The problem of boys' underachievement is an issue across the entire developed world and has presented teachers and early years practitioners with challenges as well as opportunities. Only in Scandinavia do boys achieve at roughly the same rate as girls and there they don't start school formally until they are seven. The underachievement of boys continues to be high on the government agenda. For many boys in this country and elsewhere, the demands made upon them in the Early Years to read and write, before they are emotionally and physically ready to do so, can give many an early taste of failure from which many of them never fully recover. This book will address the issues that impact on achievement.
The star of "The Big Bang Theory" and author of the #1 bestseller "Girling Up" puts her Ph.D. to work to talk to teen boys about the science and pressures of growing up male in today's world.
This much-needed book will help schools and, by extension, society to better understand and identify the promise, potential, and possibilities of Black boys. Drawing from their wealth of experience in early childhood education, the authors present an asset- and strengths-based view of educating Black boys. This positive approach enables practitioners and school leaders to recognize, understand, and cultivate the diversity of social skills of Black boys in the early grades (pre-K–3rd grade). Each chapter begins with a vignette to illustrate what is lost when Black boys are prevented from participating freely in boyhood, having to instead attend to adult and peer interactions and attitudes that view them as “bad boys” and “troublemakers.” This accessible book provides teachers with classroom strategies to help young Black boys achieve their highest potential, along with other resources for supporting their social-emotional development, such as a reading list of authentic multicultural children’s books with Black boys as protagonists. “The Brilliance of Black Boys claims new ground to advance knowledge and practice that can change the narrative about Black boys and their early schooling.” —From the Foreword by James Earl Davis, Temple University “Wright’s uncommon insight into the world of Black boys unveils a new narrative and gives educators a formula for turning opportunity into advantage.” —Carol Brunson Day, past president, NAEYC “The Brilliance of Black Boys provides counter-stories, theories, paradigms, and resources to skillfully illustrate the strengths of Black boys. Readers will not be disappointed.” —Donna Y. Ford, Vanderbilt University
Examines research findings and provides strategies to help teachers break through the barriers and raise boys' achievement. The emphasis is not simply increasing academic achievement but developing a 'caring masculinity'.
Boys can be anything they want to be! This timely book joins and expands the gender-role conversation and gives middle-grade boys a welcome alternative message: that masculinity can mean many things. You won't find any stories of slaying dragons or saving princesses here. In Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different, author Ben Brooks-with the help of Quinton Wintor's striking full-color illustrations-offers a welcome alternative narrative: one that celebrates introverts and innovators, sensitivity and resilience, individuality and expression. It's an accessible compilation of 75 famous and not-so-famous men from the past to the present day, every single one of them a rule-breaker and stereotype-smasher in his own way. Entries include Frank Ocean, Salvador Dali, Beethoven, Barack Obama, Ai Weiwei, Jesse Owens, and so many more-heroes from all walks of life and from all over the world.
