Jordan Morneau, Grade 2 Teacher at Children’s Garden School on Eglinton, recently attended a conference called The Lost Boys hosted by Steph Jensen, an award-winning author and international speaker recognized for her insight into the education of boys and the nature of the male brain at an early age. The conference focussed on navigating the world of boys in schools. Jordan imparted what she learned to CGS staff. They heard how boys’ brains work in comparison to girls and different ways to reach male students. They discussed how boys focus. Of particular interest was the role of hormones when boys learn, specifically dopamine and testosterone. Jordan shared Steph Jensen’s classroom strategies to support boys’ developmental needs along with suggested lesson plans and materials, restorative practices to re-engage boys and behavioural resources.
“PRE-TEACH SKILLS”
“The most important thing that I took away from the conference was the need to pre-teach specific social skills, rather than be reactive when challenging behaviour occurs in the classroom.” said Jordan. “That we, as teachers, need to avoid correcting behaviour if the positive behaviour hasn’t yet been modelled. Focussing on prevention has become a priority in my classroom since attending the conference. Teachers are so often first responders in some of the most defining moments in children’s lives and the training I received (and brought back to my colleagues at CGS) has given us even more strategies to do the best job we can for our students.”
