What is missing in this article is that you have to teach a boy how to have emotional literacy! Emtional literacy is as important as math and language
When boys like mine and as verbose as they are. You see how secure they are, enough to share their emotions which helps them stay out of trouble in the long run. Without emtional literacy being taught to the parents and the boys these poor kids will always be in this type of learning confllict. You also have the pressure by teachers for these boys to man up! My son is 14 years old is 6'2" tall and growing. My boy plays football (american). He could be a star by his senior year. He is giving it up because he perfers theater and film. He has been in many plays. He directed his first community play this year and staged managed twice this year. The actors for the most part are adults in community theater. He decided this weekend end that he is not going to play football and instead work on directing. I asked him how he was going to tell the coach and he said he is afraid to tell him. Thats a problem the man at school that this boy looks up to, makes him fear full to speak up for himself. Why does a coach do this becuase he wants this kid who will be almost 6'6" to hold his front line. No care for the emtion of the boy or the injury he may get playing a sport that the boy does not see a future in. (sorry for the rant) --- In [email protected], Gerry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Parents want their daughters to go to single-sex schools, but not > their sons. The result is that 'mixed' schools are often anything > but. Does the imbalance matter? Polly Curtis reports > > Tuesday April 10, 2007 > The Guardian > > Girls thrive in single-sex schools, but boys do not. It is a common > assumption and new research from London's Institute of Education > (IoE) suggests, to a certain extent, that it is true. Assessing the > biggest ever swath of historical data on the issue, researchers found > that girls who go to girls' schools will later earn more than those > from mixed schools - partly because they are less likely to make > gendered decisions about their studies and are therefore more likely > to take maths and science subjects. But the research also found > social problems in boys-only schools. "Single-sex education seems to > have a negative social impact for boys and a positive academic impact > for girls," says Alice Sullivan, the IoE researcher behind the report. > > Parents had worked this out long before the research proved it: they > want their daughters to go to girls' schools and their sons to go to > mixed schools. In much of the country, there has been a 40-year drift > towards mixed-sex education in which boys' schools have been replaced > with co-educational schools far more readily than girls' schools > have. In some areas of the country, this has created a quiet > phenomenon in which girls are now outnumbered by boys in some mixed > schools by three to one. > > Overall, in the state sector, 13% of girls now go to girls' schools > and 10% of boys attend boys' schools; within mixed schools, 51% are > boys. But when you drill down into some inner-city areas, the gender > balance is tipped. In outer London, 33% of girls attend girls' > schools, and 24% of boys attend boys' schools. In co-educational > schools, 53% of students are boys. > > But in inner London, the majority of girls (52%) attend girls' > schools, and just 27% of boys attend boys' schools. And 59% of > students in mixed schools are boys. > > Camden in north London now has four girls' secondary schools, and > only one boys' school. In Hackney, east London, there are three > girls' schools and only one for boys. One of the most extreme > imbalances in the co-educational sector occurs in Islington, north > London, where boys make up 71% of the mixed secondary school population. > > The same is true in other urban areas. In Liverpool, there are 31 > schools, eight of which are girls' schools and five for boys only. > There are three schools in the area with at least 60% boys on the rolls. > "Parents increasingly feel there's a gender imbalance in mixed > schools," says Paul Clein, a councillor in Liverpool. "The anecdotal > feedback we get is that they feel more like boys' schools than mixed > schools. Certainly we've had letters from parents expressing concerns > about this." > > Sullivan says that the area of boy-dominated mixed schools has not > been well researched. "Possibly because people haven't noticed that > it's become quite a big issue in some areas," she says. "It's the > side-effect of the parental choice agenda: parents want single-sex > schools for their girls, but not their boys. It's one of those clear > incidences when individuals' choices don't add up to a socially > acceptable outcome." > Little research > > She adds: "Given that boys tend to have more discipline problems and > lower academic attainment, my guess is that those schools would have > more problems than schools that are closer to 50-50. The question is, > do these schools have particular problems of sexual harassment and > bullying?" > > There is no British research addressing these particular questions. > But a study carried out last year in Israel offers some perspective. > It suggests that a large proportion of boys in a class worsens the > outcome for both the girls and boys. > > The researchers, Victor Lavy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem > and Analía Schlosser of Princeton University, studied results from > eight cohorts in 280 Israeli high schools, some 425,138 students. No > matter which way they measured it, they found that the higher the > proportion of girls in a class, the better the results for everyone. > > "The positive female peer effect is related to a lower level of > classroom disruption and violence, improved inter-student and student- > teacher relationships, as well as to an increase in students' overall > satisfaction with their school," they wrote. "It also significantly > lessens the teaching fatigue and burn-out feelings of teachers, > though it does not affect their overall satisfaction from work." > > Diana Leonard, head of the centre for research and education on > gender at the IoE, has conducted separate research which found that > boys are more likely to be excluded for a significant amount of time > if they go to single-sex, rather than mixed schools; the research > found the same is not true for girls. > > "Certain boys dominate the classrooms in mixed situations. The sheer > number of boys in some schools must make it difficult. Girls take > protective measures - they sit together, separately. The more boys > you have, the more equipment and teacher time they take up," she says. > > Special schools, which are usually far more