Why Gender Matters

When I started this blog in 2005, it was going to be big on reviewing books and ideas of abundance thinking. All that changed when Aaron died in May 2005. Growing through this mourning and grief experience has opened doors to some fascinating thoughts. I am inspired to share with you ideas from a speach I heard on a topic which is so close to my heart; In fact, Aaron's life could have been a text book case for the author of Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D.

As I listened to Doctor Sax, my mind went back to Aaron's first encounter with the Wisconsin Public School system. Cathy has more accurate recall of facts from 1991-92 than do I, so to avoid misrepresenting the facts, I will leave it at this: Aaron was quickly labled as "below average" because he saw things differently than "average" boys AND girls his age. As Dr. Sax said more than once, those "...(averages) are facts, but they are meaningless." Until the data is broken out for Boys seperate from Girls, the data is meaningless. Aaron was very likely average for boys and his learning methods were not unique, but not the "average" for boys AND girls.

I like what Dr. Sax observed about kindergarteners: "Boys and girls all don't know how to write sentences as well but what they ALL know is this: Who is in the smart group and who is in the dumb group."

As parents we have millions of decisions to make in the class room educational lifetime of our children. Today, nothing makes me feel more like I failed in helping my son Aaron have a healthy life than the way I trusted doctors, psychologists, evaluaters, social workers, teachers, and the school system.

Can't change the past, but I can change my knowledge for the present.

Why Gender Matters
by Leonard Sax, MD Phd
Doubleday 2005
www.WhyGenderMatters.com

Tom