A Second Look

TTWB: On Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:20:00 +0000

Sorry for the long silence. I've been on an extended book tour which has taken me to California, Florida, Texas and now Kansas City. Almost everywhere I go, I've been speaking to packed crowds --teachers, parents and school administrators. It has been a pure joy.

Two week ago, I got to talk to executives at Google, which was also a tremendous pleasure. Such smart folks! And so concerned with education! They put my talk on youtube. If you search for my name on Youtube you'll find it or you can click on this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gEqI86KRAA

No Recess = Boy Trouble

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:50:00 +0000

Here's a terrific article from Georgia about how poor black kids in kindergarten and first grade aren't getting any recess.

www.macon.com/198/story/491586.html
Here's a paragraph:

One of the reasons is that Hartley has no swing sets or slides. There's just an old basketball court that's missing its goals. The terrain is uneven, with a 10-foot embankment behind the building.

But another reason Hartley has no recess is that the elementary school is trying to get students passing grade-level reading and math tests to meet goals under the No Child Left Behind law. The school didn't make it this past school year, and trying to catch up cuts in to play time.

"A lot of times in areas like this, so much emphasis is placed on testing, testing, testing," McKenzie said. "You want your children to be able to compete, and we're a test-driven society."

Check out the story. And note: the parents who are quoted in the story don't have any idea that they are sending their little children into school for six hours and they get no time for free play.
Think this is a good idea for any kids? Think this is a good idea for boys?

Are Boys Trailing Girls Around The Globe?

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:37:00 +0000

So how does the underachievement of boys in the U.S compare with the rest of the world?

Short answer: In most of the industrialized countries, in places where girls have equal access to education, boys are lagging.

Here's an article from Cambodia in this morning's papers decrying the way boys are falling behind there.

Just 65.92 percent of male students passed the high school exam this year, compared with 77.26 percent of females.
The ministry says it is preparing an action plan to encourage male high school students to pay more attention to studies.
Similar findings have long been identified in Western countries, including the US, Australia and parts of Europe.

Interestingly, the government education ministry there is already expressing concern abut the problem and ready to take action. Not here.

A Recipe for How To Teach Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:16:00 +0000

This came in the other day from M. Bradley Rogers, Jr. the Headmaster at the Gow School, a private school for boys with learning issues in South Wales, N.Y.

He writes, "May I share with you a few ideas from one dad/schoolmaster's recipe for the boys? I do my best to model and teach the following:
· Work hard, then play hard.
· Sing and make music.
· Treat them (girls) like gold and "no" means no.
· Be strong and help others.
· Set goals and list the behaviors needed to achieve.
· War movies do have value.
· Go build a real tree fort from scraps of wood – not from a kit.
· Explore a stream and catch the crayfish.
· Ride a snowmobile.
· Apologize when wrong.
· Help change a flat tire even if you are only five years old.
· Tell the bully to back off the kid he is taunting.
· Get muddy.
· Respect elders and hold them when they struggle to walk."

Nice, right?

Talking About My Book to Parents and Teachers.

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:37:00 +0000

I spoke at two wonderful events in the last couple of days – one at the New Canaan Library in New Canaan, Ct, sponsored by a bookstore called Elm Street Books and then, in the lovely town of Madison, Ct. at R.J. Julia Bookstore.

Both events drew about 100 people each – and after I spoke about my book for 20 (ok, more like 30) minutes, we had a very lively discussion.

Such thoughtful interesting perspectives! Both audiences were heavy with teachers who came out on a school night (no easy task) to talk about the ways in which boys struggle in school. A veteran first grade teacher from New Haven told me that her first graders get NO RECESS AT ALL!! She looked very upset as she talked about the effect on the children – and the boys. Another, a school guidance counselor, talked about his boy-heavy case load and the ways in which he sees boys disengage from school and the consequences for their education and their lives. Fascinating. And further proof.

Thanks for all of you who came out to those events.

Scores of Teachers Write to Applaud the Book!

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:36:00 +0000

The title might sound a bit anti-teacher. But when you read the pages you'll see that it is not so! The book is full off appreciation and gratitude for the job most teachers do. Teachers, especially experienced ones, know they aren't reaching a lot of boys. They see how the schools devalue what boys need. Here's letter I got yesterday from a teacher in Georgia:

"I have been arguing the points you make for years. We have forgotten how children develop and at what rate. Keep up the good work."

Thanks for that!

I have hundreds of letters from parents of sons in my inbox

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:56:00 +0000

I will answer each one personally but here's an example of what I'm hearing:

I came home today more frustrated than I believe I have ever been with the Public School System. Once again, my son brought home a “red slip” from school. Talk about anxiety building for him and for me. Can’t help to think maybe I have flunked out as a parent... He is a great, funny, very active, beautiful blued eye, six year old boy. Love him to pieces and would not trade him for the world. As much frustration he brings me in certain situations he also brings me ten times the amount of joy. Thanks again for sharing your book. I sure needed it right when I received it.

