Historically, we know teaching to be very scientific. Many teaching professionals in our community have been trained in some of the finest Teachers' Colleges in the Western World, bringing with them all the best that comes with a sound foundation in the administration and delivery of curricula.

Our foundation for curriculum development and very well our whole concept of 'what to teach' focused on Foundations in Education, Educational Psychology, Classroom Management, Developmental Sequences and Strategic Teaching.

Colleges and Universities are only now beginning to touch on the social construct of gender in the classroom and how gender affects learning.

In order to continue to engage both boys and girls in our schools, the teaching of today must be driven by 'Best Practices', which root itself not only in the philosophies of these pedagogical regulars, but with new research that intermingles and drives our instruction based on age and gender.

Developmental milestones have always played a major role in how instruction was delivered. This notion pays homage to the fact that teaching is a Science. What educators are now called on to do because of an increase in abhorrent and deviant behaviours is to own up to the fact that we have to find ways to 'save the boys ' in our community particularly those that are at risk, that may already be on the way to disconnect with our traditional education outlets.

As educators in our community ready themselves for the returning of students, take into consideration some of these insights offered by Dr. Leonard Sax from a Public Lecture on Boy's Adrift given here in Bermuda in February 2010.

Dr. Sax's comments are very relevant to this day and age; a time in which we find an increasing number of boys in limbo, often not engaged in the classroom, not because of disengagement, but because their psychophysicological makeup is unique and their visual and auditory processing systems are different than girls. These research-based notions must be recognised as we move forward in educating our students, especially in the instruction of boys.

Dr. Sax points out that the better we understand this phenomenon, the better we as educational providers (parents, teachers, therapists….) will be able to broaden the educational horizons of students, in particular, the boys that we teach and desperately need to reach. Ultimately, he points out that failure to recognise gender differences in the classroom between males and females result in prejudices towards gender.

Ultimately, he points out that regardless of the subject being taught, ones first role as an educator is to motivate the kids that we instruct. He believes that understanding these differences is crucial for motivation and class management.

Dr. Sax offers these suggestions in the teaching of boys Creative Writing and Literature:

¦ Offer choices so that you can better engage every student in the classroom.

¦ Remember it's not a matter of ability; it's a mater of motivation.

¦ When analysing stories start in the middle of the story and work backwards.

¦ Accept aggressive/transgressive responses.

¦ Ask: "What would you do?" not "How would you feel if…?".

In the teaching of Mathematics, Dr. Sax offers these suggestions:

¦ Start from abstract then move to concrete.

¦ Start with numbers for boys; Girls begin teaching Math with real-world applications and Word Problems.

¦ Teach Maths to girls crossing disciplinary boundaries.

¦ Teach boys using computational drills that involve speed.

¦ Introduce real-world applications only after numerical concepts are fully grasped.

¦ Use fewer manipulatives when teaching boys maths.