[legion]

We are discussing general trends here. Some people will still have excellent teachers, some will still have bad ones. What I'm seeing (and I may be wrong) is a systemic neglect of how boys learn and suppression of how boys play in grade schools.

John, I have no doubt that you have good experiences. You are also of course right that the most important thing is that a child learns. But boys tend to be more "high energy" than girls and more and more, that energy is being treated like a problem that must be suppressed, instead of worked with for a positive outcome. I think this leads to many boys having a bad taste for school, which leads to underachievement.

I can't help but wonder if extreme political correctness and anti-boy teachers are partially responsible for the high male drop out rates in big city schools?

As for taking toy guns to school and dressing up, I never did that as a kid, but I did make a gun out of my fingers at recess and I wasn't punished for it. I also pretended to be Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader when the Empire and Rebellion had epic battles on the jungle gym. And yes, we pretended to shoot each other and you had to lay down and pretend to be dead until the next round started. I also returned to class tired and ready to sit and listen for awhile. Many teachers simply put a firm stop to any such "violent" play today.