0:00:00.928,0:00:04.099
So I'm here to tell you[br]that we have a problem with boys,

0:00:04.123,0:00:05.991
and it's a serious problem with boys.

0:00:06.757,0:00:09.385
Their culture isn't working in schools,

0:00:09.409,0:00:11.187
and I'm going to share with you ways

0:00:11.211,0:00:13.976
that we can think[br]about overcoming that problem.

0:00:14.305,0:00:17.271
First, I want to start[br]by saying, this is a boy,

0:00:17.295,0:00:19.817
and this is a girl,

0:00:19.841,0:00:23.389
and this is probably stereotypically[br]what you think of as a boy and a girl.

0:00:23.413,0:00:27.196
If I essentialize gender for you today,[br]then you can dismiss what I have to say.

0:00:27.220,0:00:30.184
So I'm not going to do that,[br]I'm not interested in doing that.

0:00:30.208,0:00:33.425
This is a different kind of boy[br]and a different kind of girl.

0:00:33.449,0:00:37.882
So the point here is that not all boys[br]exist within these rigid boundaries

0:00:37.906,0:00:40.096
of what we think of as boys and girls,

0:00:40.120,0:00:42.675
and not all girls exist[br]within those rigid boundaries

0:00:42.699,0:00:44.091
of what we think of as girls.

0:00:44.115,0:00:47.840
But, in fact, most boys[br]tend to be a certain way,

0:00:47.864,0:00:49.841
and most girls tend to be a certain way.

0:00:49.865,0:00:52.104
And the point is that, for boys,

0:00:52.128,0:00:55.314
the way that they exist[br]and the culture that they embrace

0:00:55.338,0:00:57.846
isn't working well in schools now.

0:00:57.870,0:00:59.094
How do we know that?

0:00:59.118,0:01:03.877
The 100 girls project[br]tells us some really nice statistics.

0:01:03.901,0:01:07.414
For example, for every 100 girls[br]that are suspended from school,

0:01:07.438,0:01:10.358
there are 250 boys[br]that are suspended from school.

0:01:10.382,0:01:12.705
For every 100 girls[br]who are expelled from school,

0:01:12.729,0:01:15.529
there are 335 boys[br]who are expelled from school.

0:01:16.080,0:01:18.427
For every 100 girls in special education,

0:01:18.451,0:01:20.133
there are 217 boys.

0:01:20.642,0:01:22.843
For every 100 girls[br]with a learning disability,

0:01:22.867,0:01:24.590
there are 276 boys.

0:01:25.285,0:01:29.747
For every 100 girls[br]with an emotional disturbance diagnosed,

0:01:29.771,0:01:31.541
we have 324 boys.

0:01:31.565,0:01:35.141
And by the way, all of these numbers[br]are significantly higher

0:01:35.165,0:01:36.585
if you happen to be black,

0:01:36.609,0:01:38.452
if you happen to be poor,

0:01:38.476,0:01:41.000
if you happen to exist[br]in an overcrowded school.

0:01:42.249,0:01:44.370
And if you are a boy,

0:01:44.394,0:01:48.130
you're four times as likely[br]to be diagnosed with ADHD --

0:01:48.154,0:01:50.615
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

0:01:51.079,0:01:54.140
Now there is another side to this.

0:01:54.164,0:01:59.774
And it is important that we recognize[br]that women still need help in school,

0:01:59.798,0:02:02.061
that salaries are still[br]significantly lower,

0:02:02.085,0:02:04.383
even when controlled for job types,

0:02:04.407,0:02:08.142
and that girls have continued to struggle[br]in math and science for years.

0:02:08.714,0:02:09.870
That's all true.

0:02:09.894,0:02:12.173
Nothing about that prevents us

0:02:12.197,0:02:14.231
from paying attention[br]to the literacy needs

0:02:14.255,0:02:16.326
of our boys between ages three and 13.

0:02:16.849,0:02:18.001
And so we should.

0:02:18.025,0:02:21.048
In fact, what we ought to do[br]is take a page from their playbook,

0:02:21.072,0:02:25.319
because the initiatives and programs[br]that have been set in place

0:02:25.343,0:02:29.184
for women in science and engineering[br]and mathematics are fantastic.