I worked hard to make this book useful to parents and teachers. Letters like this are pretty gratifying.

The Conversation Has Begun!

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:03:00 +0000

I think I struck a nerve with my new book. Forty eight hours after my book came out, friends emailed to say it was #13 on Amazon.com. Then letters starting coming in -- teachers saying it was about time someone started talking about this, anguished parents describing their son's struggles. Not ten letters. HUNDREDS of letters. Every day since my book came out. I'm reading each one and I'll answer each one, but right now, I"m going to post a few (after I get the author's permission of course) to reflect the kinds of concerns I"m hearing.

Here's the Newsweek Story I Wrote This Week ONE MILLION PEOPLE READ IT!

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 02:00:00 +0000

WHY ARE SCHOOL BOYS STRUGGLING?
By Peg Tyre

Every other week it seems a new study comes out that adds to our already-formidable arsenal of parental worries. But even by those escalating standards, the report issued last week by the federal government's National Center for Health Statistics contained a jaw-dropper: the parents of nearly one of every five boys in the United States were concerned enough about what they saw as their sons' emotional or behavioral problems that they consulted a doctor or a health-care professional. By comparison, about one out of 10 parents of girls reported these kinds of problems. (See the study here.)

The report confirms what many of us have been observing for some time now: that lots of school-age boys are struggling. And, parents are intensely worried about them.

What is ailing our sons? Some experts suggest we are witnessing an epidemic of ADHD and say boys need more medication. Others say that environmental pollutants found in plastics, among other things, may be eroding their attention spans and their ability to regulate their emotions.

Those experts may be right but I have another suggestion. Let's examine the way our child rearing and our schools have evolved in the last 10 years. Then ask ourselves this challenging question: could some of those changes we have embraced in our families, our communities and our schools be driving our sons crazy?

Instead of unstructured free play, parents now schedule their kids' time from dawn till dusk (and sometimes beyond.) By age 4, an ever-increasing number of children are enrolled in preschool. There, instead of learning to get along with other kids, hold a crayon and play Duck, Duck, Goose, children barely out of diapers are asked to fill out work sheets, learn computation or study Mandarin. The drumbeat for early academics gets even louder when they enter "real" school. Veteran teachers will tell you that first graders are now routinely expected to master a curriculum that, only 15 years ago, would have been considered appropriate for second, even third graders. The way we teach children has changed, too. In many communities, elementary schools have become test-prep factories—where standardized testing begins in kindergarten and "teaching to the test" is considered a virtue. At the same time, recess is being pushed aside in order to provide extra time for reading and math drills. So is history and opportunities for hands-on activities—like science labs and art. Active play is increasingly frowned on—some schools have even banned recess and tag. In the wake of school shootings like the tragedy at Virginia Tech, kids who stretch out a pointer finger, bend their thumb and shout "pow!" are regarded with suspicion and not a little fear.

Our expectations for our children have been ramped up but the psychological and physical development of our children has remained about the same. Some kids are thriving in the changing world. But many aren't. What parents and teachers see—and what this government study now shows—is that the ones who can't handle it are disproportionately boys.
Some researchers responded to last weeks' study by calling for more resources for more mental-health services for children—especially males. That's an admirable goal. But when nearly one in five boys has such serious behavioral and emotional issues that their parents are talking it over with their pediatrician, you can bet we are facing a problem that requires a more fundamental change in our society than medication or weekly therapy. Let's take a moment, before the school year gets any farther underway, and ask ourselves whether we are raising and educating our boys in a way that respects their natural development. And if we are not, let's figure out how we can bring our family life and our schools back into line.

This is one study that we ignore at our peril.

The Conversation About Boys and School Has Begun

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:54:00 +0000

My book was released on Sept. 9th. That day, the editors at Newsweek.com kindly posted this little oped piece I wrote. Within 48 hours, it had OVER ONE MILLION web viewers.

Then, amazon.com and B&N.com started to show the book was selling off the shelves. It is now in the top 20.

If you are reading this and you are a parent of a boy struggling in school, I hope you get a chance to take a look at my book. If you find it useful, and I'm betting you will, tell other parents of sons about it. Let's start talking about what is right in front of our eyes.

A Jaw Dropping Statistic.

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:47:00 +0000

The federal government just unveiled the results of a survey and found that among parents of boys in the U.S., ONE OUT OF FIVE discussed their sons behavioral or emotional issues with their health care provider or pediatrician. (For girls, it's one out of ten.)

This news was greeted with calls from more mental health care for children -- and especially boys. But when we have one out of five parents of boys worried that their sons' have emotional problems we need to step back and look at how we are raising and educating them. My belief: we are driving them a little crazy.

