Struggling School-Age Boys

I have to wonder if such simple but effective means of teaching some material is still used that my mom had back in the 1920s. Practicing math included learning how to balance a checkbook by the 7th grade. (Remember, back then most kids dropped out of school after the 8th grade so teaching some practical basics early was paramount.) Some of her history was learned practicing penmanship copying such things as the Preamble to the Constitution or even copying "June 14th is our flag's birthday." Heaven forfend we'd teach such things today! I've even run into high school English and history teachers who do not recognize the opening paragraph of the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution. Now that is scary!!!

My youngest daughter is now 19. She had problems in early elementary school because she was 'distracted' easily. I was not happy and let the school know that she was bored. They did pull her out to get one on one help for reading. She is in her second year of college. Parents - don't push your kids into a mold they don't belong!!! Luckily she had a pre-school teacher that warned me that my daughter would be labbl

I think the problem is a lot deeper than lack of playtime, ADHD and other learning disabilities - and I am certainly not denying their prevalence. This country's current education system is almost repulsive. These kids are expected to sit still and listen to a collection of obscure facts which have no relevance to each other, nor any connection to anything else. They are fed random information which aims at no end and serves no purpose other than passing a standardized test - which, of course, they MUST pass so the school district can look really good and receive more money. Kids are shuffled through grade after grade like herds of animals. They are not taught any kind of philosophy or theology. This country has become so politically correct that it would rather avoid discussing certain topics than encourage or even stimulate higher thinking. Naturally, second graders should not be expected to have profound debates over coffee and cigarettes about Aquinas and Aristotle, however some introduction to higher thinking is absolutely necessary in developing proper reasoning skills, and achieving one's highest intellectual capacity. The reason kids are so restless in school and new mental disorders pop up every few weeks is because these children have no guidance. You may think, "it is the parents job and prerogative to teach morals or religion," or, "that kind of stuff should be kept at home," but kids spend eight precious and imperative hours a day in a classroom, and those eight hours are wasted far more often than not.

What is true is that boys are being understood. As a teacher I can tell you that there is less time for play, especially outside where boys can run. Kids are expected to silently do their work, not to stand, not sit on their legs, and not speak out of turn. School today is nothing like what it was for us. My husband came to school one day and was scared at the boot camp like environment and vowed that our children (both boys) would not be a part of a school like this. Problem is, today all schools are all like that, and in today???s age of tests, teachers are very quick to ask for special ed testing for a child that is not easily engaged or a bit hyper. It???s a way to CYA and label a kid. Parents too who are too busy with work, too tired when they come home, and also overwhelmed wished their kid would just play some video games or watch TV instead of going to the park and throwing a ball around with them. Teachers and parents need to relax and let their kids go out and play, get dirty, ride their bikes and not be so overprotective. We are stifling our boys and I get claustrophobic just watching it.

The current educational system in this country is almost repulsive. These kids don't know why they are learning most of what they are learning. They are fed random facts that have absolutely no connection or relevance to one another, they are not introduced to any kind of philosophy or religious education, thus they store everything into short-term memory and forget it after they take some ridiculous standardized test - which they MUST pass so that the school district can look good and receive more money. Obviously, second graders should not be expected to read Aristotle or Aquinas, but some kind of introduction into higher thinking really needs to be integrated into the cirriculum. This country has become so politically correct that it would rather avoid certain topics of discussion or debate than teach kids how to correctly develop their intellectual capacity and ability to reason. I hope this soon changes...

As an elementary teacher I have noticed this trend emerging over the last decade or so. We have become much to test oriented where the only thing that is important is the Holy Grail of a high test score. Kids are not being allowed to be kids and are not being allowed to play like kids. Kids might still get a mohawk haircut, but when I was a youth with a mohawk I got to be the indian and the others were the cowboys, that is not politically correct in this "modern" world. What a shame for our youth.

