Tips for Buying the Top Boys Toys
Oct 10, 2008 Boys
Playtime is an integral part of your boy’s development as a child, perhaps more than you even realized. Children play many different ways. Girls and boys play and develop differently which is why you need to buy at least some boy toys for your boy, no matter what age he is.
Of course there are many toys that both girls and boys can enjoy but there needs to be at least a few strictly boy toys around for your boy no matter what age he is.
The boy toys you buy for your guy are an integral extension of your child and his development. Each activity that is a result of a specific toy will have a different effect on development and since your boy’s playtime is fundamental to his development it’s important that you do some reading on the various boy toys on the market and how they affect development.
Throughout history both boys and girls have played with toys and children from different cultures play with different toys. In fact in some cultures boys play only with boy toys and girls play only with girl toys.
Your child’s toys will help promote well being and they will also play an integral role in helping to develop social skills because they will often be playing with other children. A group of boys will often examine the boys toys available and then make a decision as a group as to what they will play with. And just like in real adult life the majority will rule.
Toys are an instrument that helps to develop children’s thoughts, creativity, and fantasies. Boys and girls think and process differently which is another reason why your boy needs to have plenty of boy toys to choose from.
Here’s a few helpful tips for buying boys toys.
1. Choose toys that are right for your boy’s age. Read the instructions to make sure you know about any warnings associated with the product, as well as how it operates, ages recommended, and how it is used.
2. Buy education boys toys whenever possible. Combining play and learning together makes for the development of a variety of skills.
3. When your boy has outgrown his boys toys pack them away for use by another child in the future. You never know when there might be another boy around to enjoy them.
4. If you are purchasing toys for younger children, check the toys to make sure there are no broken or loose parts, no sharp edges, and that no repairs have been made.
5. Buy boy toys that your child is passionate about. Listen to what he’s saying. For example, if all he wants to do is draw or build models don’t worry because those are educational toys.
There are all kinds of fun and interesting boy toys on the market that will provide hours and hours of fun while at the same time stimulating your child’s development both emotionally and physically. It’s time to decide what boy toys are for your boy.
Learning Styles of Boys
Oct 8, 2008 Boys
I am a firm believer in different styles of learning. For instance, are you one of those people that has to read something for yourself rather than have someone read to you? If so, you are probably more of a visual, or possibly auditory learner. When you are trying to commit something to memory, do you find yourself pacing around? Kinesthetic learner. Now, these are very simple examples, and no where near complete, but just an illustration. Everyone learns differently.Boys and girl have different learning styles. Not that they CAN’T have similarities, but in general, boys and girls acquire information differently. Well, wouldn’t most people know that anyway? Our schools certainly haven’t shown that they understand it. We know that men and women think differently and excel in different areas, so wouldn’t it make sense to think the same about young boys and girls?The site, Boys and Schools:Improving the Health, Education, and Well-Being of Boys, has a wealth of information for parents of boys. I encourage you to visit and read some of their articles if you are a parent of a boy. A few of the most interesting items are the fact that the increased level of testosterone in boys cause them to be more aggressive, competitive, assertive, and self reliant than girls; girls hear better and teachers may need to use louder voices to reach boys; neurotransmitters in the brain differ between boys and girl, showing a clear difference in how boys and girls process information. Boys don’t do as well in reading as girls, but excel at math skills and other spatial type skills.So, even from this short list, doesn’t it make sense that if boys were taught to their strengths that they could excel at a rate equal to girls? Believe me, as a mother of boys, I would love to know that my boys have an equal chance to achieve their very best in school. Yet, I know that my boys are bored. They don’t want to read Sarah, Plain and Tall, but they love Diary of a Wimpy Kid. They love studying about dinosaurs, and learning about pirates of old. Things that are exciting! My oldest scored in the top 5% of 4Th graders in the nation in math, on a particular achievement test, but just average in reading. Give him reading problems in math, and he can do them lickety split. One way to teach children to their strengths is the use of educational technology. Using computers and software in the classroom. Allowing testing on the computer, creating book reports using PowerPoint presentations, playing computer games to teach math concepts. Honestly, in this digital age I am really surprised that it is not more common. Our schools are still using textbooks that look just like the ones I used as a kid. Give them a CD-ROM to use at school, or at home, with animations, or real video. Let them write science reports on the Discovery Channel show, Man vs. Wild, or One Way Out. I can’t tell you how much my boys have learned about animals and the outdoors from Bear Grylls, and energy and momentum from Jonathan Goodwin. And, how about the Planet Earth series? On TLC, there are lots of things to be learned about society, cooking, and even fitness. I know that these are things that they will remember for many years! It is exciting and interesting to them.Using online learning games is a great tool for children of any age. They are fun and it may not even seem like they are “learning”. For years I have played games online with my children. My 3 year old loves alphabet games, counting games, and even spelling games. My oldest, 10 years old, still likes to go on sites and build virtual robots or building, creating cities, or even dinosaur environments. Our 8 year old likes to do virtual puzzles. They are all learning! The concepts that are presented are things like same/different, big/small, mirror images, different types of environments, among many others. I just get really frustrated that the American educational system is so far behind the world. We don’t use the wonderful resources that are available to us. Okay, I know that not every classroom has a computer for every child. But, there is usually a computer lab available, some students have their own, and most teachers have at least one computer in their rooms. Find new and fun ways to utilize the technology that is available. Be flexible in how you will accept work that is to be turned in. I have heard from teachers time and time again, “but, it’s not fair to let one student do their work one way, and others another way”. If you are allowing it because it fits their needs more specifically, how is that not fair? Parents don’t treat their children all the same. Employees are not treated all them same, some make more money for one reason or another. There is no fair or not fair. Just equal, but different, opportunities. What works best for each individual. How can we tolerate the fact that our boys are being allowed to fall behind, when the fix would be so easy to achieve?