I've written an op ed about it which I'll post here later.

Come Visit me at www.whyboysfail.com

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:30:00 +0000

I'm going to be guest blogging there for a week while my esteemed colleague Richard Whitmire, who runs www.whyboysfail.com does a stint as a guest blogger himself. Of course, I'll be shamelessly promoting my book over there, too.

Here the review from Booklist. Yeah!

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:12:00 +0000

Issue: August 1, 2008

The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and
What Parents and Educators Must Do.
Tyre, Peg (Author)
Sep 2008. 320 p. Crown, hardcover, $24.95. (9780307381286). 371.8210973.
While the nation’s schools worked diligently to improve the academic performance of girls—including closing the achievement gap in math and science between girls and boys—few noticed the slow and steady decline in the academic performance of boys. The reading and writing achievement gap between girls and
boys continues as boys also stack up unfavorably in every measure from school discipline, to graduation rates, to grades, to college admission. Newsweek reporter Tyre examines troubling statistics that detail the
academic decline of boys and cites psychologists, sociologists, brain researchers, and others to explain the reasons behind the numbers. Tyre examines how schools—and broader society—have changed in ways that shortchange boys and how gender politics is affecting reactions to the dire statistics. She focuses on boys' specific problems—fidgeting in school, scattered attention, reading problems, and a shortage of male teachers. Through vignettes, Tyre offers advice to parents concerned about their sons. Most important, Tyre asks the ultimate question: how to help boys without jeopardizing the advances of girls.

— Vanessa Bush

A Review of TTWB in the influential Publishers Weekly

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:55:00 +0000

In a spinoff from her 2006 cover story for Newsweek, "The Boy Crisis," Tyre delivers a cogent, reasoned overview of the current national debate about why boys are falling behind girls' achievement in school and not attending college in the same numbers. While the education emphasis in the 1990s was on helping girls succeed, especially in areas of math and science, boys are lagging behind, particularly in reading and writing; parents and educators, meanwhile, are scrambling to address the problems, from questioning teaching methods in preschool to rethinking single-sex schools. Tyre neatly sums up the information for palatable parental consumption: although boys tend to be active and noisy, and come to verbal skills later than girls, early-education teachers, mostly female, have little tolerance for the way boys express themselves. The accelerated curriculum and de-emphasis on recess do not render the classroom "boy friendly," and already set boys up for failure that grows more entrenched with each grade. Tyre touches on important concerns about the lack of male role models in many boys' lives, the perils of video-game obsession and the slippery dialogue over boys' brains versus girls' brains. Tyre treads carefully, offering a terrifically useful synthesis of information. (Sept.)

Cogent, reasoned, terrifically useful. So pleased!

Boys, Schools and the Sunshine State

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:34:00 +0000

Here's an article that ran recently in the Gainesville Sun. Dr. Clark has been doing some very interesting work about boys who struggle in school in Florida.

Mary Ann Clark: How to close the education gender gap
By MARY ANN CLARK
Special to The Sun

Published: Sunday, June 15, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, June 13, 2008 at 8:10 p.m.

There have been numerous articles in the media on the growing gender gap in educational achievement and persistence resulting in significantly more women than men entering and graduating from college and earning graduate degrees (see "Outnumbered on campus," Gainesville Sun, March 16).

There have also been counterarguments, such as a recent American Association of University Women (AAUW) study, that claim there is no gender gap and that boys are doing just fine in school.

Politically in today's world, it is difficult to make a case for boys being offered interventions, as the perception is that any assistance given them may short-change girls and the numerous and positive educational and career inroads made by women over the past 30 years.

However, the national and international data are there: More women than men are earning more degrees and have better grades at all levels of education.

Undergraduate enrollment in the United States of women to men is currently about 134:100 with many flagship universities enrolling 60 percent or more female students (UF's freshmen class in 2007 was 59 percent female).

More women than men are entering graduate schools, accounting for the increase in graduate enrollment. The gender gap with regard to college enrollment and retention cuts across racial and socioeconomic groups.

Local data in Alachua County mirror the national and international data.

Boys at the elementary, middle and high school levels have significantly more discipline referrals, special education placements and attendance issues than do the girls. These findings are true of white, African-American and Hispanic students.

Significantly more girls in all groups are achieving at a higher level in middle and high school as measured by earning (unweighted) grade point averages (GPAs) above 3.0, and significantly more boys in all groups earning GPAs below 2.0. Those that have grades below a 1.0 are potentially the ones who will drop out of high school, and a large majority of that group is male.

Although the numbers of students identified as "gifted" in K-12 education are relatively equal by gender, the girls are more often the honors graduates (check the Gainesville Sun each spring for pictures of these students and count the numbers of girls and boys). In our Alachua County public schools, there are significantly more girls enrolled in the advanced high school programs. Out of 2,221 students in Advanced Placement courses, 57 percent are females.

