Listen to and try
for yourselves the
'Boys' Business'
theme song!
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"Boys Business"- Tuning
into Boys in the Middle Years Using Music & the Arts
Dr Robert G Smith: A one day workshop for educators
working with middle years' boys
Program Overview:
"When I trained as a teacher in the early 1960s, lecturers insisted
that unless our entry to a new classroom was accompanied by a willingness
to resort to corporal punishment we were doomed to unruly classes, and thus
to failure as teachers. I resorted to the strap once. Afterwards I felt
so overwhelmingly ashamed and humiliated that I had inflicted unnecessary
physical pain on a boy that I vowed never to do so again. Thus, in over forty
years in education in many different cultural settings, I haven't. Admiration,
respect and compassion underpin my relationships with children. Boys Business
grows from this ethos. If the program persuades others of the always-positive
outcomes of such an approach then I believe I have succeeded".
Dr Robert G Smith
"Boys Business" is unique! It's a music program where you don't have
to be musical. Although it uses music as its vehicle, it's not about creating
a Vienna Boys Choir; it's more about helping boys evolve into collaborative,
creative and independent operators.
Over the past five years, Doctor Bob has been developing and refining Boys
Business in schools throughout the Northern Territory, with the help of
many passionate and dedicated teachers.
Doctor Bob shows how to place the emphasis on the way you work with boys:
We invite boys to participate in our activities and constantly affirm supportive
behaviour and performance. We want the boys working together so that they
feel that they belong. Boys' Business is intended to make boys, and thus
young men, feel good about themselves, about what they are and do.
Before we work towards quality musical performance we need to get boys
engaged, enthusiastically.
The songs, games and activities are designed to encourage co-operation
but also give boys the chance to be creative and let their wild spirits
roam free. Most importantly they are fun. As the boys themselves attest:
'I like taking part in Boys Business. It's fun and you get to learn all
about what you can do and what you can't.' 'Boys Business helps me feel good
about myself. I've even found out I'm a leader!
Specifically designed for Middle Years boys, "Boys Business": works on
boys' behaviour and motivation, appeals to boys who would never join the
choir, keeps boys engaged in school activities, fits in with other programs
for boys at risk, is guaranteed fun for everyone involved AND the manual
includes all the games, activities and music you need to run the program
so you don't have to invent them yourself.
The Workshop
This workshop takes participants through the "Boys Business" manual and
CD, supporting them in the process of setting up and running "Boys Business"
in schools. The workshop is packaged to match the three sections of the
Boys Business Manual, over five hours across four time sequences as follows
Section One: The Background - introducing theoretical
background to the process; (one & a half hours)
Section Two: The Modules - engaging participants with
practical strategies and; (one & a half hours)
Section Three: The Tools - working with the songs, games
and activities, and closes (one & a half hours) with time for discussion,
reflection and evaluation.
The "Boys Business Manual"
is available from the Family Action Centre, University of Newcastle, the
Boys Business package includes the theoretical background, module outlines,
games, activities, CDROM and sheet music required to run the program. Cost
is $AU88.00 (incl. GST).
Contact details:
Boys in Schools Program, The University of Newcastle, University Drive,
CALLAGHAN NSW 2308
Phone: +61 2 4921 8739
Fax: +61 2 4921 8686
Email: health-boysinschools@newcastle.edu.au
Website: www.newcastle.edu.au/centre/fac/binsp
The Presenter: "Dr Bob"- Dr Robert G Smith
Bob has forty years of successful international experience in diverse learning
settings. These include time working in Polynesian school s in New Zealand
and the Pacific, in Tanzania, East Africa, in Mexico, and with Metis and
Inuit children in Canada. Bob Smith recently retired as Music-in-Schools
Adviser, based at the Northern Territory Music School (NTMS) in Darwin. Now
he is often found interstate and overseas, actively promoting his egalitarian
view of music in education. He is a recent Past President of the Australian
Society for Music Education Inc (ASME).
Bob can be contacted by e-mail at <bobsmith@octa4.net.au>
More information is available through his website URL http//:members.iinet.net.au/~bobsmith/
What others say
''Bob Smith has a million ideas for making music fun, even if you feel
you have very limited skills' - Alice Springs School of the Air
''Taking part (in Bob's 'chalk-face' workshops) has encouraged me to reflect
on my own practice. My students have learnt more not only about other people
but also about themselves.' - Year 3 Teacher, Palmerston, NT,
''Bob's workshops demonstrated that music is also about fun and performance
without emotional trauma on behalf of both teachers and kids!' 'It was inspiring
to see my students involved, actively participating in and thoroughly enjoying
the music sessions. It was fun for all including the teacher".
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