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Academic underachievers (Boys, discipline, dropouts, grades, medications, etc.)
The Washington Times ^ | January 22, 2006 | Joyce Howard Price

Posted on 01/21/2006 11:25:45 PM PST by neverdem

    First lady Laura Bush and a growing number of physicians, educators and psychologists say Americans need to wake up and see that boys lag far behind girls in school, and then demand that something be done.


    Mrs. Bush, mother of two grown daughters, speaks at conferences and in interviews about the declining status of boys in today's learning environment. She has charged that boys are being overlooked.


    "I think we need to pay more attention to boys. I think we've paid a lot of attention to girls for the last 30 years ... but we have actually neglected boys," Mrs. Bush told Parade magazine early last year.


    William Pollack, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, agrees.


    "Boys are suffering. They are sitting in classrooms where they can't perform at the same level as girls and so cannot compete with girls," he says. "As a result, they have lower self-esteem. The bottom line is that they are suffering both academically and emotionally."


    Mr. Pollack, who also serves as director of the Center for Men and Young Men at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., points out that both upper-class Caucasian boys and minority boys are failing.


    "All in all, most schools across the country today are boy-uncentered," he says.


    Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens, co-authors of "The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life," back up claims that there is a "crisis in male education" with data from the Department of Education, the State Department and other sources. They point out that boys:


    •Receive the majority of D and F grades given to students in most schools, as high as 70 percent.


    •Create 80 percent of classroom discipline problems.


    •Account for 80 percent of high school...

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: District of Columbia
KEYWORDS: boys; girls; malestudents; school
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To: FOG724
My boys learned at an early age that you can't trust teachers, schools and district administration. (Fog724)

To Fog,

Can you see how damning this statement is of government schools?

I have NEVER once met a parent who sends their child to private school that they teach their children to distrust their private school teachers or principals. Never!

Why are you doing this to your children? Why do you have them in an environment where they can not trust their teachers? How can this be good for them?
121 posted on 01/22/2006 3:54:22 PM PST by wintertime
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To: wintertime
Sure, charter schools are so much better.*sarcasm off* That is why 1/2 of the ones in Washington DC perform LOWER on tests than the public school kids. According to today's Post many will not have their charters renewed this year. What a waste of taxpayer dollars. When private schools cannot come up to the bar set by DC schools, then something is seriously wrong.


There is no replacement for involved parents, be it a homeschool, private school or public school. I have been teaching since 1984 and I have seen wonderful successes and HORRIFIC failures in every situation. I have an 8th grader now that begs me 2-3 times a week to talk to his mom. She is "homeschooling" his sister for her 5th grade year and according to him the only thing she has memorized is the TV schedule. He has seen his mom fill in her workbooks to show to his dad how great she is doing. I give him books to take home to read with her. It is the only thing I can do. I'm not in charge of her child, she is. On the other hand, my college student is rooming with a former home schooled student and is thrilled to have such a nice kid. We were worried about too much partying, but it hasn't happened. No one group has a monopoly on excellence or failure.

122 posted on 01/22/2006 3:59:34 PM PST by Thoeting
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To: kiki04
I do homeschool and I will freep mail you the names of the people who have the homeschool lists. I don't use a curriculum right now. I am pretty sure I will as my kids get older. (Altho there are plenty of great curriculum's out there.)

This sounds sort of granola but it works for us for the time being- I am an unschooler. My best advice to you is to join a local homeschool group and ask questions, volunteer for anything you can to do with your school district, and start reading everything you can get your hands on!

I did research for three years and wrote up a business plan style research paper before I decided to homeschool. It was a difficult decision and it weighed heavy upon my mind for a long, long time. Don't let anyone tell you that you are starting too early- Your child's education is an important thing to spend time on. And remember this- no matter what you decide you will make the right choice for your family - if you take the time really think about it from your heart. Good luck!

123 posted on 01/22/2006 4:03:37 PM PST by Diva Betsy Ross (Embrace peace- Hug an American soldier- the real peace keepers.)
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To: wintertime
**smirk** I have NEVER once met a parent who sends their child to private school that they teach their children to distrust their private school teachers or principals. Never! Either you are lucky or just closed off. I know of many situations, including one with my older daughter where a teacher took her to a bathroom and locked her in there for hours. No, we really don't know how long it was. In addition, this same teacher PULLED UP HER SKIRT, PULLED DOWN HER PANTIES AND PADDLED HER ON HER BOTTOM OVER HIS KNEE! Her offense? She forgot her homework. We put her in a public school until we could make arrangments for me to homeschool, but she fell in love with her teacher and we let her stay. She told me it was nice to be in a room where you didn't get slapped for talking too much. Of course I reported it and the teacher was let go. So what? the damage was done to my little one at the age of 6 that no money or firing could ever fix. My husband and I learned then to never trust another adult with our child and to pay visits all the time to the classroom. As I said earlier, no form of school has a monopoly on success or failure. We are all humans working with humans and nothing will be perfect.
124 posted on 01/22/2006 4:06:10 PM PST by Thoeting
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To: wintertime

Man, I was wondering when you were going to get to me. I thought you were too busy watching Mean Girls or something. I was starting to feel left out.

I am glad that I have the privilege of associating with so many good parents around here.

I agree, that some advice to be dished out is probably not politically correct, as you are good at doing.

Family is of the highest importance that's for sure. And I know you full well know that because you were a good Mom. I am thankful for many good moms and dads out there.


125 posted on 01/22/2006 4:09:08 PM PST by moog
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To: wintertime

My job is not to "influence" parents. If parents have to go elsewhere for "influence" then it's not good. I do compliment many parents on the good job they are doing.