0:02:29.208,0:02:33.138
They've done a lot of good[br]for girls in these situations,

0:02:33.162,0:02:36.976
and we ought to be thinking about[br]how we can make that happen for boys too

0:02:37.000,0:02:38.277
in their younger years.

0:02:39.100,0:02:40.976
Even in their older years,

0:02:41.000,0:02:43.487
what we find is that[br]there's still a problem.

0:02:43.511,0:02:45.096
When we look at the universities,

0:02:45.120,0:02:48.118
60 percent of baccalaureate degrees[br]are going to women now,

0:02:48.142,0:02:49.976
which is a significant shift.

0:02:50.000,0:02:53.871
And in fact, university administrators[br]are a little uncomfortable about the idea

0:02:53.895,0:02:58.800
that we may be getting close to 70 percent[br]female population in universities.

0:02:58.824,0:03:01.174
This makes university[br]administrators very nervous,

0:03:01.198,0:03:04.388
because girls don't want to go[br]to schools that don't have boys.

0:03:06.530,0:03:08.628
And so we're starting to see

0:03:08.652,0:03:11.809
the establishment of men centers[br]and men studies

0:03:11.833,0:03:16.110
to think about how do we engage men[br]in their experiences in the university.

0:03:16.134,0:03:18.911
If you talk to faculty,[br]they may say, "Ugh. Yeah, well,

0:03:18.935,0:03:20.483
they're playing video games,

0:03:20.507,0:03:23.476
and they're gambling[br]online all night long,

0:03:23.500,0:03:25.315
and they're playing World of Warcraft,

0:03:25.339,0:03:29.171
and that's affecting[br]their academic achievement."

0:03:30.460,0:03:31.641
Guess what?

0:03:31.665,0:03:34.136
Video games are not the cause.

0:03:34.160,0:03:35.975
Video games are a symptom.

0:03:36.481,0:03:40.881
They were turned off a long time[br]before they got here.

0:03:41.127,0:03:43.786
So let's talk about[br]why they got turned off

0:03:43.810,0:03:46.659
when they were between the ages[br]of three and 13.

0:03:47.190,0:03:49.069
There are three reasons that I believe

0:03:49.093,0:03:52.355
that boys are out of sync[br]with the culture of schools today.

0:03:52.754,0:03:54.976
The first is zero tolerance.

0:03:55.367,0:04:00.384
A kindergarten teacher I know,[br]her son donated all of his toys to her,

0:04:00.408,0:04:06.254
and when he did, she had to go through[br]and pull out all the little plastic guns.

0:04:07.000,0:04:09.494
You can't have plastic knives[br]and swords and axes

0:04:09.518,0:04:12.661
and all that kind of thing[br]in a kindergarten classroom.

0:04:12.685,0:04:16.560
What is it that we're afraid that this[br]young man is going to do with this gun?

0:04:16.584,0:04:17.976
I mean, really.

0:04:18.658,0:04:20.976
But here he stands as testament

0:04:21.000,0:04:24.276
to the fact that you can't roughhouse[br]on the playground today.

0:04:24.300,0:04:26.309
Now I'm not advocating for bullies.

0:04:26.333,0:04:31.536
I'm not suggesting that we need to be[br]allowing guns and knives in the school.

0:04:31.560,0:04:35.816
But when we say that an Eagle Scout[br]in a high school classroom

0:04:35.840,0:04:39.165
who has a locked parked car[br]in the parking lot and a penknife in it,

0:04:39.189,0:04:41.212
has to be suspended from school,

0:04:41.236,0:04:44.536
I think we may have gone[br]a little too far with zero tolerance.

0:04:44.560,0:04:46.888
Another way that zero tolerance[br]lives itself out

0:04:46.912,0:04:48.203
is in the writing of boys.

0:04:48.227,0:04:49.612
In a lot of classrooms today,

0:04:49.636,0:04:52.356
you're not allowed to write[br]about anything that's violent.

0:04:52.380,0:04:55.906
You're not allowed to write about anything[br]that has to do with video games.

0:04:55.930,0:04:57.100
These topics are banned.

0:04:57.124,0:04:59.072
Boy comes home from school, and he says,

0:04:59.096,0:05:00.546
"I hate writing."

