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School for *BOYS*?
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Anonymous
| I completely disagree with the PP who says to avoid Primary Day. It is an absolutely wonderful and nurturing beginning for any child's beginning years in school. You should visit and see for yourself. |
Anonymous
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Statistically, boys have a harder time in school (K-12). It's not evil or sexist to try to find an educational environment that fits our children's needs.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/157898 http://www.newsweek.com//frameset.aspx/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fnchs%2Fdata%2Fdatabriefs%2Fdb08.htm http://www.michaelgurian.com/the_minds_of_boys.html http://www.pbs.org/opb/raisingcain/ http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2003-08-28-our-view_x.htm http://school.familyeducation.com/gender-studies/school-psychology/38493.html# http://www.readersdigest.ca/mag/2002/05/boys.html http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/boys-underachievement-101 |
Anonymous
| abive -- most of the polls zero in on black and hispanic boys as underachievers...not all boys...so people act as though there is a national crisis for all boys at the expense of the acute needs of the black and hispanic boys. |
Anonymous
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The brickbats over 100% BOY reminded me of the classic Homocil commercial.
But really, there's a lot of variation among kids. That's why it's important to find a school that fits. Good luck to OP. |
Anonymous
| I disagree that most of the literature focuses on underachieving black and hispanic boys. There is now a LARGE gap in college populations of males and females, including a lack of white boys. |
Anonymous
How ironic |
Anonymous
| This is a response to the original post. For boys (both large and small case), I strongly suggest looking at The Heights School in Potomac. Take a look at the website, www.heights.edu, and/or attend the open house this Sunday, 10/25. It is fine to visit before third grade (the entry level year) to get a sense of the place, or send your son to one of their summer camps, such as the "dangerous camp for boys." The Heights has a well-deserved reputation for "understanding boys." ALL of the administrators and teachers are men, which I do not think you will find at the other all-boys schools in the DC area. They certainly understand many boys' need for physical activity and have built that into the curriculum. The school also cultivates a strong sense of adventure in boys, for example in outdoor experiences, builds on their competitve spirits (in athletic contests as well as in "bard competitions" for the best poetic recitations), and fosters a great sense of comaraderie among the boys as well as close relationships between the students and teachers. They really educate the "whole boy" with advisory programs that assist the older boys in setting their own intellectual, physical, spiritual, and moral goals. It is often said that one of the school's objectives is to help parents raise their sons to be the kind of men that they would like their daughters to marry, and indeed, our acquaintance with several of the older boys and recent graduates convinced us to move our boys there from a prestigious (or at least expensive!!) nonsectarian co-ed school. The Heights is independent, but it is served by Opus Dei priests. If you are really "indifferent" to religious affiliation, you may not be comfortable there, because the Heights is unabashedly Catholic, although about 25-30% of the students are not Catholic. The school in my experience also attracts more conservative families (and teachers) than other private schools in the area. Hope this information is helpful to the original poster. |
Anonymous
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to original OP - -
A couple thoughts - As you have probably noticed, at the very early entry points/grades (below third), in metro area there are very few or no options for all boys if that's you wanted. We have boys who at early ages below 2-4 appeared mainly interested in sports. We sent to privates - here is what we noticed. At very early age - Privates with a lot of extras plus a lot of outdoor time/free play - clearly good, many have that. Extras kept them engaged and interested. What surprised us, which would not have happened at many publics that squeeze out the extra - is an interest in art. So an open mind is good. However, with each year, there were also a lot of things in the extras that were not liked and complained about regularly. In contrast, our dd seemed to like everything. Maybe its a boy / girl thing -or maybe its an individual child issue - - but it was clear to us. Another issue , at the private we went to, was sometimes an almost reach to be nonsports oriented. I think it was meant to be "inclusive" to the entire population - but it ended up frustrating my DS at recess / pe. i.e, pe very nonsports - inclusive with dance, other fitness but rarely sports and never sports at the intensity ds enjoyed. As they got older, the fit for them individually became more apparent. We did move to a different fit that matched maybe their boy traits better. Had the emphasis on the things they excelled in and maybe more importantly, motivated and engaged them. Good luck - it can be a journey over time, which I think may also mirror developmental phases too. |
Anonymous
I'm new to this forum, but does Jeff (whoever that is?) have some magical way of determining the gender of posters? I know there's got to be some way to tell which IP addresses are associated with which posts, but many married couples share computers. Can Jeff check the DNA of the person pressing the keys? |
Anonymous
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I'm the parent of a boy who as a toddler loved his toy tools and his toy kitchen, who slept with alternated between sleeping with a babydoll and Diesel 10 the "evil" train from the Thomas the Tank Engine set. He now excels at skateboarding and writing fiction, and loves his soccer team and his drama program. So, I guess that makes him 50% boy?
As a parent of a boy who is pretty consistently gentle, and compliant, who sits still very well and controls his impulses. I constantly hear other parents tell me that the reason that their children don't do those things is because they're "gifted" or "all boy" with an implication that my well behaved son must be "dumb" or "effeminate" (My jaw dropped when I read that word applied to children on this thread). The OP described her son's ability to be gentle to his little brother, as surprising, and implied that his ability to sit still as uncharacteristic for his gender. Trust me, kids pick up on these subtle messages and live down to the expectations they imply. Why not ask "which schools have a lot of recess and PE?". "What school would be best for my son?" and then describe him in his entirety, as a little boy who likes to run and jump and play, and would like a program that balances active play with quieter activities. |
Anonymous
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Isn't it bizarre that women on this board are intimidated or threatened by males who also post and/or read this dribble? Sounds like a case of gender discrimination. It seems the woman in question feels rather secure with a male (Jeff) in charge who will come riding in on his high horse to lay down the law and save the day!
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Anonymous
| Thanks so much, 18:38 and 10:23. |
Anonymous
| Avoid WES |
Anonymous
Actually, WES has lots of recess time for the kids each day, PE twice a week, and movement from one classroom to another. |
Anonymous
| as a mom of three boys, I fully understand what OP means. My first son is more intellectual than "sporty" While he is not artsy I know boys who are. Not all boys like cars, trucks, sports. My second son is def. all boy-mischievious, doesn't sit, LOVES sports and while he too is very intelligent he is much more aggressive than his older brother. The youngest is still a toddler-hard to tell. To deny that there is a fundamental difference between boys and girls is idiotic. They are who they are and there isn't much we can do to change that. |