It would be prudent to look at the societal aspects that play into the revelation that boys, as a whole, are not doing as well in school as girls. In general, boys also spend much more time in front of a screen than girls. I work in an elementary school, and I have children, primarily the boys, as young as 5, telling me they spend most of their free time playing video games. In many cases these young boys are playing violent video games. In addition, they tell me about the PG, PG-13 and sometimes R rated movies they watch.
When young children are exposed to rapidly changing images on a screen and violence touted as entertainment, it is often hard to keep their interest in the classroom where a teacher, even with technology and motivating lessons, can’t compete with the speed and sensation seeking needs of the way their brains have developed. An all out campaign of making parents aware that it their job to set limits, and not the media’s right to raise their children, could go a long way in boys spending more of their leisure time reading, playing board games and interacting with others to develop many of the skills needed to attend and do better in school.
The fix-it for this concern is not the schools’ responsibility but that of parents and the society at large to take an active role in helping the general population of boys be more active in life and less passive in front of a screen.
Lisa Emerling
Mill Creek
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