All-boys' classes grow confidence, leadership.
The Elms Junior Middle School held an open house for the Boys Leadership Academy this week. Here, Grade 6 teacher Michael Morison is seen with pupils Awais Shah (seated) and left to right, Tommy Ngo, Pernavan Paralpgasingam, and Zhakor Young.
Staff photo/IAN KELSO
Michael Morison begins his Grade 6 all-boys' class every morning with a circle discussion.
The Elms Junior Middle School boys recently talked bullying, not in role-playing scenarios, but from personal experience.
"We talked about how do you deal with that? How do you feel about that? Naming it. Naming the person (bully). You have some boys who take responsibility (for bullying). I haven't been able to do that before," said Morison, a veteran teacher.
Confidence building, academic and social growth, leadership skills building and more interactive learning are among the benefits of all-boys' classes - male students, teachers, principals and parents told parents who attended an open house Wednesday night at The Elms school for the Toronto District School Board's (TDSB) Boys' Leadership Academy.
The Boys' Leadership Academy for grades 4 through 6, will be a school within a school come September at the Islington Avenue-Rexdale Boulevard-area elementary school. It will accommodate 100 to 150 students. In 2013, Grade 7 will be added, with Grade 8 coming onstream in 2014.
It will likely attract enrolment from across Toronto, even beyond. There will be no busing for its students.
The Boys' Leadership Academy will teach the Ontario curriculum, as will all nine of the board's new elementary academies, which will include all-boys', all-girls', healthy lifestyle-focused and music-specialized programs.
Registration is online until Feb. 17 at www.tdsb.on.ca/academies
If demand exceeds the number of spots, admissions will be determined by lottery.
"If we offer programming that interests young learners and ignites a passion to want to learn, then I think we're going to see something really special happen," TDSB Director of Education Chris Spence said last month at the academies' official launch.
"I believe the biggest issue we face isn't necessarily underachievement. It's disengagement."
Morison's Grade 6 student Awais Shah recently designed a website on learning in an all-boys' class.
"When I first found out I was going to be part of an all-boys' class, I was nervous and scared," Awais, 11, said in a presentation at the open house. "But I found it was really great and fun. We get to use laptops and Wiis. We learn collaboration, to work with others."
Awais' father Ayoob Shah said he has seen positive changes in his son.
"He isn't shy anymore. He asks questions. He's gaining leadership skills. In the future, he wants to be a lawyer," Shah said after the meeting, noting the opportunity to make presentations in class could benefit his son's future career goals.
Awais' classmate Tommy Ngo designed a brochure.
"Now I'm comfortable in the class and I have great friends and a really, really supportive teacher," Ngo said of Morison. "One thing we're learning in class is confidence."
Morison and his colleague, grades 4 and 5 teacher Ahmed Omar lead the all-boys' classes pilot program at The Elms.
There is also a pilot at the school for all-girls' classes. Both began in September.
"There's a culture of inclusiveness. Everyone is accepted. There is mutual respect among them, collaboration and co-operation," Omar said of the boys he teaches. "I've seen growth in the boys socially and academically."
Zhakor Young acknowledges he was nervous when he first began Omar's class.
"I really didn't know what to expect. After a few weeks, I was really enjoying it. There's a boys' book club, Boys2Men club (a mentoring program for boys). We go on fantastic trips and do amazing activities. We have a Wii and do lots of exercise," Zhakor said.
Zauditu Johnson-Young, Zhakor's mom, said she and her husband were so nervous about having their son in an all-boys' class, they requested he be returned to a mixed-gender class. They changed their minds after Zhakor came home "raving" about his new class and his teacher.
"I went with the class on a field trip to the (Ontario) Science Centre. The boys seemed very comfortable in their surroundings, free to express themselves..." she told other parents. "The Boys2Men program and the role models make them feel special.
"We should want to give our children a chance regardless of where the school is located. All-boys' classes have a fundamental role in instilling a great deal of confidence that helps our boys transition from boys to men and into great leaders."
Humberwood Downs Junior Middle Academy principal Beverley Muir agreed. Her school is in its fifth year of single-gender boys' and girls' classes.
"I've found an increase in the confidence in young men and in their voice, in terms of their ability to speak for themselves and to advocate for themselves," said Muir, who was one of three principals to receive Canada's Outstanding Principal Award in 2010.
"One of the strategies one of our teachers is using is teaching debating skills to help students understand someone else's point of view."
The Ontario curriculum will be taught at the Boys' Leadership Academy "through the lens of what it means to be a boy," Margaret Campbell, with the board's teaching and learning department, told parents.
Teaching boys leadership skills has real-world significance, said Annie Appleby, superintendent of 23 schools in the board's northwest 1 region.
"When we look at a society, a community, a family, we want to know someone will speak up on our behalf, not just on their own behalf. That's social justice," Appleby said. "You make a stand. You decide, 'I can do something about this.' When we talk about voice and leadership we really mean that we can make a difference."
- With files from Cynthia Reason