Here is skill number one that I think is the most crucial aspect of engaging boys in the classroom. Steve Biddulph actually makes the comment that “boys don’t learn subjects, they learn teachers”. Now what that means is that the boy’s ability to access the content you’re teaching is 100 percent dependent on your relationship with him. 

If you have not spent the time building positive relationships with the boys in your classroom, you’re actually going to find that becomes a barrier to them accessing the content that you teach. It doesn’t matter how well you’ve prepared your lesson. It doesn’t matter how good the content is or even how engaging the presentation is, if your boys don’t have great relationships with you as the teacher it’s going to create a barrier between them and the content that you want them to learn. 

So here’s the first thing I want you to do. I want you to take the time to get to know your boys on a personal level. Every single one of them has interests outside of school. Every single one of them has fears and hopes and dreams and anxieties that make them tick. Your job as the teacher is to find out what makes them tick. What these little boys really think about when they’re sitting in your classroom and it’s probably not what you’re trying to teach them. They’re probably thinking about what went on at home before they came to school.They’re thinking about their footy match on the weekend or the challenge they’re having with their brother or a mate in the playground. 

If you take the time to get to know them as individuals, build relationships, show them that you care, show them that you’re interested in what interests them, what you’ll find is that they will respond by actually taking an interest in you. Essentially that means taking an interest in what you’re teaching them. Meet them at the door when they’re lining up. Don’t be hiding in the classroom, stand at the door before they actually all get there. Start having conversations with them ask them how their weekend was, find out about their hobbies, find out about what they love doing when they’re not at school and see if you can incorporate some of those things into your lesson. If you start incorporating their interests and their hobbies into the lesson you just watch they will light up and they will connect and they will bond with you.

Boys want to know that you care about them before they will actually care about the content. The flip side is actually true of girls, girls can actually learn content even if they have a poor relationship with their teacher. This doesn’t mean we don’t build relationships with our girls. But it is just so important that we take the time to build relationships with our boys because it’s going to affect their ability to learn. 

So there it is tip number one. I think the most important tip to engaging boys in the classroom is build good positive personal relationships with the boys, get to know them, get to know what makes them tick, incorporate it into the lesson and I guarantee you they will reward you by engaging with your teaching.

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