"Why did you focus on motivational issues related specifically to teen boys?" Most interviewers have asked me some variation of that question.
Indeed,I had planned on writing a book on motivating teens. But, when I reviewed my case studies, I realized that the ratio of students with motivational issues was around 9 boys to 1 girl. I also understood that the majority of parents who called with extreme exasperation were parents of boys.
Moreover, as I thought through the issue, my experience of having been a teen boy made me far more attune to the issues faced by teen boys. Its easier to be a coach when you've played the game.
I also started reviewing national trends. Girls were catching up and in most cases surpassing boys in academic achievement. AS a father of two daughters (and one son) and the husband of a wife who is finishing her doctorate, I'm all for women advancing. But, I'd prefer to see women and men striving in equal measure.
There was also a socio-economic factor that I thought was important. I live in what is called Shoreline, CT. Along with the Gold Coast of Fairfield County, Connecticut and the Greater Farmington Valley in northern Connecticut, Shoreline, Connecticut is a highly affluent location within a highly affluent state.
I'm not a home-stater bragging. I'm from New Jersey. While surprising to most, New Jersey actually is a very wealthy state - a lot of those 1% Wall Streeters live there but New Jersey has a far greater level of economic diversity within suburban towns. As I note in relation to my high school, there were kids in my school who drove Porsches and kids in my school who stole Porsches. I mention because Connecticut towns are far more homogenous. The vast majority of families in Madison, CT are upper middle class and wealthy. If my sample size of unmotivated teen boys was being drawn from a highly affluent community, I can only imagine how challenging this issue is for other areas of Connecticut and the rest of the state.
That's why I wrote Motivate Your Son and not Motivate Your Teen.
Indeed,I had planned on writing a book on motivating teens. But, when I reviewed my case studies, I realized that the ratio of students with motivational issues was around 9 boys to 1 girl. I also understood that the majority of parents who called with extreme exasperation were parents of boys.
Moreover, as I thought through the issue, my experience of having been a teen boy made me far more attune to the issues faced by teen boys. Its easier to be a coach when you've played the game.
I also started reviewing national trends. Girls were catching up and in most cases surpassing boys in academic achievement. AS a father of two daughters (and one son) and the husband of a wife who is finishing her doctorate, I'm all for women advancing. But, I'd prefer to see women and men striving in equal measure.
There was also a socio-economic factor that I thought was important. I live in what is called Shoreline, CT. Along with the Gold Coast of Fairfield County, Connecticut and the Greater Farmington Valley in northern Connecticut, Shoreline, Connecticut is a highly affluent location within a highly affluent state.
I'm not a home-stater bragging. I'm from New Jersey. While surprising to most, New Jersey actually is a very wealthy state - a lot of those 1% Wall Streeters live there but New Jersey has a far greater level of economic diversity within suburban towns. As I note in relation to my high school, there were kids in my school who drove Porsches and kids in my school who stole Porsches. I mention because Connecticut towns are far more homogenous. The vast majority of families in Madison, CT are upper middle class and wealthy. If my sample size of unmotivated teen boys was being drawn from a highly affluent community, I can only imagine how challenging this issue is for other areas of Connecticut and the rest of the state.
That's why I wrote Motivate Your Son and not Motivate Your Teen.