Reaching Boys, Teaching Boys: Strategies that Work -- and Why »

Michael Reichert, Ph.D., is a clinician, consultant to schools, and supervising psychologist at The Haverford School. He also serves as executive director of the Center for the Study of Boys' and Girls' Lives.

Richard Hawley, Ph.D., headmaster emeritus of Cleveland's University School, was the founding president of the International Boys' Schools Coalition, and is author of many books about children, schools, and learning.

Challenging the widely held cultural impression that boys are stubbornly resistant to schooling, Reaching Boys, Teaching Boys features more than 100 detailed examples of classroom activities—along with real-world teaching techniques—that have proven effective with male students. Based on a wide-ranging, worldwide study of more than 1,500 boys and 1,000 teachers, Reichert and Hawley reveal what boys need in order to want to succeed in school and offer tips for forging successful relationships with boys. Woven throughout the book is moving testimony from both boys and teachers that validates the effectiveness of these lessons.

Praise for Reaching Boys, Teaching Boys

"It is becoming clear to all of us—teachers, administrators, parents, and policy makers—that our schools must evolve in order to do a better job educating our young men. It won't happen overnight but it must happen. How to start? Open this book and turn to Chapter One. You'll be taking the first step on what I promise you will be a fascinating journey."

—from the foreword by Peg Tyre, bestselling author of The Trouble With Boys

"Like true explorers, Reichert and Hawley have ventured into the unknown and returned with a remarkable gift: a map for guiding boys toward their full potential. If you are a teacher—or if you want to understand the unique combination of factors that ignites boys to learn—you need to buy this urgent, timely, and terrific book."

—Daniel Coyle, bestselling author of The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How

"At long last we find out 'what works' for connecting boys to their studies. In this remarkable book, Michael Reichert and Richard Hawley present a practical and inspiring guide for teachers at all levels."

—Patrick F. Bassett, president, National Association of Independent Schools

Publishers Weekly

Psychologist Reichert and educator Hawley teamed up to investigate the "crisis" in boys' academic achievement by conducting a study of teachers' methods and students' performance in all-boy, college prep, middle and high schools in six English-speaking countries. Their insights into young males' own "rules of engagement" led them to three key insights: boys are relational learners who rely on a give-and-take approach with their teachers; boys elicit the kind of teaching they need via a feedback dynamic that teachers need to heed; and lessons for boys must offer at least one element to arouse and hold students' interests. Over 100 examples of successful, creative lessons from a host of instructors demonstrate what really works with boys, including stage fight techniques as part of studying Shakespeare; figuring out the odds of winning at cards; and creating a comic strip about the immune system. Much is made of how novel these lesson plans and projects are, but many of them are the familiar stuff of traditional private school curricula. A book more appropriate for teachers and administrators than parents, it is a real rubric for making learning lively and memorable in boys' lives. (Aug.)

About the Authors.

Foreword (Peg Tyre).

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

PART ONE: EFFECTIVE LESSONS.

1. Transitivity at Work: Five Effective Lessons.

2. Creating Products.

3. Lessons as Games.

4. Motor Activity.

5. Role Play and Performance.

6. Open Inquiry.

7. Team Work and Competition.

8. Personal Realization.

9. Novelty, Drama and Surprise.

PART TWO: EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS.

10. A Teacher's Presence.

11. A Teacher's Knowledge.

PART THREE: LESSONS FOR EDUCATORS.

12. Enhancing Teacher-Student Relationships.

13. Activating the “Eliciting” Process.

14. What Schools Can Do.

Appendix: Design and Research Methods for the Teaching Boys Study.

References.

Index.