A new model of education needed for boys?

Or perhaps an old one needs to be brought back?

What should be done about active boys between the ages of 6 and 9? How literate do they need to be before they can begin the "traditional" liberal arts curriculum at the age of 12 or 13? What should they be doing before then? Does the Montesorri method take into account sex differences? Would boys benefit from a more hands-on approach to primary learning, with more physical activities? Some time should be spent on language and grammar and calculation; how about the memorization of poems and such? And hearing the stories of heroes with whom they can identify?

Spending 5 weeks with one class has reminded me how quickly one can develop bad habits with regards to handling children (or people in general). If one becomes used to reacting strongly and having certain emotions, instead of focusing on remaining calm, this will carry over for a while, until one exerts some sort of effort to counter it.

Tomorrow is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Day at the school, sponsored by the local PTA. Breakfast snacks in the morning, KFC for lunch. Yum!

The False Promise of Classical Education by Lisa VanDamme
Written from the perspective of objectivism. 'Nuff said? Would it be a good intellectual exercise for one to go through such an essay and identify the problems from a rational viewpoint? Objectivism has roots in the Enlightenment. Fortunately the influence of Ayn Rand and the objectivist school is rather negligible in academia and in mainstream American culture as well.

What is Objectivism?
Ayn Rand and Objectivism Reference Center
Objectivist Living - Dedicated to Ayn Rand and the Art of Living ...

I remember reading The Fountainhead in high school for a scholarship essay. Truly, what bosh. This is probably the same contest; I learned about it from the CHS career center. Who runs the center now?

A Medieval education was not for everyone; neither was a Renaissance education (I suspect). How much differentiation between ability should there be at the primary level? What are the advantages and disadvantages of having students of different abilities in the same classroom? If there are too many students it is difficult to provide one-on-one attention and address the needs of individual students. Even among students of similar abilities, one must spend some time with each one to see if anything needs to be corrected. Wouldn't this process require even more time if the students had varying abilities?

Future reference:
Medieval Monastic Education, by George Ferzoco (Editor), Carolyn Muessig (Editor)
Medieval Schools: Roman Britain to Renaissance England, by Nicholas Orme
Medieval Education - Google Books Result
Medieval Education, edited by Ronald B. Begley, and Joseph W. Koterski, S. J.
Medieval Aspects of Renaissance Learning: Three Essays, by Professor Paul Oskar Kristeller
Humanism and Education in Medieval and Renaissance Italy: Tradition and Innovation in Latin Schools from the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Century, by Robert Black (Cambridge University Press)

and from PIMS:

Mulchahey, M. Michèle. “First the Bow is Bent in Study ...”: Dominican Education before 1350. ST 132. 1998; xxii, 618 pp. Casebound. ISBN 978–0–88844–132–4 • $110.00 • A detailed exploration of Dominican education in the first century of the order’s life.

Vives
Juan Luis Vives - Google Books Result
Vives: On Education: A Translation of the De Trandendis ... - Google Books Result
The Education of a Christian Woman: A Sixteenth-Century Manual - Google Books Result