We Need To Prepare Boys For School, Not Schools For Boys

I would like to share this article. It deals with the issues surrounding the relationship between school, education, and boys/teenagers. It is a bit long, but there are several interesting points.

(1) It is important to acknowledge and accept that a boy is different from a girl, and consequently, their needs in terms of both teaching and guidance are different.

(2) Many current problems with discipline stem largely from what is called positive parenting, which generally tends to accept "problematic" behaviors as they are, to accept them as part of the individual without trying to correct them, as summarized at the beginning: "In an anomic world where adult authority itself is no longer a norm, we can only pathologize and diagnose the antisocial behavior that gentle parenting teaches us to simply accept." And I think this is partly true. In fact, she says she had to fight to prevent her sons from being diagnosed with behavioral problems every time they misbehaved.

She also emphasizes the importance of parents' role in teaching boys boundaries and the need to give them spaces to let off steam. And if I've read correctly, she has a family with three or four sons, so we can assume she has some experience in this area. In fact, many of the points the author makes are based on her own experience.