Friday, February 15, 2008
Giving Disorganized Boys the Tools for Success
This recent article in The New York Times reiterates what AVID already does--gives students the tools they need to be successful in school (and life). One of the most important, of course, is organization. Read the entire article to see what people are paying for the same things AVID does for you!
Excerpts:
"With girls outperforming boys these days in high school and college, educators have been sparring over whether there is a crisis in the education of boys. Some suggest the need for more single-sex schools, more male role models or new teaching techniques. Others are experimenting with physical changes in classrooms that encourage boys to move around, rather than trying to anchor them to their seats.
"But as they debate, high-priced tutors and college counselors have jumped into the fray by charging as much as $100 an hour and up to bring boys to heel.
"The tutors say their main focus is organizational skills because boys seem generally to have more difficulty getting organized and multitasking than girls do.
And so private counselors in places as diverse as Chicago, New York City, Sarasota, Fla., and Bennington, Vt., who guide juniors and seniors in applying to college, have devised elaborate systems — from color-coded, four-month calendars that mark dozens of deadlines to file boxes that students must take to each session."
And from one of these high-priced tutors:
"She requires her clients to have a three-ring, loose-leaf binder for each academic subject, to divide each binder into five sections — notes, homework, handouts, tests and quizzes, and blank paper — and to use a hole puncher relentlessly, so that every sheet of school-related paper is put into its proper home.
"Students must maintain a daily planner; they are required to number the order in which they want to do each day’s homework and draw a box next to each assignment, so it can be checked off when completed.
"Homework must be done in a two-hour block in a quiet room, with absolutely no distractions: no instant messaging, no Internet, no music, no cellphone, no television.
"While some girls need help getting organized, at least three-quarters of her students are boys, Ms. Homayoun said. Girls usually adopt her methods more quickly."
Sounds like AVID? Read the entire article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/education/01boys.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&oref=slogin
