TEACHING methodologies that encompass a combination of engagement, exposure, competition, time management and grit, were some of the recommendations shared by experts at the recently concluded J Wray and Nephew Foundation’s ‘Focus on Boys’ series.

According to the experts, the successful application of these techniques would improve the likelihood of maximising the full potential of boys, by making them better candidates for higher education, reducing the potential of them dropping out of school early and lessening negative influences that lead to gang and criminal activities.

The advice was delivered by Troy Kemp and Calvin Hadley, who were the main presenters at the JWN Foundation (JWNF) intervention for boys.

The intervention, which took place over three days, marks the first in an action plan by the foundation to change the approach to developing young men who are increasingly marginalised and criminalised. The intervention, according to a release, included parenting and educators’ workshops at Jamaica Pegasus hotel last week Tuesday, which were moderated by Dr Michael Abrahams and Robert Miller, respectively.

The release said the final activity was an assembly or ‘Real Talk’ session for more than 300 boys at Courtleigh Auditorium last Thursday.

The foundation, which operates under the mantra ‘Transforming lives and communities for a better Jamaica’, caters heavily to areas surrounding the business operations of J Wray & Nephew Limited on Spanish Town Road in Kingston; New Yarmouth, Clarendon; and Appleton Estate in St Elizabeth. The release said the staging of the series ‘Focus on Boys’ was motivated by recent statistics showing the heavy involvement of boys in crime, and deteriorating enrolment figures and academic performance when compared to girls.

According to the release, statistics from the Ministry of Education show that at the primary school level, girls outperform boys in all the national examinations, namely the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy Tests, as well as the Grade Six Achievement Test. Results for secondary schools are not much better and at the university stage the situation is even more dismal, as for every 10 graduates there is only one male, the release continued.

Added to this grim academic reality is the data on crime, the release said. News releases by the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Statistics and Information Management Unit show that more boys die as a result of crime. In 2016 of the 41 children murdered, 33 were males and eight were females. In 2017, for the period January 1 to November 30, 51 children were murdered — 32 males and 19 females. The statistics also show that boys are heavily involved in crimes spanning shooting, illegal possession of firearm, robbery, and gang activities, the release continued.

It is with this data in mind that JWNF invited Kemp, executive director of the National Center for the Development of Boys in Tennessee, and Hadley, Howard University’s student ombudsman, both of whom have made careers of studying boys and leading targeted interventions, to address this crisis facing these youngsters.

According to Kemp, who for the past 24 years has served on the faculty at McCallie School in varying capacities and who has earned several awards for teaching excellence and mentoring boys, “a boy’s brain is wired differently, and must therefore be looked at differently”.

He substantiated this argument by referring to scientific data that a boy’s brain is only half developed at age 15 and doesn’t fully mature until age 30. This is very different for the brain of a girl, which is half developed at age 11 and fully developed by age 22, the release said.

Continuing to highlight the contrast, Kemp shared a colour-coded diagram of boys’ and girls’ brains at rest, which revealed that even at rest female brains still displayed high levels of activity while there was little or no activity in the brain of males at rest, the release continued.

“Boys tend to overestimate their ability, but underestimate the risk,” said Kemp. “It is contingent upon parents and teachers, therefore, to: Make boys apply a sense of urgency; do things right. Be specific and clear with instructions, and present visual examples whenever possible.”

To improve communication, the release said Kemp recommended getting close, preferably shoulder to shoulder for conversations, as this is likely to result in greater attention. Kemp also recommended the application of action and movement, “take a walk while talking, shoulder to shoulder , and see how much better your message is received”.

“Great educators are always trying to improve engagement,” said Kemp, noting that boys are more likely to take interest if they like the person delivering the message, so greater tolerance should be exercised while communicating with them. “It’s harder to learn from people you don’t like.”

Kemp also instructed: “Boys need a safe environment that is task-oriented; they need an expanded family of mentors and opportunities to be mentors. Boys need a place where personal sacrifice contributes to the collective experience. Boys need to be part of something larger than themselves, a crew with a cause. Boys need to compete to build skills and confidence; and men need to read to boys, get on their level.”

In the meantime, Hadley, who has worked in youth development for more than a decade, utilised imagery throughout his presentation. The release said he used the lion as a symbol in one instance and the eagle in another, and encouraged boys to pursue their goals with focus and great fervour while emphasising the need to love the process and not just the destination.

“Help your boys find their passion and provide exposure. Once that mind is open it can never go back,” said Hadley, noting that “you cannot perceive to be what you don’t know about. Broadening his world view expands his realm of possibilities.”

“Your role as educators is to expand their limits. Create an environment that they can tap into what drives them,” he added.

Speaking to both parents and teachers, he urged them to “speak to them in their own language” and foster grit.

“Let them know that you’ve got to be ready to challenge the difficult circumstances,” he said. “You’ve got to orient your children that this journey’s going to be tough.”

Hadley also expounded on the topics of prioritising psychosocial needs, increasing the scope of intervention to include mental and emotional well-being, providing strong social and emotional support, teaching love for the process, not just for success, and the 10,000-hour principle, saying: “Let them know that they will have to dedicate at least 10,000 hours to a career to become world-class”.

“Build a world of lions,” said Hadley.

Acknowledging that there is no simple solution to fixing the problems with boys, the JWN Foundation pointed out that its conviction regarding tailoring the education system to address the long-established fact that boys must be taught differently, is a good starting point.