What's Up with Middle School Guys?

In her popular 1994 book Reviving Ophelia, author Mary Pipher explored what goes on in the minds of middle school girls, asking why so many bright kids who were excited about learning and achieving suddenly withdrew when they hit junior high. Today, while adaptive curriculum and special programs are encouraging more girls to succeed in academic fields that were predominantly male, another problem has come to the forefront: the ratio of dropouts for students by gender is four boys to every one girl. Raising some of the same issues brought up by Pipher, only this time in relation to boys, What's Up with Middle School Guys? combines clips from over one hundred hours of one-on-one interviews with middle school aged boys on a myriad of subjects related to the areas of gender bias, learning styles, and differences in physical and emotional makeup, among others. The filmmakers discovered that although the boys came from differing racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds, they shared many common experiences and feelings. This program (which comes with an extensive teacher's guide) and its “female counterpart” Beyond the Butterfly: Middle School Girls Speak Out! should be required viewing for every adult who works with this age group, particularly educators who want to increase their effectiveness in the classroom. Highly recommended. Aud: J, C, P. (L. Stevens)