Confidence is Everything!
Clearly the early experiences of children have a
profound impact on their future learning.
Parents and teachers have to walk a very fine
line making sure what they place value on is achievable and relevant at that
time for the learner. Boys for example, can take longer than girls to gain
mastery over the early language links and their fine motor coordination which
impacts on their presentation skills. However with appropriate support and
advice, these skills can be steadily built without shutting down their
thinking, risk taking and all round self-belief.
Generally boys thrive in an up-beat environment
with lots of engaging hands-on experiences. They love to create and work across
different media moving seamlessly from materials to PC to pen and pencils. Boys
and girls have marked differences in their learning styles but what all
children clearly require is an education that fits their needs underpinned by
the philosophy of promoting quiet confidence.
“Raising Boys” author, Steve Biddulph recommends
that the best way to build confidence is to ensure we provide opportunities for
boys to do practical ‘useful things’. We need to give our children lots of
chances to experience their capabilities structuring the tasks appropriately so
they ‘stretch’ the individual but are achievable.
Motivation is significantly higher if they can
see the rationale behind a task. Boys like girls need to feel valued and loved
but boys tend to respond better in a learning environment that is clear and
explicit in its expectations. Often boys who lack confidence can act tough to
cover up their anxiety if this structure is not in place. Fundamentally, like
all children, boys want to know they are valued and they quickly see through
people who ‘talk the talk’ but don’t ‘walk the talk’.
There is no doubt that raising boys can be a challenge
for many parents. It appears to me that adults who do best raising boys have
significant understanding and appreciation of ‘what makes boys tick’ and books
like Bilddulph’s ‘Raising Boys’ add to this understanding.
Warren Owen
