Smart Boys: Talent, Manhood, and the Search for Meaning [Paperback]

Barbara A. Kerr (Author), Sanford J. Cohn (Author), Audie Alcorn (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Why do so many of our brightest boys and young men underachieve in school and fail to reach their full potential in the world of work? Why do so many smart boys have problems with depression in adolescence or later in their adult years? The authors explore these questions using their extensive work with gifted youth, current research, examinations of other books, and personal interviews with gifted men who have experienced min-life crises or failures. This book is filled with many suggestions for parents and teachers to help smart boys stay smart, as well as thought-provoking insights for gifted men.

Features:
*Current research regarding gifted men
*Guiding minority gifted boys
*Milestones and danger zones from boyhood to manhood
*Patterns in parenting talented boys
*Gifted male types and classifications
*Interviews with gifted men

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This practical and provocative book explores the phenomenon of youthful male giftedness. Both professors of psychology in education at Arizona State University, Cohn and Kerr (Smart Girls: A New Psychology of Girls, Women, and Giftedness) combine original research based on a follow-up study of an accelerated-learning class from St. Louis, MO, in 1969 with a literature review of previous studies to ground their conclusions about giftedness and masculinity. Discussions cover life-cycle issues and the impact of giftedness on the academic and social adjustment of such boys, including problems of underachievement and antisocial personality characteristics. In addition to analyzing gifted minority youth, the book offers inspiring suggestions for guiding and parenting gifted boys. Conveying a clear sense of the loss of potential demonstrated by the starkly conventional lives of the St. Louis children as adults, the authors tackle deficiencies in the educational system and broader societal issues that inhibit talented boys. Accessibly and clearly written, this wide-ranging book should enrich the understanding of parents, teachers, and mentors. Its gender specificity also allows for concrete analyses and specific suggestions. Recommended for public libraries and specialized education collections. Antoinette Brinkman, formerly with the Southwest Indiana Mental Health Ctr. Lib., Evansville
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ideals of masculinity that stress physical agility over intelligence compel smart boys and men "to ignore the urgings of their intellect and creative selves in order to fulfill socially ordained masculine roles," according to psychologists Kerr and Cohn. Kerr authored Smart Girls, Gifted Women (1985) and follows up by focusing on the particular challenges facing smart boys, given changes in sex roles and increased attention to the needs of girls. The book cites research and case studies showing that many gifted boys don't live up to their potential and suffer social isolation, having to choose between excellence and "normality." Kerr and Cohn start by examining how intelligence figures in images of American males and look at the developmental stages of gifted boys from infancy to manhood. Finally, the authors offer guidance to parents on how to nurture gifted boys and overcome their particular challenges, including ambivalence about their gifts and concerns about masculinity. Parents and teachers dealing with particularly bright boys will find this book a useful and encouraging resource. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Great Potential Press; 1 edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 091070743X
• ISBN-13: 978-0910707435
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #584,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book for Parents of Gifted Boys, September 24, 2001

By 

Lisa Rivero (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smart Boys: Talent, Manhood, and the Search for Meaning (Paperback)

Smart Boys: Talent, Manhood, & The Search for Meaning, by Barbara Kerr (author of Smart Girls) and Sanford Cohn, is a must-have book for parents of boys who are precocious, creative, intense, sensitive and otherwise gifted learners. With all the other books about boys currently on the market, how is this one different? Smart Boys addresses social and emotional issues that are either unique to or more extreme for gifted boys, such as their high levels of sensitivity (which often go against the culture's Boy Code), their tendency to enjoy traditionally "girl" activities as well as boy activities, their sometimes intense intellectual interests that cause them to be branded "nerds," and their need for role models and mentors who provide an alternative vision of what it means to be a man in today's society. Smart Boys also provides valuable background information on the research of gifted boys and an age-by-age guide both to academic needs and to emotional and spiritual development. The authors call for a new vision of compassionate masculinity that includes courage, creativity and commitment. The message that rings most loud and clear from the pages of this book is that we need to allow gifted boys to be themselves, even when, and perhaps especially when, being themselves is different from what society expects boys to be. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves, works with, or has been a gifted boy.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Quality Reference Guide, Even If A Bit Agenda-Driven, September 7, 2003

By 

Kevin Gregorek "Kevin Gregorek" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Smart Boys: Talent, Manhood, and the Search for Meaning (Paperback)

As a Gifted Education student and professional, I have developed strong interests in the gifts, needs and problems unique to gifted males. It's an area that's not terribly well-researched, partly owing to a more PC focus on gifted females (and I don't mean to argue that gifted females are unworthy of research and funding!) As gifted young males grow up and enter high school and college, their representation in academically-oriented classes and universities declines drastically compared to gifted females (and this generally serves for all males and females of college age). It's difficult to pinpoint or put the blame on any one or two specific causes, but it is important to recognize first that boys and girls learn and process information differently, and second, that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with recognizing these differences and attempting to address them at the classroom and familial levels.

This book gives quite detailed accounts of many of the issues specific to gifted males, and it also breaks them down chronologically to address the growing gifted male at different stages of life, including gifted men (yeah!) It serves its purposes well as a quality reference book, and its reviews of the myriad popular books about boys, although too short, are helpful and basically sound.

One caveat: the writers (I assume both of them, since the reader has no way to identify which writer authored which section or article) write from a very PC perspective, which occasionally leads them to accept or reject certain hypotheses or ideas outright. Many of these actually deserve more careful consideration, positive or negative. There is also a strong and somewhat preachy emphasis on the problems of homosexual boys, and it runs as an undercurrent throughout the text. While the unique difficulties of these boys merits attention and tact from teachers and parents, it almost seems to be put on a pedestal in this book. Perhaps the authors have dealt extensively with homosexual boys who have faced many issues, but they are not explicit about this, so these emphases too often come across as agenda driven and prescriptive dictates.

All in all, quite well-written and broad, albeit a bit preachy in places. I would recommend this book for parents, teachers and gifted ed professionals who deal with gifted boys on a regular basis.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart Boys...Smart Book!, February 26, 2002

By 

Karen M. Fitzgerald (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smart Boys: Talent, Manhood, and the Search for Meaning (Paperback)

This informative book begins with descriptions of gifted boys and explores the relationship of how being gifted may have affected their masculinity. From young boys to the adult gifted male, the authors tell about the milestones and the danger zones for bright boys. Halfway through this excellent book, the authors outline the special challenges for gifted boys like underachievement, being called nerds, and even being a minority gifted male. The authors conclude the book with suggestions on guiding the gifted boys in our lives. They not only deal with the academic challenges that smart boys face, but include their social, emotional and spiritual development, too. The references at the conclusion of each chapter share valuable resources for those interested in further reading on gifted males. The book is well-grounded in research and is enjoyable reading for both parents and educators of the gifted. The authors encourage us to guide these smart boys in our lives as they go for their dreams!