Dangerous
The Dangerous CurriCulum introduction A girl-friendly curriculum across the world, girls start to out perform boys at a very early age and continue to do so in all subjects apart from physics, mathematics and physical education. Boys are twice as likely as girls to have reading difficulties and four times more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) and dyspraxia. Boys between the ages of five and ten are twice as likely as girls to have emotional and behavioural difficulties. Beyond school, males commit four out of five criminal offences.1 The statistics seem to indicate and most teachers agree that the school curriculum is girl friendly and therefore many boys are not benefitting from it.
Why the curriculum favours girls most subjects are girl friendly. look at the lists below.2 Girls do better at
Boys do better at
Girls and boys do well at
english
maths
geography
religious education
Physics
history
music
Pe
iCT
Biology not psychology
drama
When things go wrong for boys at school we usually turn to the educational psychologist. Perhaps it is time to turn to the educational biologist. By understanding the biology of the male and female brain, we can begin to understand the likely strengths of males and females. John gray’s book men are from mars, Women are from Venus became an international bestseller when published in the early 1990s. gray made readers laugh by pointing out the sometimes very different behaviours of males and females. The main reason for the book’s popularity, however, was that it explained why these differences exist and how relationships can be improved through better understanding of our biology. now is the time to do the same for education. This book begins by pointing out some of the main differences in male and female brain biology. it explains why the curriculum tends to favour girls and gives practical ideas for teachers on how they can give boys a better chance of success.
Chemistry
Technology
modern Foreign languages Personal, social and health education art Biology The subjects where girls do best are language based, people focused and require linear and reflective thinking. These are all particular strengths of girls. The likely reason that both boys and girls do well at geography, history, iCT and technology is that they have language and people within them but they also contain a degree of practical activity. 1. source: sue Palmer, 21st Century Boys 2. source: geoff hannan, strategies for improving learning
I
The Dangerous CurriCulum introduction
Language based
Linear thinking
most of the subjects in the curriculum are tested and measured by the ability to read well and articulate core concepts and ideas in writing. This requires mastery of language. immediately, males are at a disadvantage as they have half the number of language centres in their brains as females. girls, for example, find it easier to write or talk about a concept. Boys may struggle to find the motivation to do this.
The girl-friendly subjects require linear thinking whereby knowledge is gained and then applied. This requires patience, attention to detail and completion. males find speculative thinking easier. They tend to want to try something out first and think about it later. This means that the traditional classroom where things are taught and later applied may cause difficulties for boys. While attention to details helps girls to work through a task to completion, it may also hinder them in seeing the bigger picture, which may mean they find problem solving more difficult.
People focused girls are generally more adept at people skills than boys. at play, girls are often more people and story focused than boys. They naturally communicate with others and develop stories. For example, a girl’s toy may have a name, a personality and feelings. Boys’ play is more about objects than people. Boys tend to favour toys that make a noise or do something. The girl-friendly subjects focus on people, relationships and collaboration. Collaboration comes naturally to most females. Boys tend to be more hierarchical and competitive in their social groupings. They may find people-based subjects more difficult.
Reflective thinking reflection requires the ability to hold more than one idea in your head at a time. Because females are generally better at multi-tasking than males, they tend to find reflection much easier. subjects such as english require comparisons to be made. This requires a high degree of reflective thinking. reflection also involves developing an accurate opinion of one’s strengths and weaknesses. Boys tend to overestimate their abilities, leading to a high degree of confidence. This is probably because they find reflective thinking difficult.
II
The Dangerous CurriCulum introduction Thinking styles We read a lot about learning styles but when it comes to gender differences, there are different thinking styles. all thinking can be split into three types1:
The likely strengths and weaknesses of girls and boys
Girls
Boys
Weaknesses
Confidence risk taking seeing the bigger picture speculative thinking
assessing ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
Strengths
attention to detail Collaborative working Communicating linear thinking People skills reflective thinking
Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
• descriptive • reflective • speculative interactions usually begin with descriptive thinking. For example, when we meet someone at a party we engage in descriptive talk. We describe our interests, our holiday plans and, if we are British, the weather! Both males and females have an equal ability to describe. a typical descriptive phrase would be ‘nice weather’, followed by a more detailed description: ‘it was eighteen degrees by lunch time’. once the weather cannot be described any more it is time to reflect. The weather discussion might move on to a reflective statement, usually offered by a female. she might say ‘Better than yesterday’, followed by a comparison: ‘it was much cooler’. reflection comes naturally to females. They may even go on to reflect in further depth: ‘i had to wear a cardigan’, along with: ‘it’s difficult to plan what to wear at this time of year.’ speculative thinking comes easily to males, often leading to a good ability to take risks and solve problems. Following a description of the weather, a male may say: ‘i wonder if it will last?’ he may even go on to answer his own question: ‘i think the good weather is here to last.’ This is not usually based on anything other than speculation and the belief that he is right! if another male is listening, he may wish to say the exact opposite, speculating that it will soon rain. he too will most likely believe that he is right!