The Rationale Behind Secondary Education Today
Oct 6, 2008 Boys
One hundred and fifteen years ago, a scholarly group of men released the Report of the Committee of Ten. The Report of the Committee of Ten was a comprehensive document detailing the spirit and substance of secondary school education. Twenty five years later, in 1918, the Committee’s thorough and cohesive report was refuted by the Department of the Interior Bureau of Education in a proclamation titled Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education. Though not overtly stated, the Cardinal Principles was a contested response and re-direction to the Report of the Committee of Ten. While the Committee sought to enable and empower all students through education, the Cardinal Principles aimed to train boys and girls in prescribed roles and set values that would perpetuate the status quo. This article will discuss the polarity between the Committee of Ten and the Cardinal Principles as a contest between educating the student, and training the student.
The Committee of Ten wanted to enlighten the “immature mind of the school student”, (J.M. Taylor, 1894, p. 194) namely, both boys and girls, with an education that would last a lifetime. The Committee aimed to do this through a “continuity of study”. This “continuity of study” would develop in two ways. First, the “school student” would receive an in depth education in nine “principal fields of knowledge” and their respective auxiliary subjects. (The Committee of Ten: Main Report, Section 46, 1893) Secondly, the Committee having a concern for a student’s complete education and knowing only a small proportion of students would stay to the end of secondary schooling at eighteen years of age, wanted also to have this continuity of study commence in the elementary grades with the introduction to the nine “principal fields of knowledge”. For the Committee, it was vital to develop “all mental habits, which the adult will surely need …before the age of fourteen.” (The Committee of Ten: Main Report, Section 16) Ultimately, the Committee of Ten believed that educating the student meant opening the intellect to thought and knowledge. (The Committee of Ten: Main Report, Sections 46 – 50) The Committee believed that this development of the intellect was the main purpose of education.
In response to the Committee’s view of education, the Cardinal Principles boldly retorted “its protest against any and all plans” of the Committee of Ten’s “formalism and sterility” because it resulted in “divorcing vocation and social-civic education.” (Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education, Chapters V – VII, 1918) The writers of the Cardinal Principles presented seven principles that were intended to re-organize secondary school education from the Committee’s intellectualism to “vocation” and “social- civic education”. These seven Cardinal Principles would replace formalized, developmental academic knowledge with training in life tasks, and, moral values for boys and girls.
By eradicating pedagogy and curriculum that would allow students to think in the abstract and replace this with training in concrete life skills, the writers of the Cardinal Principles hoped to maintain and sustain the current American economy and democracy. A boy was to be equipped with the ability “to secure a livelihood for himself and those dependent on him…” (Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education, Principle 4 Vocation, Section 7) A girl was to be trained in the “household arts…because of their importance to the girl herself and to others whose welfare will be directly in her keeping.” (Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education, Principle 3, Worthy home membership, Section 6) With boys and girls trained to employ their proper places in society, it was expected that the American economy would prosper.
Of equal importance in secondary school instruction, was the immersion of boys and girls in moral values. These values were expected to “permeate the entire school –principals, teachers, and pupils”; this infusion of moral values would shape the primary ingredient needed in a democratic society, namely, “Ethical character”. (Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education, Principle 7, Ethical character, Sections 9 & 10) For the writers of the Cardinal Principles, without the seven cardinal principles, secondary education was frivolous and wasteful since it did not prepare boys and girls for “the needs of life”. (Ravitch, 2000. p. 129)
While the Committee of Ten was intent on intellectualizing the student; the Cardinal Principles was fixed on training the student. The Committee of Ten believed, given an education, a student would develop the thinking processes necessary to make right decisions in adulthood. The writers of the Cardinal Principles held an opposing view. They believed that only through practical rote skills and values could the “right attitude”, “sterling character”, and “right principles” guarantee the right workings of adulthood. (Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education, Chapters I – XX)
The effects of the Cardinal Principles are imbedded in the systems of education today. It is the skills and training that a student garners by the end of Secondary School which are of most importance; not the development of his or her independence of thought. Given the turbulent times of today, it is debatable if the Cardinal Principles of ninety years ago can ensure an American society that is secure and sustainable tomorrow.
References
Elliot, C. W. (1893). Report of the Committee of Ten. Retrieved October 23, 2007 from http://tmh.floonet.net/books/commorften/mainrpt.html
National Education Association. (1918) Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education.Retrieved October 23, 2007 from
http://tmh.floonet.net/articles/cardprin.html
Ravitch, D. (2000). Left Back, A Century of Battles Over School Reform. New York:Simon & Schuster.
Taylor, J. M. (1894). The Report of the Committee of Ten. The School Review 2(4), 193-199. Retrieved October 23, 2007 from http://www.jstor.org/journals/ucpress.html.