Saving
our Sons
“Give
a boy enough rope ... and he’ll bring a stray dog home on the end of
it!”
Let’s
hope he doesn’t hang himself with it!
When
it comes to talking about boys these days it’s not all that easy. On one
hand we love them madly on the other side we tend to be scared to death of
what they might get up to.
The
truth is throughout Australia and indeed the world our boys seem to be in
desperate trouble. Not only is their academic performance in school in
decline, (in comparison to their previous performances and not just those of
girls who incidentally are doing better), but they are much more likely to
commit suicide, injure themselves, be involved in violent behaviour, use
drugs.
Why
is this so?
Put
simply the world has changed and our children have changed but our
educational institutions and the way we socialize our children have not.
To
put this in clear perspective you only need to realize that up to 80% of
children who start year one at Primary School next year will go on to jobs
that haven’t been created yet using technology that is yet to be invented,
sometime in their life.
Change
is inevitable!
As
parents and educators we have very little idea of the potential of our
children or how different their lives will be from ours. In my own case my
father only ever had three employers for most of his working life, I have
over 300 a year!
Yet
in schools the 3R’s are still pushed as what really matters (any system
that tells you you need the 3R’s and only one of them starts with R should
be considered a real worry!) The
truth is the really important skills for our children will be more than just
the 3R’s but TLC... not just Tender Loving Care but the ability to THINK, LISTEN and COMMUNICATE. Our children HAVE to
learn how to learn and their success will be determined more by their
Emotional Intelligence rather than their IQ.
The
trouble is our boys are still being raised to fight in the Second World War!
They are brave beyond sense, they stick together with their mates, they hate
those who are different and once disciplined are capable of carrying out
almost anything! They are ill equipped to cope with the world as it is, let
alone with the world as it will be.
There
is hope though and it comes through sites like this one...
The
figures are too compelling to be ignored and more and more governments are
becoming aware of the problems. Many schools are trying hard to address the
issues involved and most parents are concerned enough to learn more about it
all... let’s face it, most of us did more training in learning how to
drive a car than learning how to raise a child.
The
answers lie in the smaller things in life rather than the bigger things.
Remembering
to have sense of humour
(if you don’t and you live around any male you are cactus!),
learning how to think
before we do anything (because you’ll find yourself yelling one day and
think “Shit! I’ve turned into my mother!”) and learning how to find functioning
adults to share your journey with and so that your child gets to
be parented by more than just you.
It’s
the little things like this that just may save our sons.
by
Greg Mitchell
Greg
will be giving two lectures in Perth during November. Details as follows:
Saving
Our Sons Lecture : Tuesday 7–9pm November 6 & 13
For more information or to make a booking telephone
UWA Extension on
08 9380 2433.
Greg Mitchell has
been engaged with the world of education since he was four years old when he
started kindergarten. Since then he has been a student, a parent, a teacher,
a writer, a cartoonist, an assistant principal, a university lecturer and a
consultant. He has worked for both the Catholic and Government education
systems and is currently enjoying being self-employed. (He finally found a
boss he likes!)
Greg suffers from enthusiasm, a condition which helps him deal happily with
issues such as Stress Management, Collaborative Learning, Boys in Education,
Conflict Resolution, Resilience, Values Education and Building Collaborative
Communities.
You
can chat to Greg, or organise a workshop for your school, parent group or
business at mitch@space.net.au
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