Boys Will Be Boys

It wasn't until I started coaching that I truly appreciated what my mother must have gone through. Seeing the interactions amongst a group of teenage boys made me feel bad for her. You see, my mom was surrounded by boys. The constant habits and behaviors of my father, my brother and myself must have been truly confusing and tiresome. But what could she do? You know...boys will be boys. 

That phrase has probably excused more bad behavior and reinforced more stereotypes than any other set of words in the English language. Boys in our culture are expected to display certain qualities. It is not enough to be born male. Instead, boys often have to "prove" their masculinity by displaying traits like toughness, athleticism, self-sufficiency and stoicism. When boys display these attributes, but otherwise break social rules, we are quick to write them off as male behavior. Think about it...you've never heard anyone use that phrase when observing a boy reading, being polite or exhibiting kindness. Those are not culturally masculine things for boys to do. 

So (once again) what does this have to do with school? Statistically, it has a lot to do with us. The EVAAS growth scores from last year's EOCs can be broken down into various subgroups. Any guesses which groups underperformed? That's right, males and particularly minority males. But can we just ignore this and write it off as "boys will be boys" behavior? After all, we had some great sports seasons, and our boys did well in those areas. It's hard to get boys to like to do things like read and write and learn about things that don't automatically appeal to their masculine interests. But let's be honest, if they can read a defense, they should be able to read an author's intent. If they can understand sports statistics, then they can read scientific data. Let's stop giving our boys a pass on poor classroom performance and bad habits. Instead, let's truly teach them that "manning up" means taking care of all of your responsibilities, not just the ones that they like.