When students returned from summer break this fall to Boys鈥� Latin School of Maryland, an all-boys K-12 private school in Baltimore, they were greeted with a number of subtle but deliberate changes meant to better reflect how boys learn and interact with the world.
There was a new student cellphone policy (a door-to-door ban), as well as several shifts to the morning schedule intended to increase students鈥� real-time interaction with peers, provide more opportunities for physical movement, and allow students to practice greater agency鈥攕ocially and academically.
鈥淲e knew coming into this year that we had an opportunity to reset expectations,鈥� said Chris Post, head of Boys鈥� Latin. Although the school administrators implemented the cellphone policy and schedule changes over summer break, they began to recognize the need for them far earlier. 鈥淐onfronting the challenges of the pandemic had us focused more inwardly,鈥� Post said.
For kids everywhere, school closures during the pandemic increased their isolation and screen time鈥攚hich have both remained elevated post-pandemic, as mental health issues among youth have soared. Health experts assert that boys are far more likely than girls to suffer from 鈥渢ech addiction.鈥�
Mental health and educators worry that children are spending too much time in the virtual world, playing video games and scrolling social media, and in real life.
In a recent Pew Research Center survey, 62 percent of boys ages 13 to 17 identified themselves as 鈥済amers,鈥� compared to just 17 percent of girls in the same age range. Excessive time spent playing violent video games may lead to an immediate increase in hostile or aggressive feelings, research suggests.
And when students are away from screens, they鈥檙e largely spending time in adult-supervised activities. That鈥檚 especially true for those from middle and upper-class families.
鈥淵oung people don鈥檛 have a lot of time to be boys and girls. And they certainly don鈥檛 have enough time to figure things out on their own,鈥� said Brandon Mollett, the dean of academics at Boys鈥� Latin. 鈥淚n adult-run activities, you don鈥檛 get any chance to work outside the box, make mistakes. It really takes away from a child鈥檚 ability to be independent.鈥�
Given that a school鈥檚 ultimate goal is to help students become sufficiently independent for their next phase of life, Boys鈥� Latin began to take a close look at where they could add more 鈥渂oy-friendly鈥� elements to the school day that would stretch students鈥� ability to be autonomous.
Administrators focused on giving students more time for unstructured play, in-person socializing, and choice. The school faculty landed on these goals based on recommendations from mental health experts, including social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, whose book The Anxious Generation they read during the summer.
鈥淗aidt makes the point that we鈥檝e overprotected boys in the natural world and under-protected them in the artificial [virtual] world,鈥� Post said.
That message resonated as the school sought to create tweaks to the school day.
The adjustments required little to no additional funding, making them feasible for public schools to try as well. Still, schools with larger enrollments or district-mandated start and dismissal times would likely find it more challenging to implement widespread scheduling changes such as those made by Boys鈥� Latin, which has about 630 K-12 students and a self-contained campus.
Younger students get more time to play
In Boys鈥� Latin鈥檚 lower, or elementary, school, the most noticeable difference in scheduling was adding a second recess in the morning. Before the official start of the school day, students can now play outside with their friends from 7:30 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. Gregory Schnitzlein, the head of the lower school, said most students participate鈥攁 鈥渉uge win鈥� for both the boys and their teachers, he added.
A few boys, notoriously late in years past, now routinely get to school well before class starts. They don鈥檛 want to miss out on playing pick-up soccer games. And the boys who take advantage of early-morning recess tend to start class calmer and more alert, Schnitzlein said.
In general, boys tend to have a much harder time than girls sitting still in class, according to a nationally representative EdWeek Research Center survey of K-12 teachers. While about 4 in 10 teachers indicated that both boys and girls 鈥渟ometimes鈥� struggled with sitting still, 51 percent said boys 鈥渙ften鈥� or 鈥渁lways鈥� have a hard time sitting still鈥攃ompared to 18 percent who said the same about girls.
That could help explain why teachers boys more frequently than their female classmates, beginning as early as preschool and continuing through high school.
shows not only that boys tend to be more active than girls, but that movement while learning can actually be beneficial鈥攁nd the opposite is true, too. Even adults had a hard time sitting still while engaged in cognitive activities, according to a recent that monitored the brain activity of study participants who were asked to 鈥渟tay stock-still,鈥� 鈥渞elax,鈥� and 鈥渕ove easily.鈥�
For the Boys鈥� Latin students, starting the day with unstructured play time has also created more room for socialization and connection.
鈥淎lthough the boys are playing quite a bit, there are just as many moments where they are just talking to each other. Those moments of social interaction did not take place organically prior to the before-school recess,鈥� Schnitzlein said.
Recess also includes a new option for play. The 鈥渃reative playground,鈥� a formerly under-utilized 1,500 square foot grassy area of the school property adjacent to the playground, now intentionally resembles a junkyard. Old tires, plastic crates, tree branches, and even an old fishing boat encourage students to rely on their imagination for play.
During recess one late October day, some boys gathered the scattered crates and stacked them as high as they could; others used branches to make pretend fires and talked about building forts.