male-dominated, have > particular problems, she adds. "People argue for the civilising > effects of girls. The reason there is more violence in boys' schools > is because boys have a code of honour and don't tell when there is > trouble brewing. Girls will talk to staff more. But I would think > it's also quite hard on the non-aggressive boys if there are more boys." > > All of this affects parents' choices, she says. "Boys' schools are > difficult places, and that's why parents and local authorities don't > like them. We have got the paradox that we want mixed schools because > they are better for boys and behaviourally easier. But single-sex > schools encourage girls to have ambition and higher self-esteem, and > they do that not just for middle-class girls but for girls from lower > socioeconomic and disturbed backgrounds. It seems a pity to lose that > for the girls and throw them into the lions' den." > > Proof of the influence of parental choice is evident in the > independent sector. There are over 200 girls-only private schools and > fewer than 150 boys-only. There are 110 schools that have 40% to 50% > boys, and 374 with 50% to 60% boys. Clive Dyton, headteacher of the > independent Oratory school in Berkshire, argued recently that boys' > schools were increasingly turning co-educational as schools bowed to > market forces. > > Some parents are beginning to complain about the gender imbalance in > certain state schools. In Liverpool, councillors have been receiving > complaints for several years, and Clein says they are now trying to > persuade mixed schools to offer single-sex teaching. "I'm not talking > about home economics, but, for a trial, maybe maths and English and > one or two other subjects, to see if it makes any difference," he > says. "The perception is that it might improve things for boys and > girls. > > "We're asking schools to consider it because we feel that, where > parents do have concerns, it may go some way towards alleviating > those concerns. Their daughters will get an education within a single- > sex environment. When they are in mixed classes, boys show off to the > girls. That is a factor. The perception is that if you separated > those boys out it may help." > > Supporting female pupils > > Other schools are trying different methods to support female pupils > in male-dominated schools. Acland Burghley, a north London secondary > with 64% boys on its roll, runs a "girls' den" at lunchtimes to give > the female students a space to meet away from the boys. The > headteacher, Michael Shew, says: "The main issue for us is that an > average-size tutor group has only got nine girls, instead of 15. That > reduces the chances for friendships groups to form. The girls' den > was to enable girls to meet outside of tutor groups more easily." In > fact, the den has become less popular as students have become more > confident, he says. > > When Shew arrived at the school, it was noticed that girls' results > were not as good as they should be. He employed a team of inspectors > to come in with a brief to look at the way that female students were > working in class. The move led to a series of strategies to deal with > the gender imbalance. When it looks as though the number of girls in > tutor groups is going to dip below eight, for example, boys-only > tutor groups have been set up - with permission from parents. After > advice from the inspectors, new teaching styles were introduced which > made teachers aware of the gender dynamics in the classroom so they > could better respond to all pupils. > > Up the road in Haringey, at Highgate Wood school, the tide is turning > a little. There used to be three boys for every two girls, but the > figures are starting to shift in the other direction. This school, > too, has some girls-only classes, in PHSE (personal, health and > social education), in which they talk about assertiveness and "sexual > bullying", headteacher Patrick Cozier says. The question of balance > is something the school is very aware of when recruiting students, he > adds. > > Many parents of girls in the area opt first for the local girls' > school, so Highgate Wood must fight hard to attract girls at all. At > parents' evenings, Cozier presents the schools' results and > highlights the success of the girls and how well they do there, in a > bid to try to attract more; it is also highlighted in the school's > literature. But it is a double-edged sword, he says. "It's quite > dangerous if you highlight the brilliant successes of the girls, > because parents of boys may be put off. I'm careful not to go > overboard." > > Teachers' focus on boys > > He says that the girl-boy ratio is most pronounced in the lower > ability sets for maths, which is one of the few subjects the school > sets for. These are almost entirely boy-only classes. In fact, the > minority status of girls in the school is not the immediate concern > for teachers. "The issue we have - like many other schools - is that > the girls vastly outperform boys. The focus of the teachers can often > be on helping the boys catch up," says Cozier. > > Some experts say the place of girls in such schools is often > overlooked, as they are essentially employed as a levelling factor > for difficult teenage boys. Gus John, visiting professor of education > at Strathcylde University and an expert in inner-city and black > education, says that there could be a penalty being paid by girls in > schools where they are outnumbered. "Anecdotally, I have observed > that it makes for patchy results," he says. "Boys often have a poor > culture of learning - an anti-academic environment. Some girls would > resist that and do well. Some boys would benefit from those girls > being around and do well. But for a section of both the boys and > girls, there is a lowering of aspirations and therefore of performance. > > "It seems to be that quite often there's a burden placed on girls in > term of humanising those 'damn boys', and it's not often studied in > terms of its impact upon them and their level of performance." > > The Israeli research found this, too. The real boost in results came > when girls significantly outnumber boys; the researchers did not find > a case for mixed schools per se, and certainly not when the girls are > in the minority. Like competing siblings, the debate can come down to > whom you prioritise: the girls or the boys. Boys stand to benefit > from girls being in their classes, but girls can lose out. Or, as the > researchers put it: "The gain for females from school or classroom > gender segregation is offset by the loss for males." > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/boysed/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/boysed/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
