It's a Boy Thing

Christopher Waugh and Gena Bagley

Heads of Department for English both, Gena Bagley (Otago Boys' High School) and Chris Waugh (Christ's College) share their experiences, insights, dilemmas and triumphs in their work in these iconic South Island boys' schools.

  1. 10 AUG

    NCEA's Imminent Demise

    Change is an inherent feature of our education system, but it has to be said that the changes have been coming thick and fast in recent years. Our Curriculum was undergoing what is euphemistically described as a 'refresh' over the last few years, only for us to find that it's now in the bin, to be replaced by a new 'revision'. Similarly our national assessment system, NCEA, which is in the middle of 5 year revision, has been ditched in order to go back to a system that seems reminiscent of the one it replaced 20 years ago. Bags and Chris reflect on these changes on the day they were announced and start putting together plans.

    21 min
  2. Total Silence

    23 MAR

    Total Silence

    Bags and Chris, in a moment of unexpected synchronicity, both have a class that is uncannily silent. We ask a question: crickets. They're doing good work, they're great young men - but as a group: diabolical. We explore the possible precursors for this and we look at what action we can take to get the boys talking.

    26 min
  3. Lava Lamps and Scholarships

    8 MAR

    Lava Lamps and Scholarships

    In the third week of the school year, Chris and Gena explored the new year as a fresh start, including Chris' newly 'upgraded' classroom (complete with LEDs and a lava lamp). The conversation shifted to celebrating Gena's outstanding achievement of three English scholarships at Otago Boys, including one outstanding scholarship. We discussed the importance of maintaining high expectations, establishing powerful routines, and the positive impact this has on student learning. We reflected on how setting ambitious targets ourselves models the very dispositions we ask of our students, and shared insights about the learning relationships we build with boys who may not verbalise appreciation often but deeply value rigorous, disciplined learning environments.

    28 min
  4. What actually happens in an English classroom?

    30/11/2024

    What actually happens in an English classroom?

    As a coda to last week's episode about the harm AI is doing to boys' learning in English classes, today Bags and Chris offer some discrete and specific examples of what actually happens in their English classrooms.

    29 min
  5. AI has no place in a boys' English classroom

    15/11/2024

    AI has no place in a boys' English classroom

    We may be in the minority, but Bags and Chris are in full accord on this one: AI is going to do until damage to boys' learning in English. Only this week, articles in the Christchurch Press "Number of illiterate uni students ‘at crisis level’" and the Otago Daily Times article "Despair over Literacy Levels demonstrate that the literacy of University students in the towns where we teach is falling off a cliff–and we already know that this is even worse for boys. This conversation explores exactly why AI is such a disaster for the classroom, what we're doing about it, and why we thing it should go the way of "Whole Language" teaching of reading and Modern Learning Environments - to the dustbin.

    29 min
  6. Good Chat

    13/09/2024

    Good Chat

    Bags explores how she creates rich discussion in her English classroom.

    19 min
  7. English Scholarship

    30/08/2024

    English Scholarship

    Bags and Chris compare notes on how they tend to approach the preparation of students for the Unfamiliar Texts section in the New Zealand English Scholarship examination.

    20 min
  8. Push Through the Tears

    17/08/2024

    Push Through the Tears

    Bags relays an experience she had recently with a student who was struggling to speak in front of the class and then Chris grabs the microphone and talks for too long in order to attempt to explain how Grammar for Writing actually works in the context of a Year 9 classroom.

    29 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Heads of Department for English both, Gena Bagley (Otago Boys' High School) and Chris Waugh (Christ's College) share their experiences, insights, dilemmas and triumphs in their work in these iconic South Island boys' schools.

Information

  • Creator
    Christopher Waugh and Gena Bagley
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    It's a Boy Thing