School Has Become Too Hostile to Boys

Submitted by Matt on Wed, 2013-08-21 11:56

Article here. Excerpt:

'As school begins in the coming weeks, parents of boys should ask themselves a question: Is my son really welcome? A flurry of incidents last spring suggests that the answer is no. In May, Christopher Marshall, age 7, was suspended from his Virginia school for picking up a pencil and using it to “shoot” a “bad guy” — his friend, who was also suspended. A few months earlier, Josh Welch, also 7, was sent home from his Maryland school for nibbling off the corners of a strawberry Pop-Tart to shape it into a gun. At about the same time, Colorado’s Alex Evans, age 7, was suspended for throwing an imaginary hand grenade at “bad guys” in order to “save the world.”

In all these cases, school officials found the children to be in violation of the school’s zero-tolerance policies for firearms, which is clearly a ludicrous application of the rule. But common sense isn’t the only thing at stake here. In the name of zero tolerance, our schools are becoming hostile environments for young boys.'

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Comments

Schools are an unsafe place for all children, but boys have a particular concern. Boys are often called out for a "diagnosis" as an indication that their learning style or behavior is unacceptable. They have to suffer through curriculum and teaching styles that are fit for girls.

Boys have way more discipline write-ups and suspensions, and now schools are linking up with police and courts when it comes to discipline, so male students often get a criminal record starting with their behavior in school. Discipline issues that in the past would typically be handled by schools and a phone call to the parents now involve the police, DSHS, criminal charges, court, etc.

I also want to clarify about my sometimes conflicting positions on boys, ADD, and behavior and learning disabilities (autism, ADD/ADHD, Tourette's, bi-polor, etc). I do have some conflict as to wether I believe these diagnosis are made up or real. There is compelling evidence that women choosing to have babies much later in life is effecting male babies and resulting in skyrocketing diagnosis of these conditions. Also pre-natal behavior/lifestyle of the mother, not breastfeeding, newborns being exposed to too much stimuli as in daycares, etc. may contribute to these learning and social disabilities. But on the other-hand schools get extra money for every disability they diagnose. So I am not sure what to think about all these diagnosis.

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Submitted by Kris on Wed, 2013-08-21 21:58