Teaching Boys, JUN'11

Teaching Boys: A Conference for Teachers New to Boys’ Schools

St. Christopher’s School, Richmond, Virginia
15–17 June 2011

The program is designed to provide teachers at the beginning of their careers in boys’ schools with a collaborative setting to share and mine effective approaches and practices in our all-boy settings. The focus is on the classroom, but a holistic approach to professional success and efficacy in boys’ schools will be emphasized.

Targeted are teachers, novice or experienced, who are just completing their first year in boys’ schools. Also welcome are teachers with more experience in boys’ schools but who might gain from the conference focus. The program is aimed at all the division levels: junior/elementary, middle, and senior/upper.

Over the conference, the program will move back and forth from large group sessions with expert presenters to smaller division team sessions led and facilitated by Master Teachers, highly experienced mentors drawn from IBSC schools. There will be at least two Master Teachers at each of the three division levels, and they will work closely with the conference organizers and our keynote presenters in the lead-up to the conference.

Above all, the conference is designed to respect and support these new teachers, to celebrate and deepen their work with boys, and to help them grow into tomorrow’s champions of the mission of our schools.

Workshop Presenters

We are very fortunate that Michael G. Thompson will present a major session on boys’ development. He will also be with us throughout the conference and will participate in division team discussions, as well as a summative session at the end of the conference. This is a unique opportunity for these new teachers to meet and work with Michael in such a close and personal setting.

Michael Thompson is a psychologist, school consultant, and author or co-author of eight books, including the New York Times bestseller, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, Speaking of Boys: Answers to the Most-Asked Questions about Raising Sons. His newest book, It's a Boy!: Understanding Your Son's Development from Birth to Eighteen, a comprehensive guide for the parents of boys, will be published by Ballantine Books in March of 2008.

A dedicated speaker and traveler, Dr. Thompson has spoken at or consulted to more than 500 schools in the U.S. and abroad. He has appeared on the Today Show, the Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC's 20/20, CBS's 60 Minutes, and NPR's "Morning Edition" and "Talk of the Nation". He was the co-author, host and narrator of a two-hour PBS documentary entitled Raising Cain: Focus on Boys which aired in January of 2006.

Also speaking is Abigail Norfleet James , author of Teaching the Male Brain, and a frequent presenter at IBSC events. She will share her understanding of gender differences, and explore implications for pedagogy and practice in both the large group and division team settings. Our goal here is to deepen critical “literacy” about this and other important areas of research on boys’ education.

In addition to Teaching the Male Brain (winner of the 2007 Gold Award from ForeWord Magazine), her publications include reports of research comparing the educational attitudes of male graduates of co-ed schools to male graduates of single sex schools and research describing the effects of gendered basic skills instruction. Her area of expertise is developmental and educational psychology as applied to the gendered classroom.

An enthusiastic speaker, Ms. James has presented workshops and papers at educational conferences around the world. Her professional affiliations include the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, the Gender and Education Association, the International Boys’ School Coalition, and the National Association for Single Sex Public Education (advisory board member). Prior to obtaining her doctorate from the University of Virginia, she taught general science, biology, and psychology in both boys’ and girls’ secondary schools.

Finally, IBSC staff and researchers will present the results of our report on Teaching Boys: A Global Study of Effective Practices , and share the voices of experienced teachers and boys on teaching and learning in our schools.

Conference Program & Schedule

Conference Schedule (click to download)

Conference Location

All conference events will take place at St. Christopher’s School , 711 Saint Christopher’s Road, Richmond, VA 23226.

in making transportation arrangements, please keep in mind the start and end times for the conference. We begin on Wednesday, June 15th at 5:00 p.m.; a bus will pick folks up at the hotels at 4:45 p.m. The conference is scheduled to end at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, June 17th. The Friday program is especially rewarding, rich and summative. Please make your departure bookings so that you can be present to the end!

St. Christopher's Campus map
Directions to St. Christopher's

Conference Registration

The registration fee for the conference is US $285.00 for those in current IBSC member schools, and US $585.00 for non-member schools. Payment may be made by cheque or credit card (MasterCard, Visa, or Diners only). The registration fee includes the opening reception and dinner and lunch on Thursday and Friday, and transportation to and from the hotel on conference days.

Hotel Registration

There are two options for you:

  • The Westin Richmond, 6631 West Broad Street, Richmond 23230. A small number of rooms are available here at $109 per night. To book a room, phone the hotel directly at 804-282-8444 and ask for a booking under the “International Boys’ Schools Coalition” room block. This block of rooms is being held only until June 1.

  • Ramada Plaza Hotel Richmond West , 6624 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230. We do not have a contract with this hotel, but rates are very competitive. To book a room, phone 804-285-2000 or Ramada reservations in the normal fashion. You do not need to reference the IBSC or the conference, because this is not a booking under any contract with them.

Getting to Richmond

For those who will be traveling by air, Richmond is well-served by major airlines, along with Amtrak. For more information, go to: http://visit.richmond.com/visitors/getthere.aspx .

For those who'd like to explore the Richmond area during conference downtime or during their stay in Richmond, the following websites provide useful information:

Questions and Other Information

Registered conference delegates will receive periodic updates by email as conference details become finalized. Also, this website will reflect updated information, so check back often! In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact office@theibsc.org.