Billionaire investor Warren Buffett had some sage advice for Washington the other day. ...more

March 15, 2009

Is there a crisis for boys? Peg Tyre, author of the well-researched new book "The Trouble with Boys" responds with a resounding "yes." And it's a crisis that's occurring at all levels of our educational system, from preschool through college, affecting boys and young men and setting the stage for a very different kind of gender gap. The trouble with boys, of course, lies not within boys but within our culture. In response, we must look beyond individual interventions and examine the systems in which our boys are growing up - the family, schools, sports, social networks, and the culture at large. Individual level treatments are necessary, of course, but without examining the underlying causes of these challenges facing boys, we're not truly addressing the problem. Tyre's new book, "The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators Must Do," has ignited a new national conversation about a generation of boys we hope to raise to become productive, caring young men. But in her book, Tyre - an investigative journalist by trade - outlines years of research and reporting from schools nationwide showing the public education system is not geared toward boys' success. Tyre delved into lagging school performance and the great numbers of boys being treated for behavior issues such as attention deficit disorder and found a strong correlation between the testing-based education reforms of the last decade and boys' social and academic battles. In a school environment obsessed with test preparation and highly scheduled lessons, there is less time for hands-on learning, recess, physical education and play-based learning that connect with boys' intellectual and physical strengths. Twenty years ago, experts said the exact same thing about girls - that our sexist culture was creating the widely reported loss of self-esteem, that our schools were responsible for girls' poor achievement in math and science, and that, despite Title IX, girls were not experiencing an equal playing field in sports. Thankfully, girls' advocates stepped up and created effective strategies that helped girls successfully navigate our often troublesome culture and helped adults support girls more effectively. While we haven't solved the problems, we are much closer to a society where girls are empowered, have strong relationships, and opportunities to succeed in school and life. Unfortunately, along the way boys seem to have suffered. Maybe it's the outdated win-lose mentality that still plagues us - if girls are successful, then boys can't be. As with so many of our societal ills, we need to create win-win solutions. That's why at The Ophelia Project and Boys initiative of Tampa Bay we are working together to identify the gender-specific needs of youth and effective strategies for addressing those needs. When we started in 2002, our focus was solely on girls. But now, we work with both genders to address their unique needs. And we're committed to a win-win approach for both girls and boys. While Tyre is focused on the educational problems that need to be addressed so that boys can succeed at school, The Boys Initiative is also concerned about the social and emotional issues boys are facing. We offer programs for boys and young men, as well as trainings for adults who work with boys. Our focus areas for boys and young men are: bullying and violence prevention, leadership development, positive peer support, and creation of a healthy sports culture. We operate programs in both school and community settings. This year we are offering a new program, RISE: Revealing Inner Strengths through Empowerment, for sixth-grade students, on the fall schedule at five public middle schools (Dowdell, Ferrell, Orange Grove, Stewart, and Young). All sixth-graders at these schools are involved in gender-specific programs, in which they participate in team-building, fun learning activities, and meaningful group discussions. All five schools have been enthusiastic partners in the project and we are providing additional training opportunities for school staff as a critical component of the project. We work closely with national experts as we build our programs and services for the Tampa community. One of the most exciting upcoming events is Boys Council Training - the first to be offered in the nation. This innovative new program is a twin venture of the California-based Girls Circle Association, a project of the Tides Center. Ophelia brought the highly effective Girls' Circle program to Tampa in 2003 and we are proud to now be introducing the Boys Council program. The training will take place on October 9-10 and space is limited. The work of the Boys Initiative is truly innovative. We are one of the few communities in the country that has tackled boys' issues with the same energy and commitment as girls' issues. We're not aware of any other boys' projects operating on a community-wide level in the country. Parents, the school system, and other nonprofits are joining us as we address what boys need. That makes me hopeful that, over time, we can find the right local solutions for the national crisis that Tyre documents and raise boys who are successful in both school and life. ...more

September 28, 2008