them clear boundaries.
"My philosophy is they are fair to me, I'm fair to them."
Mr Hickey and principal Joy Hannah selected students for the class they thought would benefit from being in a boys-only environment.
"Some of the boys were reacting to girls in other classes, so they put them in here and they have actually settled," he said.
"We do a lot of physical activities and games it's really to build up their self-esteem and setting realistic goals, and to inspire them," Mr Hickey said.
The programme's success would be evaluated at the end of the year, with the option of being renewed.
If the boys' performance showed good results, the school would consider setting up another such class.
Schools in Auckland and Hawke's Bay are also trialling the programme.