How schools may be failing our boys.

A generation of boys is leaving school unable to cope in the modern world because lessons have become "feminised", according to a renowned academic.

They are falling behind in exams and the job market because teachers fail to nurture traditional male traits such as competitiveness and leadership.

Dr Tony Sewell said schools instead celebrate qualities more closely associated with girls such as methodical working and attentiveness in class.

He warned that boys are becoming disaffected and flunk exams and job interviews because their competitive instincts have been discouraged.

Some become so alienated they turn to gang violence to vent their frustrated masculine sides.

This may seem to be unnecessarily harsh but I have to say that I have long noticed this trend as well. I have worked with children for the last twenty seven years and I have watched as this policy has filtered down to child care centers and elementary schools over the years.

No playing guns, no pushing, stand still, no spitting, no tackling, no rough housing, be polite, no name calling, etc., etc., etc..

It all seems very reasonable, but much of it goes against a young boys natural instincts. He learns to share, reather then dominate. He learns to wait, rather then be first. He learns to use his words, rather then his physicality. He learns to be soft, rather then to be strong. Everybody gets to win!

But in the real world not everybody wins. You don't get every job you want. You don't get every girl you're attracted to. You don't overcome all of your obstacles. So when do you learn to persevere?

I believe that men should be sensitive. I believe they should be nurturing. I think they should get to cry without being judged (You know like when John Wayne died in"The Cowboys"). I also believe they must be strong. They need to absorb the difficulties in life. They must serve as the strong shoulder that their wife and children can lean on. They have to forge ahead in the face of adversity.

As boys they are naturally inclined to practice these attributes. Racing teaches them to push themselves past their limitations. Tackling teaches them to absrob and dish out aggression. Teasing teaches them to rise above the impact of words. They learn that they can be hurt and still continue.

As men our roles may be changing, but we still must be men.