The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life (Paperback)

by Michael Gurian (Author), Kathy Stevens (Contributor)
Key Phrases: learning fragility, gender plasticity, learning depression, Gurian Institute, Did You Know, Helping Boys Learn Reading (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Gurian, author of The Wonder of Boys (1996), and Stevens investigate the "male learning style" that is so often at odds with current educational practices, leaving the mistaken impression that boys are difficult to manage and teach. The authors begin by detailing the crisis faced by boys--lower grades, greater discipline problems, higher dropout rates. They then explore research on the differences between the male and the female brain that account for their differences in conforming to current teaching methods. Throughout the book, Gurian and Stevens offer advice to parents and teachers on how to encourage learning based on the particular strengths of boys, from bursts of attention and physical play with infant boys to appropriate discipline as they grow older to developing a more boy-friendly curriculum at schools. The authors emphasize that their strategies are aimed at boosting the learning and academic performance of boys without disadvantaging girls in any way. Parents and teachers concerned about teaching and disciplining boys will appreciate this thought-provoking perspective. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
“…I found the authors’ thesis compelling” (Times Educational Supplement, 13^th January 2006)

“…practical…the authors offer step-by-step guidance to help boys…” (Human Givens, Vol 12 (3), 2005)

"…(Gurian’s) humane, thought-provoking strategy for engaging boy’s…" (The Times T2, 4^th November 2005) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (April 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787995282
• ISBN-13: 978-0787995287
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,537 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Boys' Educational Crisis, September 9, 2005

By	Robert W. Kellemen "Doc. K." (Crown Point, IN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life (Hardcover)

Gurian and Stevens use scientific research to diagnose what every alert parent and educator has been thinking for over a century--boys' brains and bodies were NOT made for the modern western educational system. Our system forces boys to be taught in sedentary settings, using learning styles unfit for their masculine minds.

Gurian and Stevens begin by documenting the boys' crisis in education. Such research, though not novel, when pulled together like this, rattles our cages enough to gain and keep our attention.

However, the true strength of "The Minds of Boys" is its thorough, detailed, specific, field-tested solutions. In area after area, "Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life" empowers parents to equip their sons to overcome the many obstacles that they face in the school setting.

One can only hope that educators themselves will read and heed the advice of Gurian and Stevens. If they do, then the next hundred years could produce a much more boy-friendly educational system.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and the forthcoming, "Beyond the Suffering."

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This will help me raise my kids, September 5, 2005

By	Hilary Brown (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life (Hardcover)

When my son was just born, THE WONDER OF BOYS came out. I'm an engineer who also loves being a mother, but I sort of think like a guy. So I thought, "I understand guys--raising a son won't be tough." It has been tough, indeed. There was so much I, who had no brothers, just didn't get about boys. Michael Gurian's very scientific but very empathic approach to kids really helped me ten years ago.

Then, a few days ago, I got THE MINDS OF BOYS. Now Gurian, teaming up with educator Kathy Stevens, has written the sequel. This one is all about how to help boys in school. It comes none too soon for me. My son is going into fifth grade and needs help especially with motivation. Thank you, Michael and Kathy, for your two chapters on how to motivate our sons.

Truthfully, I think it's about time someone wrote this book. There's been a lot of emphasis on girls in school, and I'm glad of it, but I'm seeing a lot of boys around me, my son's friends, who are having trouble focusing in school. This new book will help a lot of us moms (and dads).

Lastly, I really like the emphasis in the book on getting everyone involved in a kid's education--grandparents, neighbors, friends. This is important for all kids, boys and girls.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See Your Son or Your Students Here, August 24, 2006

By	Melissa Solomon (Victoria, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life (Hardcover)

The library at the college where I work puts out a list of new books they have purchased in our area once per month, and this book was on the psychology list back in January. I thought it looked interesting and picked it up then, thinking it might have some good things to say about a book I'm writing about men and depression. I finally picked it up and started reading it last week, and finished it in less than a week. I really enjoyed the authors' styles of writing which made some of the technical information more accessible and easier to understand, which to me means it would be a great resource for students studying education and for parents of boys of all ages.
If it's so great, what's it about, you ask? A lot actually. The first thing that they discussed that caught my eye was the idea that for the past few years we've focused on girls and how to educate them better, and now the authors think it's time we focused on boys who were not doing well in school. It's not that we're helping girls to the detriment of boys, but now that we've helped girls it's time to focus on boy education. They describe some of their negative experiences with the education system, and it makes me realize that the things I've heard from guys about school all my life weren't just "coming from my friends." I always assumed I hung out with the non-academic guys or the extremely smart guys who were just turned off by education. Come to find out there are a lot of boys (and future men) who were turned off to education by our educational system's lack of teaching them in a way that they can learn. As Gurian writes in another one of his books, Boys and Girls Learn Differently! Gurian and Stevens describe the brain differences between boys and girls (and men and women) that cause these differences in learning styles, and I think that that chapter is probably one of the most important ones in the book. I honestly don't see how college programs that are educating future teachers can NOT cover this stuff.
A second thing that makes this book so interesting to me was that they talked about behaviors boys demonstrate in learning environments and where they come from in the brain. The research is telling us that that fidgety, always-have-to-be-moving, can't sit still to save his life 6-year-old that I always tell to sit down when I'm trying to work with him actually CAN be moving and still learn, and in fact, SHOULD be moving in order to learn better. The authors describe "boy energy" and how many parents and teachers don't understand it, and they may thus assume their child has ADD or ADHD. That was another very interesting section of the book - there was a discussion of using brain scans (PET and SPECT) to diagnose brain anomalies such as ADD and ADHD. Ever since the research came out showing that some parts of the brain are different in kids with attention disorders I've wondered why we weren't using that information to diagnose, and now the Amen Clinics that the authors describe are doing this.
Overall I was highly impressed by this book, and it really has excited me to try out some research on my college students in terms of men and learning in the college environment using some of the suggestions they give for grade school education. If you are going to be a teacher, or you're a parent that has a boy who is school age, you should definitely read this book. I think that you'll easily recognize a good number of your students or your child's behaviors here, and reading this will give you a better understanding of how they think and where the behaviors come from.