Dangerous This book is dedicated to helping pupils to overcome their weaknesses by building on their strengths. Because boys (and some girls) are generally confident, like to take risks, solve problems and speculate, one word sums up a curriculum that will serve these pupils well: dangerous. Welcome to The dangerous Curriculum - a 'scouts for schools', and our website to track achievements, www.academyofdanger.com 3. source: geoff hannan, strategies to improve learning
III
The Dangerous CurriCulum Chapter 1: The dangers The dangers having identified that danger needs to be introduced into the curriculum, we now need to look at the types of danger that can be used and the reasons for using them.
I N J U RY
EMBARRASSMENT
Boys like physical activity and with it comes the risk of injury. of course the idea is not to injure pupils, rather to teach them how to avoid injury through doing dangerous things safely.
embarrassment can stop us from trying all sorts of things. Putting boys in lots of potentially embarrassing situations enables them to develop immunity to embarrassment in later life.
FEAR While most boys do not fear being wrong, many do have a fear of the unknown. This may stop them from trying something they may be good at.
FA I L U R E Boys usually like competition – as long as they win! introducing the potential for failure ensures they learn to deal with failure and develop the bounceability they need to succeed in life.
IV
Win
aT Conkers
award
The dangers
I N J U RY
FEAR
EMBARRASSMENT
FA I L U R E
instructions
subjects
one of the best autumn challenges ever!
• english (reading): research skills
Find a conker, prepare it and beat the competition.
• english (writing): blog entry –
you will need to research the best method of preparing your conker. This might involve: - using varnish
write about the success/failure of your conker.
Weaknesses tackled assessing own ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
- filling your conker. The winning conker in every round takes on the ‘lives’ of all the conkers it beats. (For example, if an unused conker beats another unused conker, it becomes a one-er; if a one-er beats a three-er, it becomes a five-er – add the three, and one for winning.)
strengths used Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
13
sTarT
a business
award
The dangers
I N J U RY
FEAR
EMBARRASSMENT
instructions
subjects
your challenge is to make Christmas (or any other festival) cards to sell.
• art: design
you must work in groups of three or more. you have just one week. The team that sells the most cards will win.
FA I L U R E
• english (writing): blog entry – give your advice on how to start a successful business.
Weaknesses tackled assessing own ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
strengths used Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
19
nail
your name
award
The dangers
I N J U RY
FEAR
EMBARRASSMENT
FA I L U R E
instructions
subjects
This challenge requires you to write your name in nails.
• english (writing): blog entry – write about
you will need a block of wood, some large headed nails (the sort used for attaching roof tiles) and a hammer. Watch your thumbs as you hammer in nail after nail. Try to make it as neat as possible.
how to hammer in a nail without bruising your thumb!
Weaknesses tackled assessing own ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
strengths used Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
20
builD
a bivouaC
(bivvy)
award
The dangers
I N J U RY
FEAR
EMBARRASSMENT
FA I L U R E
instructions
subjects
a bivouac (said biv oo ak and commonly known as a bivvy) is an outdoor shelter built from things that you find around you.
• english (writing): blog entry –
This challenge is best done as a group. you have to make a bivouac with only rope and natural objects (e.g. leaves and sticks).
write instructions for how to build a bivvy, including a description of the type of materials needed for a successful bivvy.
Weaknesses tackled assessing own ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
your bivvy must be water tight, strong and big enough for your whole group to get inside.
strengths used
if your teacher agrees, why not try spending the night in your bivvy? if that’s not possible, set up camp for the day and try the ‘Cook sausages’ challenge too.
Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
32
The Dangerous CurriCulum Chapter 4 : Blogging Blogging: the secret to making boys want to write? according to an article in the independent newspaper (11th February 2011), “blogging may have solved one of the most pressing problems that has perplexed the education world for years: how to get boys to write properly.” heathfield Primary school in Bolton has seen a remarkable rise in boys’ test scores. Blogging is part of the curriculum and pupils are encouraged to write their own short stories – with many producing 5,000-words without complaint. according to david mitchell, the school’s deputy head, “Teachers find it remarkable that their pupils are now so enthusiastic over writing, something that was once considered a chore.” all of the activities in this book include ideas for blogging. To make this as safe as possible follow the guidelines below.
normally your school will have a recommended e-safety policy, which should also help to keep pupils safe. These tips are a great start for schools interested in blogging: • Never post inappropriate pictures of yourself or anyone else, and be sure any images you provide do not reveal any personal information. always remember to look at the background of a picture too. • Never offer any personal information including your full name, contact information, address, phone numbers, school's name, email address, last names of friends or relatives, instant messaging names, age, or date of birth. • Assume what you publish on the web is permanent and instant. anyone on the internet can easily print out a blog or save it to a computer. even if you remove a post there are chances someone could have already viewed it.
Safe blogging setting up a safe blog is easy. sites such as PrimaryBlogger are free, easy to use and monitored by a team of educators to ensure all entries are appropriate. PrimaryBlogger is the most popular publishing platform used by schools in the uK and has many safety features built in including:
• Use blogging provider sites with clearly stated terms of use, and make sure they can protect the actual blogs, not just the user accounts, with password protection. • Keep blogs positive and don't use them to attack others.
• human moderation of posts, pages and comments
• Keyword blocking
• Update your blog as often as you can to avoid you blog becoming stale and uninteresting.
• software that automatically catches any unwanted comments
• security to block hackers/spammers
To get started with PrimaryBlogger, all you need to do is visit http://primaryblogger.co.uk and register. once registered you can create as many blogs as you like. For an up to date guide and more information on PrimaryBlogger visit http://wiki.primaryblogger.co.uk/primary-blogger/.
• The ability to password protect posts
• The ability to hide from search engines
With thanks to ed Cooper from the PrimaryBlogger team for this information.
X
Why the curriculum favours girls most subjects are girl friendly. look at the lists below.2 Girls do better at
Boys do better at
Girls and boys do well at
english
maths
geography
religious education
Physics
history
music
Pe
iCT
Biology not psychology
drama
When things go wrong for boys at school we usually turn to the educational psychologist. Perhaps it is time to turn to the educational biologist. By understanding the biology of the male and female brain, we can begin to understand the likely strengths of males and females. John gray’s book men are from mars, Women are from Venus became an international bestseller when published in the early 1990s. gray made readers laugh by pointing out the sometimes very different behaviours of males and females. The main reason for the book’s popularity, however, was that it explained why these differences exist and how relationships can be improved through better understanding of our biology. now is the time to do the same for education. This book begins by pointing out some of the main differences in male and female brain biology. it explains why the curriculum tends to favour girls and gives practical ideas for teachers on how they can give boys a better chance of success.
Chemistry
Technology
modern Foreign languages Personal, social and health education art Biology The subjects where girls do best are language based, people focused and require linear and reflective thinking. These are all particular strengths of girls. The likely reason that both boys and girls do well at geography, history, iCT and technology is that they have language and people within them but they also contain a degree of practical activity. 1. source: sue Palmer, 21st Century Boys 2. source: geoff hannan, strategies for improving learning
I
The Dangerous CurriCulum introduction
Language based
Linear thinking
most of the subjects in the curriculum are tested and measured by the ability to read well and articulate core concepts and ideas in writing. This requires mastery of language. immediately, males are at a disadvantage as they have half the number of language centres in their brains as females. girls, for example, find it easier to write or talk about a concept. Boys may struggle to find the motivation to do this.
The girl-friendly subjects require linear thinking whereby knowledge is gained and then applied. This requires patience, attention to detail and completion. males find speculative thinking easier. They tend to want to try something out first and think about it later. This means that the traditional classroom where things are taught and later applied may cause difficulties for boys. While attention to details helps girls to work through a task to completion, it may also hinder them in seeing the bigger picture, which may mean they find problem solving more difficult.
