At the conclusion of our course with Tom Newkirk at the University of New Hampshire Literacy Institutes, our class collaboratively created a list of implications from our learning. Following a reading of Misreading Masculinity, a viewing of the documentary Raising Cain, and more, we used Google Docs to list the implications of our course for application in our classrooms.
Please add your own wisdom about boys and literacy in the comments!
- Provide choice: lots of options in topic, genre, etc. – Allow for different styles of storytelling
- Incorporate more visual literacy – Using mentor texts like Knucklehead, comics, etc.
- Encourage the writing of fiction as a fantasy outlet
- Acceptance of the content they bring/the choices
- Conversation: Ask about choices that seem uncomfortable – build trust
- Teachers: Recognize the difference between uncomfortable and threatening
- Respect that students can differentiate between fantasy and reality.
- Pay attention to the context of the violence in boys’ writing
- Encourage collaboration in writing and reading
- Make space for movement and conversation – too often, boys must sit and listen; reverse that
- Incorporate humor in the classroom and content/curriculum
- Grant students more autonomy in the classroom
- Use the note response method we used to have students respond to each other’s work
- Support social interactions between boys around literacy
- Question our own motives, preferences, and restrictions as we teach
- Create a place for non-fiction – demonstrate that non-fiction does not have to be boring
- Use technology as an alternative medium for both expression and sharing
- Learn the identities and passions of your students
- Recognize the importance of listening to students
- Realize that posturing is okay – it is “trying on a personality” in order to discover one’s own
- Provide positive role models of masculinity so male students don’t get caught in a bad one
- Encourage nurturing responsibilities in (ie, provide opportunities for) boys
- Have a wide diversity of types of male protagonists in available literature – celebrate the same strengths we applaud in female characters when we see them in male characters
- Be aware of the gender implications of language
- Open up the genre of analysis beyond literature, eg, new video game
- Allow and encourage drawing at all levels
- Expand your repertoire – having a team helps
- Encourage positive competition occasionally
Three Teachers Talk 