Middle schoolers get more choice
In Boys鈥� Latin鈥檚 middle school, reimagining the start of the day begins with students relinquishing their cellphones. When they get to school, students place their phones in a central case organized by grades, a process overseen by a teacher during arrival and dismissal.
Cases for 6th graders are nearly empty, meaning that many aren鈥檛 bringing cellphones to school, said Henry Melcher, the school鈥檚 middle school head. He suggests the new cellphone ban has influenced the habits of these young adolescents, who don鈥檛 feel compelled to bring their phones to school鈥攁 hunch that some of the students鈥� parents have confirmed.
The shift in the middle school鈥檚 morning schedule also involves more independent time and choice than in years past. While students of every age can benefit from choice during the school day, stress that it鈥檚 particularly advantageous for early adolescents to feel they have agency as they work to develop a stronger sense of identity.
鈥淧art of what we took away from Jonathan Haidt鈥檚 Anxious Generation is that now, more than ever, our guys need to feel like they have agency and develop a sense of self-advocacy,鈥� Melcher said. 鈥淟ast year, we started the academic day at 8 a.m. and it was, 鈥榶ou鈥檙e going to class.鈥� Now boys can choose their own path to starting their day.鈥�
The middle school now opens its doors at 7:40 a.m. 69传媒 have until 8:20 a.m. before making their way to class, which starts at 8:30 a.m. In that 40-minute span, students have multiple options of how to spend their time.
They can socialize or eat breakfast in the cafeteria. Boys can also choose to attend 鈥渙pen academics鈥� sessions in the library to work on homework or group projects, play cards or board games, or read (print) newspapers, books, or magazines. Some students play ping-pong in the counselor鈥檚 office. Others head to the gymnasium, where they typically play pick-up basketball.
鈥淲e have a regular crew of 25 to 35 guys there,鈥� Melcher said. 鈥淭hat means you show up to first period class sweaty.鈥�
69传媒 can also schedule one-on-one meetings with teachers during this time, in order to, as Melcher puts it, 鈥渃atch up or get ahead.鈥� 69传媒 must initiate and schedule these meetings at least a day in advance.
鈥淚n middle school, we鈥檙e working to build our prefrontal cortex,鈥� said Melcher, referring to the part of the brain responsible for planning and prioritizing, among other things. 鈥淭his gives kids a chance to work on that.鈥�
Each of the pre-class options that middle school students choose are supervised by teachers or other school staff, whose expected arrival time to school at 7:40 a.m. hasn鈥檛 changed. This year鈥檚 new morning schedule means that teachers engage more frequently with students before formal class starts, but administrators haven鈥檛 noticed any pushback from staff.
鈥淲e hire for mission,鈥� said Mollett, the dean of academics, adding that the school鈥檚 teachers are heavily involved in students鈥� school lives; for instance, every middle school teacher coaches a sport. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here for the boys.鈥�
High schoolers start class later and spend more time in clubs
Until this year, the academic day for Boys鈥� Latin鈥檚 high school students began at 8 a.m. Now, student clubs鈥攁ll optional and peer-led, with a staff facilitator鈥攕tart at 8 a.m., and students report at 8:45 a.m. to their advisories (like homeroom, but with dedicated time to talk with their faculty adviser) before classes start at 9 a.m.
The 9 a.m. start heeds research findings that show that during adolescence, a shift toward an occurs, making it more challenging for teens to be alert early in the day.
But even given the option to sleep in, the majority of high school students walk through the school doors around 8 a.m., showing up at one of 34 clubs, from Chess Club to Film Society, according to Amy Wesloski, the head of the upper school.
鈥淭he students want to participate in these clubs. They鈥檙e in charge of them,鈥� she said. In past years, the student-run clubs were held at the end of the school day and tended to conflict with extracurricular activities like sports and theater.
On a Thursday morning a few minutes before 8 a.m., about 40 upper school students file into a room that doubles as a theater, where they climb up and sit on stadium seating. They鈥檙e members of the school鈥檚 One Love club, which aims to raise awareness about relationship abuse. Ten years ago, Boys鈥� Latin started the first such school-based club in the country, an outgrowth of a national foundation of the same name founded after a college student was killed by her boyfriend.
Megan Kenney, the club鈥檚 faculty moderator and the school鈥檚 director of counseling, leads a conversation about traits of healthy versus unhealthy relationships. The conversation shifts to an upcoming schoolwide event where the club members will partner with younger students and introduce them to the club. Then, she lets the club leaders take over.
Marshall Stephenson, a senior and club leader, stands in front of his classmates and shares some ideas of what they might expect from the younger students during the upcoming event.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to keep them engaged, or they鈥檒l get distracted,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our job to teach them that it鈥檚 cool to care.鈥�
This story is part of a special reporting project exploring why boys, overall, are doing worse in school than girls鈥�and what can be done to reverse the trend.
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A downloadable tip sheet: Boys are relational learners, experts say. Here are eight key strategies on how to reach them.
