'Sit down, shut up': how schools are failing boys and what we can do

It's easy to see a consensus here. In the words of boys, it's "sit down, shut up, write this down" .

What boys liked about school

In an earlier study this author did in four schools, boys said they felt school was mostly a complete waste of time. School was valued by many because it meant playing sport and being with your mates. In the present surveys, some positives emerged. Common answers in one school were:

• relevance
• sport
• hands-on learning
• class conversation

Conclusions

It's easy to draw some of these threads together. Relevance and active learning are strongly preferred by all the boys surveyed. School is far too passive for most of them. Boys are not good listeners and yet teacher talk is usually the default mode. Why does it have to be so?

It's not so much that boys are failing: schools are failing many of the boys. Boys should be asked about how they want to learn. If the school wants them to learn, it will have to listen. School is meant to be for pupils' benefit; it should not be there for teachers to do as they wish. When asked for advice on this matter, my first suggestions are: talk less. And let the students do more. We need more adventure, more hands-on learning and maybe some creative chaos. Classrooms must not become sit-stilleries. Things must change if schools are to stop failing many boys in most countries across the western world.