On Feb. 15, author and social philosopher, Dr. Michael Gurian, spoke to parents at the San Mateo High School theater about “The Minds of Boys and Girls.” Gurian released his new book, Saving Our Sons, just weeks prior to this keynote. His talk informed parents about the biological effects that account for the differences between boys and girls and their achievements, as well as how to treat them accordingly in order to succeed.
While this keynote was directed towards parents and the majority of the 400 attendants were parents, a few were accompanied by their child. Cathleen Pearson, the woman in charge of inviting Gurian as a member of Peninsula Parent Speaker Series, said, “One of the things we are trying to do is nurse this parent journey but also spark some conversations at home.”
The idea was introduced in August of 2016 to invite Gurian to speak to the San Mateo High School Union District parents of children of all ages. Pearson says, “There is a bit of an achievement gap between boys and girls in terms of the number of girls matriculating to college and the number of boys matriculating to college, some of the challenges boys face in school in general. Not enough people understand how to close that gap and make it better, it’s a reality.”
Since Gurian just released his book, his talk touched on the themes surrounding success in school, specifically how it relates to the science behind how boys behave. When first introducing his talk on stage, Gurian asked the audience who had “burning questions” about boys and who had “burning questions” about girls. As the difference in raised hands was significantly greater for boys, Gurian followed up by centering his discussion on the minds of boys.
Gurian talked about screen time, neurotoxins, the tendency for boys to engage in aggression as a bonding experience, and the various parenting styles to accommodate and respond to each issue. While Gurian touched on the environment in which boys and girls have been raised in the past, he focused on the “nature” of children rather than nurture or culture.
Raised overseas in various countries, Gurian noticed similarities about the nature in each gender in the different cultures. When he went to school, he wanted to further explore the genetics and science behind seemingly gender specific behaviors. Once he finished school he worked as an academic and therapist and then in 1994 wrote his first book. Gurian says, “[His] goal was getting the academic world to care.” He wanted them to care about the difference in boys and girls and to tailor the education system to each sex rather than group everyone as a whole.
Pearson said, “I hope they go away with a deeper understanding of what makes their children different, like moms raising boys and dads raising girls, like if they had a deeper understanding of how we’re wired a little differently and some practical tools to use in this parenting journey that helps them just get a little insight.”