0:05:00.570,0:05:03.297
"Why do you hate writing, son?[br]What's wrong with writing?"

0:05:03.321,0:05:05.634
"Now I have to write[br]what she tells me to write."

0:05:05.658,0:05:07.659
"OK, what is she telling you to write?"

0:05:08.103,0:05:10.464
"Poems. I have to write poems.

0:05:10.488,0:05:12.484
And little moments in my life.

0:05:12.508,0:05:14.484
I don't want to write that stuff."

0:05:14.880,0:05:16.522
"Well, what do you want to write?

0:05:16.546,0:05:18.137
What do you want to write about?"

0:05:18.161,0:05:21.450
"I want to write about video games.[br]I want to write about leveling-up.

0:05:21.474,0:05:23.912
I want to write about[br]this really interesting world.

0:05:23.936,0:05:26.765
I want to write about a tornado[br]that comes into our house

0:05:26.789,0:05:28.301
and blows all the windows out,

0:05:28.325,0:05:30.631
and ruins all the furniture[br]and kills everybody."

0:05:30.655,0:05:32.126
"All right. OK."

0:05:32.150,0:05:35.873
You tell a teacher that,[br]and they'll ask you, in all seriousness,

0:05:35.897,0:05:38.573
"Should we send this child[br]to the psychologist?"

0:05:39.617,0:05:41.976
And the answer is no, he's just a boy.

0:05:42.512,0:05:44.303
He's just a little boy.

0:05:45.176,0:05:48.975
It's not OK to write these kinds of things[br]in classrooms today.

0:05:49.834,0:05:51.129
So that's the first reason:

0:05:51.153,0:05:53.702
Zero tolerance policies[br]and the way they're lived out.

0:05:53.726,0:05:57.207
The next reason that boys' cultures[br]are out of sync with school cultures:

0:05:57.231,0:05:58.668
there are fewer male teachers.

0:05:58.692,0:06:01.451
Anybody who's over 15[br]doesn't know what this means,

0:06:01.475,0:06:03.231
because in the last 10 years,

0:06:03.255,0:06:07.048
the number of elementary school[br]classroom teachers has been cut in half.

0:06:07.072,0:06:10.464
We went from 14 percent to seven percent.

0:06:10.940,0:06:13.263
That means that 93 percent of the teachers

0:06:13.287,0:06:16.406
that our young men get in elementary[br]classrooms are women.

0:06:17.483,0:06:19.384
Now what's the problem with this?

0:06:19.737,0:06:21.634
Women are great, yep, absolutely.

0:06:22.340,0:06:26.782
But male role models for boys[br]that say it's all right to be smart --

0:06:26.806,0:06:30.408
they've got dads, they've got pastors,[br]they've got Cub Scout leaders,

0:06:30.432,0:06:33.516
but ultimately, six hours a day,[br]five days a week

0:06:33.540,0:06:35.786
they're spending in a classroom,

0:06:35.810,0:06:39.174
and most of those classrooms[br]are not places where men exist.

0:06:39.198,0:06:42.746
And so they say, I guess this really[br]isn't a place for boys.

0:06:43.123,0:06:44.791
This is a place for girls.

0:06:44.815,0:06:46.405
And I'm not very good at this,

0:06:46.429,0:06:49.637
so I guess I'd better go play video games

0:06:49.661,0:06:51.672
or get into sports,[br]or something like that,

0:06:51.696,0:06:53.578
because I obviously don't belong here.

0:06:53.602,0:06:55.712
Men don't belong here,[br]that's pretty obvious.

0:06:55.736,0:06:59.624
So that may be a very direct way[br]that we see it happen.

0:07:00.072,0:07:03.975
But less directly, the lack of male[br]presence in the culture --

0:07:04.497,0:07:07.687
you've got a teachers' lounge,[br]and they're having a conversation

0:07:07.711,0:07:11.838
about Joey and Johnny[br]who beat each other up on the playground.

0:07:11.862,0:07:13.866
"What are we going to do with these boys?"

0:07:13.890,0:07:15.574
The answer to that question changes

0:07:15.598,0:07:17.699
depending on who's sitting[br]around that table.

0:07:17.723,0:07:19.283
Are there men around that table?

0:07:19.307,0:07:21.757
Are there moms who've raised boys[br]around that table?