This is the consequence of a feminized America. Simply put, boys/men do not multi-task well and with our society, adapted to meet the needs of female communication and socialization, our boys are lost and confused because they simply don't understand what they are supposed to be. Women wanted and gained masculinity at the expense of their own children, how evil is that?

This is the consequence of a feminized America. Simply put, boys/men do not multi-task well and with our society, adapted to meet the needs of female communication and socialization, our boys are lost and confused because they simply don't understand what they are supposed to be. Women wanted and gained masculinity at the expense of their own children, how evil is that?

I think blaming the 'busy schedule' of kids is negligent reporting. Technology has so changed childhood. Parents let technology raise their kids. Expect the schools to be the parent model for them. For every uber busy yuppie little boy, there's probably 10 that spend most of their afternoons playing video games, eating crappy food, and generally being unsupervised by parents whos parenting model is 'no news is good news'.

I think the sad reality is that boys are failing MORE under the curent lack of parenting skills than the girls are, at least as far as standard methods of testing go. And who knows? Perhaps parents are more willing to look at their little boys and ask 'what's wrong with my little slacker?' while they let their girls 'slide' more and assume their acting out is more a girl or later hormonal thing.

The kids i know that have the busy, yuppie lives... are happy kids with good grades and attentive parents. Maybe I just don't know enough of them. The problem kids I know (in and out of family) are all far less supervised and structured in their lives. THEY rule their free time. and yes, their parents just don't seem to want to understand 'where they went wrong.'

It may also be that parents, mindful of the "fact" that boys need to grow up into men with jobs, and girls still have the option of being stay at home moms when they grow up, pay more attention to their sons' issues and less to their daughters' , thinking that it will somehow sort itself out for their girls.

Is it really a surprise that it could be the community and parenting? In my work with kids of all ages it is 99% parents and community. if you see a kid struggling, self-destructive, depressed, well, then take a look at the parents - how they act, if they actually are in a healthy relationship with each other, with themselves. How unfortunate in our double-standard culture it is taboo to hold the health of adults to account..just drug the kids,eh?

Instead of sending American kids to see psychologists and spending billions of dollars on those sessions, we should go back to the traditional way of raising kids -- less pressure, no multiple choice tests, and much more free play, playing time and critical thinking. Having said so, we must drastically curb immigration as many of our schools are overwhelmed with kids speaking little to no English. Teen pregnancies, which number approximately 750,000 a year, should be drastically reduced as well as teen parents are not likely to raise responsible kids.
Yeh Ling-Ling
Oakland, CA

This has nothing to do with "feminization", or lack of free play. In the past schools were even harsher than they are today with physical discipline, rote learning and less creativity. The problem is expectations are higher for more students while parents are more indulgent. Successful students have always been the ones more disciplined and with self control. Americans better wake up because other countries understand that their futures depend on the successful education of most of their citizens.

I am a 51 year old french female.. I finished school at age 15.. I learned english on my own and 6 years after I moved to this country, I took the GED test because I needed to take a class at the community college. I passed the test without ever taking a class for it. What does it tell you??? I finished school 35 years ago.
I truly believe that the republican party's goal is to make the american children as ignorant as they possibly can, so when they become adults they won't ask questions and will be easy to control and manipulate.. This is why the wrong people have been elected. People
do not read anymore... All they do is watch TV.
Please watch this video.. It will explain to you the goals of your leaders. It may seem
extreme to some but it may not be surprising to many.
Scroll to the right pass the blue square. Religious or not, watch the whole video.. You may understand what is going on in our world.
http://propagandameatgrinder.magnify.net/video/Zeitgeist-s-hrvatskim-titlom/theater#theater_title

You cannot blame this siutation on "feminism" simply because it affect boys more than girls. There are many factors that play into this problem. What about video games? Children have less opportunities to socialize and play because their parents stick them in from of a tv or video game. I think we need to look at parenting. With the economy the way it is, very few families can afford to have one of them stay home with the kids, be it the father or mother. Oh, by the way techremgt, I'm a father.