Boys in Education: The Danger of Low Expectations –
This is an important conversation and topic I want to share with you all. There is a lot of incredible work being done around boys in education. Many brilliant organisations and schools are changing the old narrative of “boys will be boys”. However, at the end of last term, I was reminded that work still needs to be done. On a Friday afternoon, the last hour before half term, I was given the boys group no one wanted. My contact “owed a favour”, so my Dreams 2 Reality Power Programme groups went from 5 to 4, meaning the last period was free. I was given the “Year 10 & 11 naughty boys”. This was to stop them running around the school and disrupting the last lesson! Basically, they just wanted a babysitter.
It was short notice and I didn’t really agree with how they’d been labelled either. But I still said yes, because despite never meeting these students, impact is always the goal. And do you know what? There were no issues and it was the best session of the day. Now, I’ve been doing this for 14 years, I’m not naive. I know I don’t see them every day and I’m not dealing with them week in and week out.
But even the teacher said it: “You were set up to fail.”
The truth is, I didn’t go in there trying to be relatable or be their mate. I understand that a lot of these lads feel like they’re just being tolerated and that’s not a nice feeling. You’ll never feel secure in an environment where you know you’re not liked by the adult in the room. That impacts the atmosphere and learning becomes so much harder. In education, we talk about high expectations all the time but sometimes we don’t realise what low expectations look like. Especially when it comes to tackling the challenges boys are facing in education.
I believe more work needs to be done. I don’t have the answers or solutions, but I am going to take some time to listen and learn from the boys in schools I work with and the amazing people doing brilliant stuff in this area.
I will feedback my findings soon…
