Posted on 01/22/2006 4:45:41 PM PST by Lorianne
If I wanted to destroy a country by causing young men to fail miserably, I would do a couple of things:
1. No fault divorce to make it either to get fathers out of the home.
2. I would take away the stigma from unwed motherhood, maybe even glorify it in books, song and movies and on TV.
3. I would remove all competition from schools and make learning a group activity like a quilting bee.
4. I would feminize the curriculum at all levels so as to turn off as many boys as I could.
5. At a very earlier age I would put as many boys on drugs as I could. Boys shouldn't be boys they should be good littles girls.
6. I would spend billions of dollars giving girls extra help and female oriented programs to give girls a leg up. Boys can fend for themselves.
and finally
7. When it came to curriculum and school programs I would only listen to feminist groups for ideas on how things should be run.
That's that dern puberty thingie...
Yes.
My parents never liked the idea, so I went to a Catholic school just for girls.
You shoulda seen some of the rowdy kids in MY school. They would have completely vindicated your parents. LOL.
LOL, thanks.
I have a son. My cousin has a son. Her son is 5 years younger than mine and drowning in school. He's disrespectful to his teachers, throws his work on the floor and dares then to do anything about it.
My son's been a challenge, but I've been able to manage until now. He's 12 and a half. He father is in Iraq and he thinks that *he's* got the b***s in the house, now. I've had to put him in his place a time or two in the last month. Prove to him that I'm strong enough to lead.
My cousin comes to me in tears and asks me what to do for her son. I'm at a loss. I say, "I just haven't' figured out how to parent from a distance. Boys need to be corrected NOW. They need to respect the adult they're with at the moment and that's all that counts. You can whip that kid all night and he'll *still* act up in school the next day." He doesn't respect his teachers. That's the problem.
When he's old enough, (14 or 15) you can teach him how to turn his greatest weakness into his greatest strength. If he has anger problems, teach him how to turn that anger inward. Not in a self abusive way, but like a drill sergeant in his head, telling him to "get up! Move out! Make yourself proud!" sort of way. My kid doesn't have inner rage. (It's a miracle.) So I've focused on his defiance and willfulness. "Turn it around. Stop standing against *me*, start standing against yourself."
Boys are the most spiritually vulnerable, emotionally fragile people. They need to be raised very carefully. Girls adapt. Physically, they're weaker, but their souls and minds are tougher as children. Be patient. Always let him know that you love him. Give him some space to run free and build a treehouse or blow something up. Teach him how to fight himself.
And don't expect him to thrive in a school system that's specifically geared to girls and adults. This system just won't touch boys' needs. I'm sorry, but that's the difference. Schools are so hostile to boys that they're crushing the little guys. They do *nothing* that appeals to males or give them any nourishment in which to thrive.
May I ask what years did you go to school? I'm simply curious. Last year I put my kids on the bus at 7:15AM and didn't get them back until 4:30PM. They only had a 15 minuets recess after lunch. When I was a kid we had 20 minutes before school, 45 minutes after lunch and another 30 minutes on the playground in the afternoon. And we were still home by 3PM. With no homework.
My eight year old is a deep thinker, but can wander a little if he isn't interested in the topic. BUT, he likes to be able to check things off of the list, and see his own accomplishment. He is in the middle of reading the Harry Potter books... an EXCELLENT reading challenge for him. He so loves the story! Keeping him reading will be my goal.
And going back even farther than the 1950s ( when the teaching professions first began to be watered down ), the teachers who taught immigrants, none of whom knew any English, got those kids, teaching in English ONLY, to speak English well, in a year or so.
He doesn't respect his teachers. That's the problem. (Marie)
To Marie,
Maybe he doesn't respect them because they are stupid. Education majors have the lowest SAT, ACT, and GRE scores on the campus.
The women who taught me as a child, would, today, be lawyers, judges, neurosurgeons etc. They were SMART women and one step ahead of any what any kid in the class was thinking.
Call it "movement" -- or call it "action".
But what it really is that you are describing is COMPETITION!
Boys love to compete. At anything. Sports. Video games. Or reading.
The liberal myth that says competition is bad is dead wrong. We lived to compete.
It is the wise teacher who harnesses this motivation as a teaching aid.
The problem is, it is hard to convince the woman (or man) smart enough to become a neurosurgeon making $200,000 a year to become a middle school teacher making $50,000 to teach 25 children they are afraid to discipline lest they are sued. Teaching is now longer a valued profession, which is why you get the bottom of the I.Q. barrel.
Add another pair to the list! "MGD" and I also make a super team! He HAS to make the kids' lunches because if they don't get an exact even amount of things it bothers him (he counts grapes!) I am the hodgepodge, mishmash disorganized, slightly kooky one that taught him how to have FUN with his kids. He caught on right away (well, after a few years anyway). Our lives are chaotic, but we are happy and grateful to have each other!!
BUT boys were also able to run and play hard during recess!!! That changed in the 70's because of lawsuits and the elimination of competition which make some kids feel bad, etc., etc.
I was horrified when I was told that my son would have to walk on the playground. They would be punished for running AND that is after having to sit still for two hours......I took him out of that kindergarten on the first day and put him in a parent co-op school where they could play dodge ball and run as much as they could. He loved school and excelled---all four of my boys have, but they were never in a regular public school. Some of the charter schools look like they may be good.....If none are around I would homeschool!!!!
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