Honor Code

1. Schools punish those who are different

1.1. The education system has become culturally cohesive, rewarding and encouraging a certain sort of person: one who is nurturing, collaborative, disciplined, neat, studious, industrious and ambitious. People who don’t fit this cultural ideal respond by disengaging and rebelling.

1.2. The education world has become a distinct subculture, with a distinct ethos and attracting a distinct sort of employee. Students who don’t fit the ethos get left out.

1.3. ex."If schools want to educate a fiercely rambunctious girl, they can’t pretend they will successfully tame her by assigning some of those exquisitely sensitive Newbery award-winning novellas"

2. Schools have to engage people as they are

2.1. The basic problem is that schools praise diversity but have become culturally homogeneous.

2.2. That requires leaders who insist on more cultural diversity in school: not just teachers who celebrate cooperation, but other teachers who celebrate competition

2.3. ex."If schools want to re-engage Henry, they can’t pretend they can turn him into a reflective Hamlet just by feeding him his meds and hoping he’ll sit quietly at story time."

3. Males are falling behind in school

3.1. College admission requirements have gone lower just so colleges could be able to admit enough men

3.2. 11th grade boys are reading at the same level as 8th grade girls.

3.3. ex."Boys are much more likely to have discipline problems. An article as far back as 2004 in the magazine Educational Leadership found that boys accounted for nearly three-quarters of the D’s and F’s."