Raising Boys in a New Kind of World [Paperback]

Reists' book is based on over 30 years of experience as a teacher, a father and a mentor. While this book is not written for an academic or scientific audience, it communicates deep truths about parenting, humanity, boys and girls that I feel touch on some unsettling truths in our culture and society and schools that many of us know exist, but have not been able to name.

Reist's thesis can be summed up to say that, "treating equally does not mean treating the same" when it comes to the education of our children. Each parent, each teacher is asked to consider the biological, social and personal characteristics and needs of their child and to do away with the paradigm of the "factory school" to accept and love and teach that child according to their individual person-hood.

Reist questions the current "sit still and do as you are told", zero-tolerance model of school. He questions the high rates of ADD and ADHD diagnoses among male children. He debunks our fears about video games and social media and delves into the mind and soul of the schoolyard bully. The answer? Rather than suggest anarchy and the end of formal schooling, Reist offers integrity as a possible solution. Without blaming, he spurs teachers and parents to look deeper within themselves to offer the love, mentoring, boundaries and leadership that children require from the adults in their lives.

Since reading this book, I've spoken with about a dozen different parents and teachers whose experiences are a perfect match with Reist's observations about boys. I'm frequently amazed to hear from adults who have experienced some of the approaches suggested in the book (without having ever read it) and found them to work, so they seem to be fairly common-sense ideas to many who are in-tune with their boys' unique learning and development styles.

When I hear of growing school drop-out rates among teenage boys and low enrollment in university and trade professions, I worry that we are creating a social tide that will negatively affect generations of families. Reist is a bellwether for our society on this issue and offers incredible insight into why the status quo is simply not working for boys.

I gave this book as a gift to the parents of my grandsons. I had heard a TV interview with the author and was impressed with his ideas on raising boys. It takes a modern approach to an older theme that boys tend not to do well in traditional school settings, and discusses it in the modern age. Parents of boys would find this book interesting.

This is a great resource for parents of boys, particularly boys entering adolescence. Reist questions and challenges society's definitions and expectations of what is considered normal vs abnormal boy behaviour, based on his many years of experience teaching boys. His commitment to helping boys learn within the context of today's factory school is exemplary. Besides the personal experience and commitment he brings to the topic, I also appreciated the research he's invested in the subject, although at times I wish he'd included in-text citations so that I could follow up on particular ideas or claims in more depth. It has been quite illuminating for me as the parent of an adolescent boy and I enthusiastically recommend it to any parent who has the joy of raising a boy.