PrivateTim

Mmmm, but you weren't the best little boy in the world, because best little boys didn't do that.... or like other best little boys.... It was the aspects of being the best little boy in the world so your parents would like you and be proud of you that I could relate to.

Basically it is about "John Reid" who we later found out was Andrew Tobias, the financial writer, coming to terms with his sexuality. How could the "best little boy in the world" be gay, because all the good little boys went to great colleges, met the perfect woman, had perfect children got perfect jobs and life was just... well perfect. It was a struggle for "John" to figure out that wasn't the path for him.

Ok, so I admit I picked this book off the shelf in the bookstore because of its cover. I am like totally shallow. But when I turned to the opening chapter and read "I was eighteen years old when I learned to fart." I knew i was buying it. It turned out to be one of my favorite books of all time and one of the few books that had a direct impact on me. It was like reading my life story. Has any one else read it?

Oh yeah and what up with Vegemite? I totally don't get that.

Jacob, do you have a link to the story about the boy raped by the football team or recall what city/state it was in? I've tried to Google it but can't find it. I did find some hazing/bullying stories, but I don't think they were the one you were referring to. Thanks!

Happy Birthday Mark. Here is a special song for you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFdZSjLUhkc

I was actually referring to U.S. schools only, since those are the only studies I've seen. We don't really have tech schools in the U.S. any more, even though they might have the name still. The majority of remaining single sex schools in the U.S. these days are mostly Catholic schools and some charter schools in the U.S. inner city. There is definite political correctness going on in the U.S. when it comes to single sex education, especially in the inner cities. Several studies have shown African American boys perform much better academically, have lower dropout rates and lower deliquency rates when taught in single sex programs, but there is still resistence to expanding the programs. http://www.brighterchoice.org/index.php?id=29 http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/er/fsmn_09.html It is still an evolving topic.

Hmmm, how long will it take to read this story to get me up to speed.... or can you do a non-spoiler Cliff Notes (Spark notes).

It is a three legged stool actually and part of what Nephy said addressed two of the three legs, do students get distracted by the other sex and what are their socialization skills with the opposite sex. There no no studies I know of suggesting that separating the sexes leads to serious socialization problems, there are studies that suggest students learn better, which IS the main goal of school, in single sex classrooms and or schools. The third leg is that students in single sex schools flourish in areas they do not in coed schools. For girls, it is math and science in single sex schools, for boys it is the arts and music. Oh and Ritalin is passe, Aderall is all the rage now.

You might find this Stetson University experiment interesting. They completed a three-year pilot project comparing single-sex classrooms with coed classrooms at a nearby neighborhood public school, Woodward Ave. For example, students in the 4th grade at Woodward were assigned either to single-sex or coed classrooms. All relevant parameters were matched: the class sizes were all the same, the demographics were the same, all teachers had the same training in what works and what doesn't work, etc. For the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, these were the results: boys in coed classes: 37% scored proficient girls in coed classes: 59% scored proficient girls in single-sex classes: 75% scored proficient boys in single-sex classes: 86% scored proficient. These students were all learning the same curriculum in the same school. The school mainstreams students who are learning-disabled, or who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and so on. Many of those boys who scored proficient in the all-boys classes had previously been labeled ADHD or Exceptional Student Education (and not in the good way) in coed classes. I do find distraction a legitimate reason for single sex education. And boys and girls learn differently. Other studies show that boys in single sex schools are less competitive and more collaborative. They all participate more in drama and music than in coed schools. There is also a recent UCLA study that shows the benefits to girls in single sex situations over coed.

I think there is a big difference between an all boys school and and all boys boarding school. In general I think single gender can be highly beneficial, but like anything it has its pluses and minuses. My experiences with single gender education suggest that more gets taught with less in the way of distractions. Are there social disadvantages? Perhaps, but in some of the single gender experiments in the inner cities of the U.S., it seems to have worked to the benefit of the students.

It depends on the sauce.....

I say first option. It was very impact-full to me that way in It Started With Brian.

Mmmmm frog's legs...

Eh escargot only tastes good because you drown it in butter and garlic. Cat poop would taste okay in enough butter and garlic. Calamari though is great. I know places that do it so tender and in a light batter it melts in your mouth. I know another place that does it "abalone style" where they pound it flat and saute it.... just yummy. I can tell we need to get you out of the house more......

I don't doubt it's true because the reasons for Lutefisk, storing fish for the winter by drying it, no longer exist, but for those in the U.S. and Canada, it is a way to reconnect with your roots and the 'homeland' and remember why you left that cold dark place I would also wager more haggis is eaten in the U.S. and Canada than Scotland for the same reason. Do you suppose they eat gefilte fish in Israel?

My first gay pride was bitter sweet I suppose. I went to L.A. Pride as I was dealing with the feelings I had, I liked women and men, I didn't have any gay or bi friends since no one knew I was struggling with those feelings so I went alone. I remember how alone and isolated I felt despite being in a crowd of 300,000+ people. That is the bitter part. The sweet part was that there were enough normal looking, happy people who weren't terrified about their sexuality that it was the first time I ever believed I could make it through life with the feelings I had.

Moondance by Van Morrisson. The prom theme was Moondance, which we didn't really get until as they started to play Moondance, the roof of our venue slid open revealing a great moon that night. The dance floor erupted. It was a great night for romance. I wish I had one more moon dance.

Uff da!! You're hitting all my ethnicities.... it wasn't Christmas without a sm

Hunh.... turns out I don't have one..... how did that happen?? INFJ Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging Strength of the preferences % 11 38 38 22

Don't be dissing my peeps!! Fair fa

I'll say a little prayer for you.

My heart too many times to count.....

Hey hey, just because you couldn't get those hand motions down is no reason to dis it!!

I freaking love reading. I've read almost everything these people have written: C.S. Lewis, P.G. Woodhouse, Tolkein, Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Clancy, Louis L'Amour, John Grisham, Hemingway, Steinbeck, James Michener, Ayn Rand, Amy Tan, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Franklin W. Dixon, Patrick O'Bryan, Bernard Cornwell, Robert Ludlum, John Trevanian, Winston Churchill, F. Hayek, Milton Friedman, Ferrol Sams, William Manchester & John Donne. Fiction 1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 2. Brave New World by Aldus Huxley 3. We The Living by Ayn Rand 4. Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 5. Playing for Pizza by John Grisham 6. Run with Horseman by Ferrol Sam Non-Ficton 1. Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour 2. A History of the English-Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill 3. Goodbye Darkness by William Manchester 4. Here Is Your War: Story of G.I. Joe by Ernie Pyle 5. Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis 6. The Birth of the Modern by Paul Johnson 7. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle 8. Under The Tuscan Sun by France Mayes