Likewise, the International Baccalaureate Program consists of 59 percent girls. The Cambridge Program has 63 percent female enrollment, as does the Santa Fe Community College dual enrollment program.

In an era where college admissions officers of selective institutions are emphasizing the importance of rigorous and challenging high school preparation (read college level work), many more girls than boys are following such a path.

My graduate students and I have engaged in research about this important educational issue for the past two years. In addition to analyzing quantitative data, we have conducted focus groups of middle and high school students, and have interviewed educators and parents about their perspectives on school success skills, achievement and attitudes toward learning.

Educators and parents voiced concern as related to student gender about themes of organization, motivation, study skills and completing assignments, learning styles, role models and mentors, impulsivity and discipline, maturity, and thinking about the future.

The majority of the interviewees expressed that boys as a group are less organized and appear to spend less time on their assignments and in studying, seem less motivated and interested in school and plan less for the future than do girls as a group.

"Perceptions of masculinity" seemed to be another major theme; adults and students of both genders state that boys are more likely to face criticism from their peers for trying to do well, while girls are expected to achieve at a high standard and care about their performance.

There is a concern about the lack of male role models both at the school level and outside of school. The number of male educators is at a 40-year low, and 85 percent of single parent homes are headed by women. Educators and parents expressed that school culture is more female oriented; group work and expectations to comply and to sit still are more closely aligned with girls than with boys.

Several of these themes have implications for educators, parents and community members when considering student gender. These points include increasing the awareness level among parents and educators regarding gender issues and learning, the expansion of a network of male role models, assisting male students in practical organization and study skills, offering choices in assignments and reading materials that may take learning styles and energy levels into account for both genders, and making a concerted effort to encourage male students to think more about future educational and career planning.

Other strategies, such as using single gender groups within classrooms, may warrant trying and evaluating. Collaborating with business partners in schools can assist in developing programs that feature mentoring and tutoring for all ages, as well as possible job shadowing and apprenticeship possibilities for older students.

Setting high academic expectations and encouraging males to enroll in advanced courses or programs in middle and high school can set an achievement trajectory earlier in their academic careers. Increasing home and school communication about future planning may be essential to increase boys' awareness and motivation for future opportunities.

There are several vital programs in Alachua County that seek to provide mentors and role modeling for our youth to foster pride, motivation, appropriate behavior and group bonding for positive gains as students and citizens. Perhaps building on such programs to reach a wider network of boys by utilizing community and school partnerships could be a positive step in extending such influences and promoting cross-generational bonding that seems less prevalent than it has been in the past.

It is in the best interest of all of us for both genders to work to their potential and be successful in school and life in general. Educational achievement and persistence of our young people affect all of us, our future generations and family structures.

The gender issue is not about innate abilities. It is about motivation, encouragement, engagement, developing aspirations for the future and strengths building. Let's meet that challenge as educators, parents and community members for all of our students.

exciting news about my book

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:03:00 +0000

The Today Show has booked me to talk about The Trouble With Boys on September 11th. So has Fox & Friends.

A very nice reporter from Chicago magazine is writing about the book-- especially about the schools in Illinois ---for an article that (I hope) will come out in September.

Some magazines that go directly to educators and school administrators are interested in writing about the book, too.

I'm very pleased and grateful to have the opportunity to get my ideas and research in front of teachers and parents!

Peg responds to AAUW report on Huffington Post

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:48:00 +0000

I was thinking about the AAUW's report so I hauled off and wrote this and sent it to the Huffington Post, which they kindly put up.

Check it out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peg-tyre/who-says-the-boy-crisis-i_b_104172.html

I was very interested to read the comments people posted. Sometimes comment threads can get really wacky really fast. As comments sections go, this one reflected a lot of the deep concern about boys I have been reporting on. See, it's not just your son....

Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Peg) — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:09:00 +0000

Because my book is coming out in the fall, boys and school are very much on my mind. I was dismayed last week when the American Association of University Women issued their report declaring the "boy crisis" in education is over.

This is an organization I respect. For decades, they have boldly demanded equal access to education for women -- and in that way, have changed our world in ways we will only fully appreciate when history is written. But with all due respect, their report is nonsense and a disservice not only to boys but to many smart women who would ordinarily be their supporters.

I realize that the AAUW is an advocacy group. And what I'm trying to do with my book is to present a more balanced view of demographic shifts in our culture. (Gosh, that sounds so much more boring than it actually is.) So we're bound to come to different conclusions. Still, I'm not sure why they felt compelled to issue a report along the lines of the "Boys Are Ok" when the facts tell us otherwise. It erodes their credibility. It confuses some of the very people (women) they are speaking for.