my son is seven and loves school, because he has parents who support him, britain has become a nation where peopje refuse to take responsibilty for anything If boys are not doing well in school , it is the government's fault, if children are out of control it is the fault of the police , if people are obese it is the fault of supermarkets .
if you want your son to do well at school, give him time not a televison, read to him, engage him... in other words ...be a parent!

Uche George, London, England

I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Sax speak in person some months ago and found his points to be quite persuasive. The brief version given here hardly does justice to the subtlety of his analysis. While I'm still reluctant to suggest making single-sex education the norm, for many boys it probably would help a great deal.

Unfortunately changing teaching methods can not address what is probably the worst problem facing school children today--they are far less likely to have the support and discipline at home that they need to prepare them to succeed in school. Many of the initiatives we have seen in schools in recent years are desperate attempts to compensate for the lack of parenting that so many of today's children suffer.

D.L. Anderson, Crossett, AR/U.S.A.

There is growing evidence, from many respected authorities in addition to Dr Sax, that early promotion of formal learning is harmful to children. Yet the Government is pushing ahead with its ill founded Early Years Foundation Stage framework, with its emphasis on literacy and numeracy targets for under fives. This will disrupt established and respected educational methods, such as Steiner-Waldorf, which are based on children's natural development processes. There will be an enormous burden placed on all those caring for under fives to assess their charges against 117 separate points. This will apply to all child minders in addition to kindergartens, nurseries etc. Parents who want a less intensive environment for their children will have their freedom of choice severely curtailed.
I am a Trustee of a S-W School (Alder Bridge near Reading) and we have written to the Minister requesting a permanent exemption to enable us to continue our unique approach. No reply has been received.

John Dawson, Reading,