From Gina R:
I learned a long time ago that if I let my son (who is now 17 and a high school senior) do homework his way (meaning he does homework while he’s plugged into his iPod, watches tv and IMs his friends), he will get A’s (including scoring 100 on both his Latin and Biology finals one year). This week I went to an amazing talk called “Connecting Boys with Books” by author Michael Sullivan, who confirmed that the average boy is wired differently than a girl … not only does his brain fail to reach adult size until he is about 14 1/2 (compared to 11 1/2 for a girl), a boy’s brain often fires hot on one side while the other side is quiet. In order to stimulate the other side of their brain, the average boy needs stimulation to learn, which they instinctively know. Studies show that boys learn best in a room with bright colors, some noise, and while fidgeting. This is hard for most adults to understand, since many of us need quiet to focus, but if you have a “busy” boy who can’t settle down long enough to finish their homework or read, try handing them one of this squishy stress balls and/or putting on some music in the background.
Jane's Lessons Learned 