2. SCHOOLS FOR BOYS SEEK FIRST TO BUILD GOOD MEN. In addition to pursuing high academic achievement, schools for boys share many broad goals: to promote well-being, to develop resilience and empathy, and to see that each student achieves his potential. But none is more important than the essential goal of building good character and, by extension, of helping each boy and young man make responsible choices and live an honorable life. A commitment to integrity and a strong ethical foundation are a school’s first priorities, and educating students about how to become a good man informs every aspect of the day. Some schools do this teaching with an official code of conduct; others have developed a formal character education curriculum; a great many teach critical values through their faith- based affiliations. Often it is the experience of performing with the orchestra or playing on the soccer team that affords a lesson in courage, perseverance, or teamwork. Each initiative is strengthened by outstanding faculty who model ethical behavior daily, and also by student leaders, peer counselors, and other mentors. Boys learn that there are clear expectations to do what is right. They also learn that there are many routes to becoming a good man. Most schools have a program of service learning that encourages students to work within the greater community to help others. At some schools, those programs are conducted with area girls’ schools, giving boys the opportunity to interact in a respectful and supportive way with their female peers.
3. SCHOOLS FOR BOYS KNOW THAT BOYS DEVELOP AND LEARN IN DIFFERENT WAYS. It’s a simple fact that boys and girls grow at a different pace. Boys’ strengths are different from those of girls. While girls generally develop earlier physically and socially, refining their reading and writing skills sooner, boys are more spatial and visual by nature, and they demonstrate a natural affinity for areas like abstract mathematics. They are also hard- wired to learn more easily through action than words. Using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), researchers have observed differences between the developing male and female brain that demonstrate why boys and girls learn in different ways. Boys’ brains are wired to require movement, space, action, and rest. They also learn better when material is presented in small portions. Thus, a typical coed classroom that favors verbal and auditory learning can put an active boy at a disadvantage. One of the important advantages of a single-sex education is the opportunity it presents to create a learning environment, literally and figuratively, that accommodates what boys and young men need. In a school that is boy-centered, teachers introduce more kinesthetic and sensory experiences into their curriculum, engaging boys more fully in their learning. Educators like Abigail Norfleet James ( Teaching the Male Brain: How Boys Think, Feel, and Learn in School ) have translated brain theory into classroom practices for teachers of boys and young men, identifying tangible ways to address natural weaknesses as well as strengths.
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