Yes, I agree that single parenthood is not the best thing, having both parents is, though sometimes there is a crumb of a spouse who leaves one with all the rearing to do.
Like you, I am glad I had good parents to raise me and from whom I learned a lot.


126 posted on 01/22/2006 4:13:51 PM PST by moog
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To: Thoeting

Um.... you really do not want to get Winter's dander(uff) up about homeschooling. I personally have nothing against it and respect those who do because I do see it as a viable choice. I appreciate the ones we have around here.

But I do agree completely with your statement about involved parents. Make that TWO involved parents. It all starts in the home.


127 posted on 01/22/2006 4:18:15 PM PST by moog
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To: Diva Betsy Ross

I appreciate your remarks too. Things that my own mom followed. Just curious, are you related to someone in the military?


128 posted on 01/22/2006 4:19:54 PM PST by moog
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To: Politicalmom

There are no good public schools in Georgia. Not by my standards anyway.


129 posted on 01/22/2006 4:20:07 PM PST by Clemenza ("Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other “sins” are invented nonsense." -- Robert)
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To: moog
Perhaps one of the advantages of having taught for over 20 years in Catholic, Baptist and public schools in elementary, middle and high school is that I have a perspective that is unique. I've seen a range of parents, children and behaviors that spans the entire gamut. I could tell you stories for hours about what I've seen and it would probably only be interesting to me.


But this is a fact. Homeschooling, done right, is the best situation for any child. It is one on one with instant feedback in an comfortable environment. Done wrong, it can be a nightmare beyond all imagination. Several years ago, I had a student who had been "home schooled" her whole life. She was almost non-verbal. Her expressive vocabulary was under 500 words; her receptive was somewhat larger. The local child protective services had taken her from her parents. She screamed when she saw crowds of kids; she ran down halls yelling at the top of her lungs. It was a nightmare for her and everyone else. About 6 weeks into her 6th grade year, she was institutionalized for repeated suicide attempts.

I don't care whose feathers I ruffle. You know if you do a good job. Keep on doing it. But don't stick your head in the sand and pretend that every parent out there is good and righteous because some use the excuse of "homeschooling" as a dodge for abuse.

From what I've read here at FR, these are good people who do the right thing day after day. That's great. Wish we could clone them.

130 posted on 01/22/2006 4:29:05 PM PST by Thoeting
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To: Thoeting
I do know of some homeschooled children who are violent brats and some wonderful- well behaved geniuses who go to public school. It is indeed good old fashioned parenting which makes the biggest difference in the life of a child.
131 posted on 01/22/2006 4:33:50 PM PST by Diva Betsy Ross (Embrace peace- Hug an American soldier- the real peace keepers.)
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To: Diva Betsy Ross
Exactamundo!


And to of course be entirely fair, I've seen some public school brats that if they showed up in my neighborhood, I'd lock the doors.


No real criticism of the Catholic schools I taught in, with the exception of REAL over crowding. My smallest class had 35 in it. But, good kids. I may go back to a private school when I end my time where I am now.

132 posted on 01/22/2006 4:37:04 PM PST by SoftballMominVA
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To: Thoeting
Actually, I'm a teacher too. I probably haven't seen as many situations as you, but I have seen a GREAT many in 10 years. But no matter how much experience I have, I can never stop learning, that's for sure.

Heck, we were pretty "sheltered" too. We never had cable TV or video game systems (even though they were widely available), our TV time was limited, and my parents kept strict tabs on our friends, where we went, and expected us back at a certain time. If we weren't we lost privileges.

I don't care about whatever labels anyone wants to put on it, I respect good parents period.

There are a GREAT many people here at FR who are good, genuine people. I have found that out after going on a local forum with a lot of liberals. They keep going on these anti-Christian and anti-Bush rants. But they can't stand my one-liners. Hehe. I even made one say uncle. HOHO As far as clones leave Korea the heck a clone.

133 posted on 01/22/2006 4:40:37 PM PST by moog
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To: Diva Betsy Ross

The girl my daughter rooms with is a gem. I had forgotten that kids other than mine said "Yes Ma'am' and "No Ma'am" She was homeschooled through 12th grade. Her mom was able to teach her Calculus well enough that she passed the placement exam and was exempt from it. I was impressed to say the least.


134 posted on 01/22/2006 4:42:08 PM PST by Thoeting
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To: moog
I absolutely shudder to think where we will be in 10 years. Things have changed so much since my time began in 1984. I am currently teaching 8th grade English--soon to be high school --you?
135 posted on 01/22/2006 4:44:54 PM PST by Thoeting
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To: neverdem

Lower mandatory school age to 12 years old. Schools that are relevant to life will spring up.


136 posted on 01/22/2006 4:47:30 PM PST by kenavi ("Remember, your fathers sacrificed themselves without need of a messianic complex." Ariel Sharon)
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To: Thoeting

I absolutely shudder to think where we will be in 10 years. Things have changed so much since my time began in 1984. I am currently teaching 8th grade English--soon to be high school --you?

First grade. I am trying everything I can do at least to be a force for good in my own community. It is a fast growing community, but I don't want it to lose its small-town charm. I happen to live in the neighborhood I teach, but I wouldn't if I taught older grades probably.:)


137 posted on 01/22/2006 4:48:01 PM PST by moog
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To: moog

Uh-oh 3 teachers on a FR thread at once. The apocalypse is near!!!:)


138 posted on 01/22/2006 4:52:09 PM PST by moog
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To: moog

CORRECTION. All of you wonderful parents are teachers. I am merely a bystander. Sorry about that.


139 posted on 01/22/2006 4:55:05 PM PST by moog
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To: moog

Quick! Ping Amelia! That'll be 4!


140 posted on 01/22/2006 4:57:53 PM PST by SoftballMominVA
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