Help Boys Get More Out of Elementary Education

From their elementary education through their high school days, boys are struggling to succeed in the classroom. Boys receive as many as 70 percent of Ds and Fs given in schools, create up to 90 percent of classroom discipline problems, and constitute 80 percent of high school dropouts, according to author and educator Michael Gurian — one of the world's leading authorities on the role of gender in education.

But perhaps the saddest statistic comes from a University of Michigan study that shows the number of boys who said they didn't like school rose 71 percent between 1980 and 2001. Thousands of bright, energetic boys are spending the better part of each day unhappy and coming home to report to their parents that they feel "stupid" or that they "don't fit in."

Experts speculate that changes in elementary education over the past two decades have hurt boys. Increased classroom size has led some teachers to put a greater emphasis on quiet, non-disruptive behavior, which tends to be easier for young girls than for young boys. Also, the emphasis elementary education puts on achievement tests can put pressure on young boys to learn to read and write at a faster pace than their brains or their fine-motor skills are ready. Modern elementary education also tends to leave less time for recess and other physical activities that help boys burn off energy.

Studies are beginning to show that  boys learn better from male teachers. Yet nationwide, only about 16 percent of elementary school teachers are male. Couple this with the fact that about 40 percent of marriages end in divorce, and it becomes common for many boys to go through all of their elementary education without ever even having heard a man read.

Elementary education plays a vital role in the development of children. What children learn and experience during their elementary education can shape their views of themselves and the world and can affect their later success or failure in school, work, and their personal lives.

Are we doomed to have our sons waste these precious years? Absolutely not. By taking the interests and needs of young boys into account to make classrooms more boy-friendly and by proving to them that education really is a "guy" thing as much as a "girl" thing, we can generate a love of learning that can last a lifetime.

• Start a program at a local elementary school where men from the community — dads, grandfathers, janitors, policemen, businessmen, etc. — come to the classroom once a week to read to children and talk about the story. Encourage the readers to pick stories they themselves enjoyed as boys or books dealing with one of their hobbies. Direct readers in need of inspiration to http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/promos/greatbooks/boys/ for title suggestions and tips on reading aloud. Recruit volunteers for the program by sending this article ("Help Boys Get More Out of Elementary Education") plus your contact information to parents, to human resources departments of area businesses, and to any establishment employing a sizable number of men (such as banks, fire stations, and law offices).
• Set up a mentoring program between older male students and elementary school boys. As Michael Gurian notes in "Boys and Girls Learn Differently," both groups benefit — the older from being role models and the younger from the individual male attention. Activities may include (but certainly are not limited to) reading to one another, playing board games, building with blocks, or drawing murals.
• Recommend to elementary education administrators that they assign a book such as Michael Gurian's "Boys and Girls Learn Differently" or Michael Thompson's "Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys" as summer reading for teachers and follow it up with a faculty meeting discussing how the school can implement measures to make elementary education more successful for boys.
• Fill out a questionnaire aimed at better understanding boys. There are surveys for mothers, fathers, teachers, and boys over age 8. The information collected will be part of Michael Thompson's upcoming book "It's a Boy! Understanding Your Son's Development from Birth to Eighteen."
• If you are a father, get involved in elementary education any way you can. Ideas include acting as a field trip chaperone, helping out at a holiday party, or volunteering for lunch duty. If you are a mother, encourage your husband to get involved in elementary education by passing along any call for volunteers. If you are a room mother, a PTA leader, or a teacher, contact fathers of students directly when you are looking for volunteers. This action will help men to feel welcome in the school and to realize that they can play a vital role in elementary education.