Book Review: Boys Adrift

Boys Adrift by Dr. Leonard Sax. I listened to the book during my drives

You must be wondering why a blog on my son and his educational journey is featuring a book review. It is very simple - I read the book because of my son. Boys Adrift is about the rise of the slacker culture in America. According to the author, Dr Leonard Sax, there is a growing number of boys who end up not doing well in school. Many of them end up as video games addicts that stay with their mothers, cannot get girlfriends and do not contribute at home. I must admit, I was a bit worried about my son. He was after all, an avid gamer. Even though we always set limits on his tablet time, at the back of my head, I was always worried if the limits set were not enough.

Before giving a review of the book and how it relates to my son, let me give you a gist of the book. of how the author believes the boys drift away from being functional members of society. The book describes five factors that contribute to this in America:

1. Changes in Education: The brains of boys generally develop differently from girls. At the age of five, boys are generally not ready to sit down for long to study languages. However, the curriculum of kindergarten has accelerated. Boys and girls are made to sit down to study languages. While girls generally learn well, boys suffer. This first negative experience turns off boys and subsequently, they see school as something negative.

2. Video Games: Many of today's games feature violent and addictive content. As a result, boys are addicted to video games and there is evidence that these games make the parts of the brain responsible for concentration and focus atrophy. They tend to do worse in school. At the same time, because of this, more boys become diagnosed with ADHD.

3. Medications for ADHD: Many boys take medication for ADHD. Unfortunately, studies have shown that these medications affect the nucleus accumbens, part of the brain that turns motivation into actions. Therefore, many of these boys end up having little or no motivation.

4.  Endocrine disruptors in the environment: Apparently plastic bottles contain polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a substance which mimics the action of female hormones. As a result, this leads to a variety of symptoms such as low sperm count, weak bones and lack of motivation.

5. The decline and disintegration of the masculine ideal: Over the years, the role of the father in the American family has diminished. From the masculine father figures of the older sitcoms, the modern day father is represented by Homer Simpson, a bumbling and useless father who needs his wife or his daughter to save the day.

A major caveat one needs to take note off is that this book is about boys in America, not boys in Singapore. Nevertheless, I picked it up because I wanted to see if what is happening in America is happening in Singapore. Regardless of which country the boy is about, I think I can pick up some ideas from the author. Let me first talk how each point and its whether if it affects my son.

Does my son suffer from all of these five factors?

First, I am not sure if this affects my son. I am not even sure if the Singapore kindergartens have gone to the extremes the American pre-school sector has. I know many kindergartens that make their children sit down to learn. But I am pretty sure most of them do not make them sit for long hours. Regardless, my son is a bit different. He is a late talker and an early reader. He probably reads one to two years ahead of his peers, but only started speaking his first real word around two and a half years old (and this is after extensive speech therapy). As a result, I am sure he is able to endure the long lessons, if they are carried out.

Second, this is something really worth thinking about. My son does play video games on the iPad mini. However, his gaming time has been limited since school started. During weekdays, we limit him to around one hour. During the weekends, we limit him to around two hours. From my research, they seem to be about correct. Another caveat - the book says that boys who play lots of computer games do not like to read books. Something my son likes, quite a bit. In fact, he is equally distracted when either playing games or reading books. We literally have to wrestle the book away from him to get him to talk to us.

Third is of no issue. He has never displayed any ADHD and will never take any medication for it.

Fourth, well... I am really not very sure of the research behind this. Anyway, he seldom drinks liquids from PET bottles. His water bottle is metal and his favourite drink is milo, available in packet form. I really doubt this is a deal breaker for him.

Fifth, I do not think there is a lack of masculine role models. I think I am one (haha, I know, I am shameless). But even if I am not one, there are many other men in his life. He is enrolled in Catholic High School, for goodness sake - he has many male role models, from his teachers to CCA leaders to the other dads who help out in the school to even the senior boys! I am also sure that in Singapore, we respect our fathers. Our role models are not bumbling and comical.

So I conclude that my son is not in danger of becoming adrift. Phew! Looks like I have nothing to worry about.

One interesting observation though - Dr Sax is known to be a single-gender advocate. He believes that boys in single-gender schools generally are not affected by what he had described. He argues that that single-gender schools tend to have many male role-models. In addition, the environment allows boys to be boys, and this overcomes any learning challenges a boy faces in a co-educational school. This of course lowers the chances of the boy being medicated. My son's school, Catholic High School is just exactly like the single-gender schools he described! They have strong male role-models, and they organise competitions for both physical training and academic results (my son is in Joseph house of sports competitions and the red group for academic work). My son really loves to compete in this environment. Looks like I am an unwitting supporter of Dr Sax's work.

Finally, regardless of whether you believe in his work, one piece of advice he said is very true. Choose the best school for your child, not just the best school.