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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
My friend, Michele, keeps crabbing at me to write about how boys need to move and how\u2026here it goes\u2026schools try to turn our boys into girls.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen it happen for years and just came to a point of acceptance.\u00a0 I figured, why write about something that can\u2019t be changed.\u00a0 Then, I read Time Magazine\u2019s special edition, \u201cThe Science of Childhood\u201d.<\/p>\n
An entire article highlighted facts and studies that prove our boys indeed need to move in order to learn.\u00a0 It was acknowledged how as a country, we\u2019ve tried to increase the academic expectations of all students and with that, our boys have been forced to sit in chairs for long periods of time and force-fed a diet of lumpy lectures that end up choking them and ultimately stunting their academic health.<\/p>\n
A study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that the more time boys in first grade spent sitting and the less time they spent being physically active, the fewer gains they made in reading in the two following years.<\/p>\n
The Time Magazine article went on to explain that a lot of sedentary time negatively impacted boys in math as well as reading.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the clencher\u2026sedantary time had little or no effect on girls.<\/p>\n
Michele, the mother of two young boys is right to be bugging me about this.\u00a0 I\u2019m the mother of only one son and two daughters, but Nathan was content to be sedentary.\u00a0 He was one of those little boys who retreated when upset or pressured.\u00a0 Most boys are the other way around, as my vivacious grandson, Landon has shown me.\u00a0 He\u2019s a typical seven-year-old who needs to move all the time.\u00a0 He\u2019s as sharp as a tack but he just isn\u2019t interested in reading and writing.\u00a0 To him, there are a lot of more interesting things that grab his attention.\u00a0 Like science and animals and bugs.\u00a0 He asks deep questions and ponders many important subjects, yet he\u2019s still marked down in school for his behavior.\u00a0 He\u2019s always out of his seat and interested in somebody else\u2019s business.<\/p>\n
Is this something he should be punished for?\u00a0 Does this mean he isn\u2019t smart or socially acceptable or a \u201cbad\u201d boy?\u00a0 To me, no, it doesn\u2019t mean that, and I\u2019m sure Michele and most people would agree with me.\u00a0 Does he need to learn to mind his own business? \u00a0Yes.\u00a0 Does he eventually need to learn to sit for longer periods of time?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Just not today.\u00a0 He\u2019s only seven years old.<\/p>\n
I remember my first year teaching in 1983.\u00a0 Back then, boys were expected to be busier than girls.\u00a0 We learned about this in college and managed our classrooms around this information.\u00a0 I\u2019ll never forget a boy named Scott who couldn\u2019t seem to sit still.\u00a0 This was before wiggle seats, fidgets, and even the diagnosis of ADHD.\u00a0 I asked him what would help him learn and he turned dark brown eyes up to me and said, \u201cI like to stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n
I let him stand.<\/p>\n
That was a long time ago, and boy, times have changed!\u00a0 But the connection between exercise and optimal learning is not new, whether the child is a boy or a girl.\u00a0 What I can\u2019t understand is why we just accept this lumpy bowl of nonsensical oatmeal and cram it down our precious boys\u2019 throats.\u00a0 It certainly can\u2019t taste well on the receiving end.<\/p>\n
So, what do we do?\u00a0 For starters, if you have a boy who\u2019s experiencing something similar to this, stand up and roar if you have to.\u00a0 Make changes in your son\u2019s schooling situation, even if it means changing classrooms, changing schools, or homeschooling.<\/p>\n
Put yourself in that little boy\u2019s chair\u2026imagine what it\u2019s like trying to hold still when you just can\u2019t.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t mean your son has ADHD or anything is wrong with him.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t mean he needs medication.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s dumb or dyslexic or autistic.\u00a0 The facts back it up.\u00a0 He\u2019s just a little boy, and he needs to move.<\/p>\n
Teachers, get those kids out of their seats.\u00a0 Let your boys (and girls) run some laps or do jumping jacks.\u00a0 Let them get up and move in an organized fashion.\u00a0 It will save you time in the long run and save our boys.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you think they\u2019re worth it?<\/p>\n
To your child\u2019s success,<\/p>\n
Lisa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My friend, Michele, keeps crabbing at me to write about how boys need to move and how\u2026here it goes\u2026schools try to turn our boys into girls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1232,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dyslexia"],"yoast_head":"\n