Launching THE BBOY COLLECTION / THE I'M A BOY COLLECTION, we introduce "I'M A BRILLIANT LITTLE BLACK BOY Finally a gloriously designed and joyful, colorful picture book to celebrate our little Black boys with LOVE Meet our newest character, Joshua He is a little boy who has big dreams and ideas as BRILLIANT as the stars With all of his good friends, Joshua's days are filled with adventures where books, a telescope, a red-superhero cape, rhyming hip-hop verse, twinkling fireflies that light up the magical summer skies above a card board fort in the park-- and so much more -- is just what boyhood innocence and imagination is all about. Kind, smart, creative and always thinking-- Joshua learns that through studying, good deeds, working hard and aiming to be brilliant . . . we can really shine
Mayim Bialik, Jeopardy! host and star of The Big Bang Theory, puts her Ph.D. to work as she talks to teens about the science of growing up and getting ahead. A must-have book for all teenage girls. Growing up as a girl in today’s world is no easy task. Juggling family, friends, romantic relationships, social interests and school…sometimes it feels like you might need to be a superhero to get through it all! But really, all you need is little information. Want to know why your stomach does a flip-flop when you run into your crush in the hallway? Or how the food you put in your body now will affect you in the future? What about the best ways to stop freaking out about your next math test? Using scientific facts, personal anecdotes, and wisdom gained from the world around us, Mayim Bialik, the star of The Big Bang Theory, shares what she has learned from her life and her many years studying neuroscience to tell you how you grow from a girl to a woman biologically, psychologically and sociologically. And as an added bonus, Girling Up is chock-full of charts, graphs and illustrations -- all designed in a soft gray to set them apart from the main text and make them easy to find and read. Want to be strong? Want to be smart? Want to be spectacular? You can! Start by reading this book. Praise for Girling Up: "Bialik is encouraging without being preachy . . . many teens will be drawn to this engaging and useful book." --Booklist "Ultimately, the author stresses that 'Girling Up' does not end with adulthood—it is a lifelong journey. Thanks to Bialik, readers have a road map to make this trip memorable." --School Library Journal "Written in conversational style . . . the tone remains understanding, supportive, and respectful of the reader’s individuality throughout the text." --VOYA
The stunning success of Reviving Ophelia, Mary Pipher’s landmark book, showed a true and pressing need to address the emotional lives of girls. Now, finally, here is the book that answers our equally timely and critical need to understand our boys. In Raising Cain, Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., and Michael Thompson, Ph.D., two of the country’s leading child psychologists, share what they have learned in more than thirty-five years of combined experience working with boys and their families. They reveal a nation of boys who are hurting—sad, afraid, angry, and silent. Statistics point to an alarming number of young boys at high risk for suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, violence and loneliness. Kindlon and Thompson set out to answer this basic, crucial question: What do boys need that they’re not getting? They illuminate the forces that threaten our boys, teaching them to believe that “cool” equals macho strength and stoicism. Cutting through outdated theories of “mother blame,” “boy biology,” and "testosterone,” Kindlon and Thompson shed light on the destructive emotional training our boys receive—the emotional miseducation of boys. Through moving case studies and cutting-edge research, Raising Cain paints a portrait of boys systematically steered away from their emotional lives by adults and the peer “culture of cruelty”—boys who receive little encouragement to develop qualities such as compassion, sensitivity, and warmth. The good news is that this doesn't have to happen. There is much we can do to prevent it. Kindlon and Thompson make a compelling case that emotional literacy is the most valuable gift we can offer our sons, urging parents to recognize the price boys pay when we hold them to an impossible standard of manhood. They identify the social and emotional challenges that boys encounter in school and show how parents can help boys cultivate emotional awareness and empathy—giving them the vital connections and support they need to navigate the social pressures of youth. Powerfully written and deeply felt, Raising Cain will forever change the way we see our sons and will transform the way we help them to become happy and fulfilled young men.
Selected as one of the Top 5 Educational Books by Literacy News The signs and statistics are undeniable: boys are falling behind in school. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the biggest culprits are not video games, pop culture, or female-dominated schools biased toward girls. The real problem is that boys have been thrust into a bewildering new school environment that demands high-level reading and writing skills long before they are capable of handling them. Lacking the ability to compete, boys fall farther and farther behind. Eventually, the problem gets pushed into college, where close to 60% of the graduates are women. In a time when even cops, construction foremen, and machine operators need post-high school degrees, that's a problem. Why Boys Fail takes a hard look at how this ominous reality came to be, how it has worsened in recent years, and why attempts to resolve it often devolve into finger-pointing and polarizing politics. But the book also shares some good news. Amidst the alarming proof of failure among boys-around the world-there are also inspiring case studies of schools where something is going right. Each has come up with realistic ways to make sure that every student-male and female-has the tools to succeed in school and later in life. Educators and parents alike will take heart in these promising developments, and heed the book's call to action-not only to demand solutions but also to help create them for their own students and children.
