The Burden of Being a Boy

The Burden of Being a Boy: Bolstering Educational and Emotional Well-Being in Young Males delves deeply into the current challenges and struggles facing young boys and adolescent males. An extremely timely topic, American boys are experiencing failure in educational and other realms. While acknowledging the importance of supporting girls and young women, at the same time our boys are falling far behind. Their lack of success shows up as school disciplinary problems, educational underachievement, gender role confusion, and threats to their mental health and wellbeing. This book offers concrete and evidence-based intervention for boys and young males, while engendering hope and solutions to impact change. I recommend that everyone involved in parenting, educating, coaching and/or working with boys and young males read this book to better understand the current state of the topic and how to become more effective role models, mentors, and community resources. -- William M. Fogel, PhD, LMHC, ABSNP; School Psychologist, Four Rivers Charter Public School, Greenfield, MA
At a time in history when boys and men are failing in the classroom and in many areas of life at record numbers, The Burden of Being a Boy: Bolstering Educational and Emotional Well-Being in Young Males offers a critical examination of the pitfalls and problems that face the contemporary boy. Beginning almost from birth, boys, and especially boys of color, face challenges that need to be addressed such as an education system geared towards women and navigating gender, race and ethnicity issues. This book explores theories of male development, educational strategies to promote engagement, as well as parenting skills and mentoring in an effort to engage the reader in a positive conversation on how best raise our boys to be successful members of society. Teachers, parents, and counselors would benefit from reading this book as a means to support our boys as they become the men of tomorrow. -- Martha H. von Mering, executive officer of special education & related services, Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MA
Boyhood and male adolescence are in crisis in our country. The authors of The Burden of Being a Boy: Bolstering Educational and Emotional Well-Being in Young Males have done an excellent job in highlighting the confusion, disengagement, and even despair that so many young males experience during this time of rapidly changing roles and expectations. They document the struggles that boys have in finding their way to manhood without the traditional rites of passages, male-centric societal roles, and mentors and guides that have always guided their developmental path. With so many fathers geographically and emotionally absent and social networks frayed, too many young men are floundering in the face of figuring out who and what they are supposed to be. The book captures some of the angst that they face, as well as its psychological costs. Fortunately, each of the chapters conveys both the challenges and promising practices that those who care about young males can use to ensure a transition to positive and healthy masculinity. In doing so, the book provides a blueprint for educating, parenting, and just generally supporting boys and teens so that they can develop into the “whole men” they were meant to be. -- Judith L. Klimkiewicz, EdD, senior consultant for K-12 College/Career Education and Workforce Development, Commissioner's Office, Massachusetts, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, superintendent of schools, retired, Nashoba Valley Technical School District, MA
The Burden of Being a Boy: Bolstering Educational and Emotional Well-Being in Young Males takes an in-depth look at the issues surrounding boys of the 21st century who are struggling in record numbers in the classroom, on the playground, and in the community. Armed with a solid understanding of theory, the book turns to look at educational and parenting practices as well as how intentional mentoring and counseling can strengthen our fragile young men. Helping this next generation of young men to have strong friendships, unique identities, and strong personalities that can lead us forward is the crux of this book. This is the beginning of a much larger conversation about how to best help boys become men and should be read by mothers, fathers, counselors, and teachers to name just a few. -- Anne E. Mead Ed.D, administrator, Danbury Public Schools, Danbury, CT