Ali Carr-Chellman: Bring Back the Boys TED

This is a useful discussion of fortnite--don't be put off by the title, some good information in here:

Parenting the Fortnite Addict (Published 2018) Help for parents bewildered by the sense that the game has swallowed their children, especially since the mobile phone version was released in late March.

There is nothing new in this MSNBC conversation, and the data is a bit flawed, but it is my view that much of what is happening has happened for at least 20 years. It's still a great report, take a look:

Data show young boys are struggling in school Recent studies show a widening education gap between boys and girls and that young boys are struggling in school. Dr. Emily King and Professor Emily Oster join Morning Joe to discuss.

Really amazing article about boys' experiences in schools and where it may be leading us: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/22/opinion/economy-education-women-men.html
Of importance, for a little while now I've been concerned about what the potential impact of disenfranchised young men over the past couple of decades might be. This is less about the loss of jobs (though that plays a role) and more about getting the message in 3rd grade that they don't belong, they're not part of our world, economy, future.

Opinion | ‘It’s Become Increasingly Hard for Them to Feel Good About Themselves’ A new gender gap in education has profound political and economic consequences.

This article from the Chronicle of Higher Education outlines the impact of the pandemic on men's enrollment in higher education.

The Missing Men The gender gap among college students only worsened during the pandemic. Is it a problem people have the will to solve?

Here's an article I did recently on helping teachers learn more about the power of games, particularly boy-friendly games, in the classroom through G2A's portal.

elearn Magazine: On the Growing Curve: An interview on gaming to learn with G2A's CEO, Bartosz Skwarczek An interview with Bartosz Skwarczek, CEO of G2A, includes an examination of a recent survey of U.K. and U.S. teachers regarding perceptions of games as a learning and curricular tool. Interview results are shared as well as a review of the resulting G2A Academy aimed at teacher training for building...

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/great-attention-deficit-more-parents-seek-adhd-diagnosis-drugs-kids-n1257660 More on ADHD during pandemic times

More parents seek ADHD diagnosis and drugs for Zoom schooling "Covid has been a tipping point that has pushed some families to get help," said one expert.

Fantastic editorial on how the boy bias is living itself out in our living rooms during COVID:

Too Many Schools See Danger in Boys (and Their Toys) Perhaps we should have known that keeping schools closed would lead to boys being deemed “dangerous” in their own homes. It was inevitable that “zoom school” would present a new challenge for teachers (and parents) as children would have to do their best to focus on learning with all of thei...

Enjoying Between the world and Me today: "I was a curious boy, but the schools were not concerned with curiosity. They were concerned with compliance." and “I was made for the library, not the classroom. The classroom was a jail of other people’s interests. The library was open, unending, free.”
― Ta-Nehisi Coates

Another good article on the curriculum compression:

Government Standards Are Making 5-Year-Olds and Kindergarten Teachers Miserable Increased academic pressure and testing in kindergarten is bringing everyone to tears—including the teachers. When Dr. Peter Gray wrote a piece

Wonderful NPR report on the reality of research on video gaming and violence.

Video Games Are Still Blamed For Gun Violence Despite Studies Showing No Connection Video games have long been blamed for gun violence in the U.S. — from Columbine to Saturday's mass shooting in El Paso. Scientific studies have shown no connection, so why is the claim still made?

Very interesting article on the impact of race on gender disparities. Fascinating work.

‘It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way.’ Why Some Boys Can Keep Up With Girls in School. A study shows the Asian-American gender academic gap starts later, giving educators insight into how to help boys of all races and pointing to the influence of social pressures.