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Thursday, January 14, 2010

Raising Boyz 2 Men

This site was birthed out of my sincere hope of being able to change the lives of little boys every where. I have worked in education in various aspects for the last ten years, and my niche has always seemed to be working with little boys that teachers, parents, principals, and others have labeled as incorrigible. I often find that it’s not the child that needs changing but the methods in which we try to reach and teach them. Some traditional teaching methods go against the natural processes of male development (which we will explore in great detail later) and make young boys feel inferior to their female counter parts. Other "best practices" of teaching have proven not to be the best practices for engaging young males.

We all know that girls and boys are different, but are we aware of how these differences could and often do affect the way each gender learns. Because boys are wired different they display different behaviors. Frequently the natural activeness of boys is considered inappropriate classroom behavior. Some of the characteristics of typical little boy behaviors have now been listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) as part of the diagnosis criteria for various forms of Attention-Deficit Disorders, as well as other social/emotional disorders. Boys are three times more likely to be diagnosed with one of these disorders than girls. 85% of all stimulants (drugs used to treat social and behavior disorders)prescribed in the United States are to boys.  With in depth research and the implementation of alternative treatment methods these alarming statistics could be drastically altered. In recent years one of the alternative methods being used is gender based education, which has quickly become a hot topic of debates between schools, parents, educators and specialist. Public schools in Florida, Ohio and Kentucky have already began to implement gender based classroom options in some of their public school systems with much success showing the need for such classrooms out side of the private all boy academy's.  

This blog is intended to be a resource for myself and visitors of this site. Your feedback and comments are welcomed and needed. Feel free to submit topics for discussions, post your thoughts, submit articles, links, books and other pertinent information to be added to the site. I am excited about the site and hope you are as well!

2 comments:

  1. WOW! I am so proud to see a young African American mother taken a proactive stance on the issues facing America youth especially African American boys. Love the title of your blog and look forward to more..

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  2. Keisha S. HortonJanuary 15, 2010

    This is an awesome topic for a BLOG! As a mother of two boys I can relate to the challenges mentioned. Thanks so much for letting our voice be heard!

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