People focused girls are generally more adept at people skills than boys. at play, girls are often more people and story focused than boys. They naturally communicate with others and develop stories. For example, a girl’s toy may have a name, a personality and feelings. Boys’ play is more about objects than people. Boys tend to favour toys that make a noise or do something. The girl-friendly subjects focus on people, relationships and collaboration. Collaboration comes naturally to most females. Boys tend to be more hierarchical and competitive in their social groupings. They may find people-based subjects more difficult.
Reflective thinking reflection requires the ability to hold more than one idea in your head at a time. Because females are generally better at multi-tasking than males, they tend to find reflection much easier. subjects such as english require comparisons to be made. This requires a high degree of reflective thinking. reflection also involves developing an accurate opinion of one’s strengths and weaknesses. Boys tend to overestimate their abilities, leading to a high degree of confidence. This is probably because they find reflective thinking difficult.
II
The Dangerous CurriCulum introduction Thinking styles We read a lot about learning styles but when it comes to gender differences, there are different thinking styles. all thinking can be split into three types1:
The likely strengths and weaknesses of girls and boys
Girls
Boys
Weaknesses
Confidence risk taking seeing the bigger picture speculative thinking
assessing ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
Strengths
attention to detail Collaborative working Communicating linear thinking People skills reflective thinking
Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
• descriptive • reflective • speculative interactions usually begin with descriptive thinking. For example, when we meet someone at a party we engage in descriptive talk. We describe our interests, our holiday plans and, if we are British, the weather! Both males and females have an equal ability to describe. a typical descriptive phrase would be ‘nice weather’, followed by a more detailed description: ‘it was eighteen degrees by lunch time’. once the weather cannot be described any more it is time to reflect. The weather discussion might move on to a reflective statement, usually offered by a female. she might say ‘Better than yesterday’, followed by a comparison: ‘it was much cooler’. reflection comes naturally to females. They may even go on to reflect in further depth: ‘i had to wear a cardigan’, along with: ‘it’s difficult to plan what to wear at this time of year.’ speculative thinking comes easily to males, often leading to a good ability to take risks and solve problems. Following a description of the weather, a male may say: ‘i wonder if it will last?’ he may even go on to answer his own question: ‘i think the good weather is here to last.’ This is not usually based on anything other than speculation and the belief that he is right! if another male is listening, he may wish to say the exact opposite, speculating that it will soon rain. he too will most likely believe that he is right!
Dangerous This book is dedicated to helping pupils to overcome their weaknesses by building on their strengths. Because boys (and some girls) are generally confident, like to take risks, solve problems and speculate, one word sums up a curriculum that will serve these pupils well: dangerous. Welcome to The dangerous Curriculum - a 'scouts for schools', and our website to track achievements, www.academyofdanger.com 3. source: geoff hannan, strategies to improve learning
III
The Dangerous CurriCulum Chapter 1: The dangers The dangers having identified that danger needs to be introduced into the curriculum, we now need to look at the types of danger that can be used and the reasons for using them.
I N J U RY
EMBARRASSMENT
Boys like physical activity and with it comes the risk of injury. of course the idea is not to injure pupils, rather to teach them how to avoid injury through doing dangerous things safely.
embarrassment can stop us from trying all sorts of things. Putting boys in lots of potentially embarrassing situations enables them to develop immunity to embarrassment in later life.
FEAR While most boys do not fear being wrong, many do have a fear of the unknown. This may stop them from trying something they may be good at.
FA I L U R E Boys usually like competition – as long as they win! introducing the potential for failure ensures they learn to deal with failure and develop the bounceability they need to succeed in life.
IV
Win
aT Conkers
award
The dangers
I N J U RY
FEAR
EMBARRASSMENT
FA I L U R E
instructions
subjects
one of the best autumn challenges ever!
• english (reading): research skills
Find a conker, prepare it and beat the competition.
• english (writing): blog entry –
you will need to research the best method of preparing your conker. This might involve: - using varnish
write about the success/failure of your conker.