0:07:21.781,0:07:23.523
You'll see, the conversation changes

0:07:23.547,0:07:25.695
depending upon who's sitting[br]around the table.

0:07:25.719,0:07:28.571
Third reason that boys[br]are out of sync with school today:

0:07:28.595,0:07:31.039
Kindergarten is the old[br]second grade, folks.

0:07:31.063,0:07:34.975
We have a serious compression[br]of the curriculum happening out there.

0:07:35.332,0:07:38.425
When you're three, you better be able[br]to write your name legibly,

0:07:38.449,0:07:41.026
or else we'll consider it[br]a developmental delay.

0:07:41.494,0:07:43.137
By the time you're in first grade,

0:07:43.161,0:07:45.766
you should be able to read[br]paragraphs of text

0:07:45.790,0:07:49.270
with maybe a picture, maybe not,[br]in a book of maybe 25 to 30 pages.

0:07:49.294,0:07:50.474
If you don't,

0:07:50.498,0:07:54.173
we're probably going to be putting you[br]into a Title I special reading program.

0:07:54.197,0:07:56.495
And if you ask Title I teachers,[br]they'll tell you

0:07:56.519,0:08:00.138
they've got about four or five boys[br]for every girl that's in their program,

0:08:00.162,0:08:01.366
in the elementary grades.

0:08:01.390,0:08:03.144
The reason that this is a problem

0:08:03.168,0:08:06.221
is because the message[br]that boys are getting

0:08:06.245,0:08:10.587
is, "You need to do what the teacher[br]asks you to do all the time."

0:08:11.092,0:08:15.252
The teacher's salary depends[br]on "No Child Left Behind"

0:08:15.276,0:08:17.976
and "Race to the Top"[br]and accountability and testing

0:08:18.000,0:08:19.976
and all of this.

0:08:20.000,0:08:23.974
So she has to figure out a way[br]to get all these boys

0:08:23.998,0:08:26.975
through this curriculum -- and girls.

0:08:27.882,0:08:31.461
This compressed curriculum is bad[br]for all active kids.

0:08:32.486,0:08:34.306
And what happens is,

0:08:34.330,0:08:38.990
she says, "Please, sit down,[br]be quiet, do what you're told,

0:08:39.014,0:08:43.966
follow the rules, manage your time,[br]focus, be a girl."

0:08:45.309,0:08:46.867
That's what she tells them.

0:08:46.891,0:08:48.976
Indirectly, that's what she tells them.

0:08:49.000,0:08:51.060
And so this is a very serious problem.

0:08:51.084,0:08:53.441
Where is it coming from?[br]It's coming from us.

0:08:53.465,0:08:55.976
(Laughter)

0:08:56.732,0:08:59.700
We want our babies to read[br]when they are six months old.

0:08:59.724,0:09:00.976
Have you seen the ads?

0:09:01.000,0:09:05.680
We want to live in Lake Wobegon[br]where every child is above average ...

0:09:06.398,0:09:09.842
but what this does to our children[br]is really not healthy.

0:09:09.866,0:09:11.676
It's not developmentally appropriate,

0:09:11.700,0:09:13.676
and it's particularly bad for boys.

0:09:14.144,0:09:15.419
So what do we do?

0:09:15.900,0:09:17.625
We need to meet them where they are.

0:09:17.649,0:09:19.913
We need to put ourselves into boy culture.

0:09:19.937,0:09:25.192
We need to change the mindset[br]of acceptance in boys

0:09:25.216,0:09:26.654
in elementary schools.

0:09:27.168,0:09:30.364
More specifically, we can do[br]some very specific things.

0:09:30.388,0:09:31.976
We can design better games.

0:09:32.000,0:09:34.815
Most of the educational games[br]that are out there today

0:09:34.839,0:09:36.364
are really flashcards.

0:09:36.388,0:09:38.330
They're glorified drill and practice.

0:09:38.354,0:09:41.167
They don't have the depth,[br]the rich narrative

0:09:41.191,0:09:43.943
that really engaging video games have,

0:09:43.967,0:09:45.970
that the boys are really interested in.

0:09:45.994,0:09:47.636
So we need to design better games.

0:09:47.660,0:09:51.486
We need to talk to teachers and parents[br]and school board members and politicians.

