Tom was one of the brightest boys in the year, with supportive parents. But when he was 15 he suddenly stopped trying. He left school at 16 with only two scores for secondary school subjects. One of the reasons that made it cool for him not to care was the power of his peer  group. The lack of right male  role models in many of their lives -- at home and particularly in the school environment  -- means that their peers are the only people they have to judge themselves against. They don't see men succeeding in society so it doesn't occur to them that they could make something of themselves. Without male teachers as a role model, the effect of peer actions and street culture  is all-powerful. Boys want to be part of a club. However, schools can provide the environment for change, and provide the right role models for them. Teachers need to be trained to stop that but not in front of a child's peers. You have to do it one to one, because that is when you see the real child. It's pointless sending a child home if he or she has done wrong. They see it as a welcome day off to watch television or play computer games. Instead, schools should have a special unit where a child who has done wrong goes for the day and gets advice about his problems -- somewhere he can work away from his peers and go home after the other children. A teacher's work is most effective with a schoolboy when he   _  .
is with the boy alone teaches the boy a lesson sends the boy home as punishment works together with another teacher