Weaknesses tackled assessing own ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
- filling your conker. The winning conker in every round takes on the ‘lives’ of all the conkers it beats. (For example, if an unused conker beats another unused conker, it becomes a one-er; if a one-er beats a three-er, it becomes a five-er – add the three, and one for winning.)
strengths used Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
13
sTarT
a business
award
The dangers
I N J U RY
FEAR
EMBARRASSMENT
instructions
subjects
your challenge is to make Christmas (or any other festival) cards to sell.
• art: design
you must work in groups of three or more. you have just one week. The team that sells the most cards will win.
FA I L U R E
• english (writing): blog entry – give your advice on how to start a successful business.
Weaknesses tackled assessing own ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
strengths used Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
19
nail
your name
award
The dangers
I N J U RY
FEAR
EMBARRASSMENT
FA I L U R E
instructions
subjects
This challenge requires you to write your name in nails.
• english (writing): blog entry – write about
you will need a block of wood, some large headed nails (the sort used for attaching roof tiles) and a hammer. Watch your thumbs as you hammer in nail after nail. Try to make it as neat as possible.
how to hammer in a nail without bruising your thumb!
Weaknesses tackled assessing own ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
strengths used Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
20
builD
a bivouaC
(bivvy)
award
The dangers
I N J U RY
FEAR
EMBARRASSMENT
FA I L U R E
instructions
subjects
a bivouac (said biv oo ak and commonly known as a bivvy) is an outdoor shelter built from things that you find around you.
• english (writing): blog entry –
This challenge is best done as a group. you have to make a bivouac with only rope and natural objects (e.g. leaves and sticks).
write instructions for how to build a bivvy, including a description of the type of materials needed for a successful bivvy.
Weaknesses tackled assessing own ability accurately attention to detail Communicating linear thinking reading reflective thinking Writing
your bivvy must be water tight, strong and big enough for your whole group to get inside.
strengths used
if your teacher agrees, why not try spending the night in your bivvy? if that’s not possible, set up camp for the day and try the ‘Cook sausages’ challenge too.
Competing Confidence Problem solving risk taking speculative thinking
32
The Dangerous CurriCulum Chapter 4 : Blogging Blogging: the secret to making boys want to write? according to an article in the independent newspaper (11th February 2011), “blogging may have solved one of the most pressing problems that has perplexed the education world for years: how to get boys to write properly.” heathfield Primary school in Bolton has seen a remarkable rise in boys’ test scores. Blogging is part of the curriculum and pupils are encouraged to write their own short stories – with many producing 5,000-words without complaint. according to david mitchell, the school’s deputy head, “Teachers find it remarkable that their pupils are now so enthusiastic over writing, something that was once considered a chore.” all of the activities in this book include ideas for blogging. To make this as safe as possible follow the guidelines below.
normally your school will have a recommended e-safety policy, which should also help to keep pupils safe. These tips are a great start for schools interested in blogging: • Never post inappropriate pictures of yourself or anyone else, and be sure any images you provide do not reveal any personal information. always remember to look at the background of a picture too. • Never offer any personal information including your full name, contact information, address, phone numbers, school's name, email address, last names of friends or relatives, instant messaging names, age, or date of birth. • Assume what you publish on the web is permanent and instant. anyone on the internet can easily print out a blog or save it to a computer. even if you remove a post there are chances someone could have already viewed it.
Safe blogging setting up a safe blog is easy. sites such as PrimaryBlogger are free, easy to use and monitored by a team of educators to ensure all entries are appropriate. PrimaryBlogger is the most popular publishing platform used by schools in the uK and has many safety features built in including:
• Use blogging provider sites with clearly stated terms of use, and make sure they can protect the actual blogs, not just the user accounts, with password protection. • Keep blogs positive and don't use them to attack others.
• human moderation of posts, pages and comments
• Keyword blocking
• Update your blog as often as you can to avoid you blog becoming stale and uninteresting.
• software that automatically catches any unwanted comments
• security to block hackers/spammers
To get started with PrimaryBlogger, all you need to do is visit http://primaryblogger.co.uk and register. once registered you can create as many blogs as you like. For an up to date guide and more information on PrimaryBlogger visit http://wiki.primaryblogger.co.uk/primary-blogger/.
• The ability to password protect posts
• The ability to hide from search engines
With thanks to ed Cooper from the PrimaryBlogger team for this information.
X
