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Originally Posted by A&A
Perhaps a single-sex school, if you can find one.
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I haven't read much on this for the last five years or so, but I thought there was research showing girls benefitted from single sex schools whereas boys' benefitted most in a co-ed environment. Is this no longer considered to be the case?
Most of what I've read recently on the "war" on boys blames the feminization of the classroom (and feminists of course) for boy's declining performace relative to girls, but I've seen very little discussion in the mainstream of the effects on boys' (as a group) performance of such things as:
* NCLB and its side effects (early push for academics, high pressure standardized testing, fewer opportunities for exercise when recess cut, fewer opportunities to manipulate real objects, etc.). With the push for early academics, boys get labeled as slow when they are often just not quite developmentally ready for the task demanded of them.
* sports worship (just how many 24 hour sports stations are there?)
* open anti-intellectual views on the part of many boys, especially in minority populations (i.e. it's not cool to do well in school)
* the push to diagnose and treat behavioral related syndromes
Back to the OP. I don't think there's any one kind of school that's best for boys any more than there would be one for girls. However, all else being equal, I would stay away from any push toward earlier academics, and I'd want there to be frequent breaks and plenty of opportunity for physical release. If the child were going to preschool, I'd choose one that was play based (Waldorf) or Montessori, depending on the child.