0:09:51.510,0:09:55.086
We need to make sure that people see[br]that we need more men in the classroom.

0:09:55.110,0:09:57.804
We need to look carefully[br]at our zero tolerance policies.

0:09:57.828,0:09:58.996
Do they make sense?

0:09:59.020,0:10:02.976
We need to think about how to uncompress[br]this curriculum if we can,

0:10:03.000,0:10:06.465
trying to bring boys back into a space[br]that is comfortable for them.

0:10:07.000,0:10:09.286
All of those conversations[br]need to be happening.

0:10:09.310,0:10:12.113
There are some great examples[br]out there of schools --

0:10:12.137,0:10:15.620
the New York Times[br]just talked about a school recently.

0:10:15.644,0:10:17.976
A game designer from the New School

0:10:18.000,0:10:20.976
put together a wonderful[br]video gaming school.

0:10:21.392,0:10:26.229
But it only treats a few kids,[br]and so this isn't very scalable.

0:10:26.253,0:10:28.409
We have to change the culture[br]and the feelings

0:10:28.433,0:10:33.255
that politicians and school board[br]members and parents have

0:10:33.279,0:10:36.346
about the way we accept[br]and what we accept in our schools today.

0:10:36.370,0:10:38.379
We need to find more money[br]for game design.

0:10:38.403,0:10:40.757
Because good games,[br]really good games, cost money,

0:10:40.781,0:10:42.768
and World of Warcraft has quite a budget.

0:10:42.792,0:10:44.884
Most of the educational games do not.

0:10:44.908,0:10:46.156
Where we started:

0:10:46.180,0:10:48.976
my colleagues Mike Petner,[br]Shawn Vashaw, myself,

0:10:49.000,0:10:51.591
we started by trying to look[br]at the teachers' attitudes

0:10:51.615,0:10:53.960
and find out how do they really[br]feel about gaming,

0:10:53.984,0:10:55.244
what do they say about it.

0:10:55.268,0:11:00.242
And we discovered that they talk[br]about the kids in their school,

0:11:00.266,0:11:02.975
who talk about gaming,[br]in pretty demeaning ways.

0:11:03.532,0:11:06.725
They say, "Oh, yeah. They're always[br]talking about that stuff.

0:11:06.749,0:11:09.073
They're talking[br]about their little action figures

0:11:09.097,0:11:11.485
and their little achievements[br]or merit badges,

0:11:11.509,0:11:13.567
or whatever it is that they get.

0:11:13.591,0:11:15.693
And they're always talking[br]about this stuff."

0:11:15.717,0:11:17.674
And they say these things as if it's OK.

0:11:17.698,0:11:20.976
But if it were your culture,[br]think of how that might feel.

0:11:21.000,0:11:23.381
It's very uncomfortable[br]to be on the receiving end

0:11:23.405,0:11:25.587
of that kind of language.

0:11:25.976,0:11:29.192
They're nervous about anything[br]that has anything to do with violence

0:11:29.216,0:11:31.101
because of the zero tolerance policies.

0:11:31.125,0:11:33.236
They are sure that parents[br]and administrators

0:11:33.260,0:11:34.558
will never accept anything.

0:11:34.582,0:11:37.466
So we really need to think[br]about looking at teacher attitudes

0:11:37.490,0:11:40.252
and finding ways to change the attitudes,

0:11:40.276,0:11:44.246
so that teachers are much more open[br]and accepting of boy cultures

0:11:44.270,0:11:45.460
in their classrooms.

0:11:45.484,0:11:47.552
Because, ultimately, if we don't,

0:11:47.576,0:11:50.848
then we're going to have boys[br]who leave elementary school saying,

0:11:50.872,0:11:53.900
"Well I guess that was just[br]a place for girls, it wasn't for me.

0:11:53.924,0:11:56.699
So I've got to do gaming,[br]or I've got to do sports."

0:11:57.156,0:12:00.169
If we change these things,[br]if we pay attention to these things,

0:12:00.193,0:12:02.112
and we reengage boys in their learning,

0:12:02.136,0:12:05.310
they will leave the elementary[br]schools saying, "I'm smart."

0:12:06.134,0:12:07.285
Thank you.

0:12:07.309,0:12:09.785
(Applause)