Months ago, Heights teacher Joe Lanzilotti took up a prodigious project: reviewing the body of popular literature on boys’ education.
Partway through his journey, Dr. Lanzilotti catches us up on the diversity of scientific, biological, psychological, and moral perspectives—and how they cohere into a bigger picture of boys and where their developmental needs differ from those of girls. Framing the evidence with papal guidance from the last century gives us a solid starting-point to consider the education of boys according to their nature.
Chapters:
00:04:09 The timeline of research on boys
00:08:26 Why attend to the sex difference
00:10:36 Definition of a man: fatherhood, sonship
00:15:06 Sex differences manifest early
00:21:05 The secular evidence supports natural law
00:28:51 The importance of role models
00:32:10 Single-sex education
00:34:55 Athletic trials
00:36:10 Male friendship
00:42:11 The collaboration of men and women
00:50:25 Parents, teachers: be not afraid
00:59:40 Educate boys according to their nature
Links:
The Male Brain by Louann Brizendine
Defending Boyhood by Anthony Esolen
No Apologies: Why Civilization Depends on the Strength of Men by Anthony Esolen
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
The War Against Boys by Christina Hoff Sommers
The Two Sexes: Growing Up Apart, Coming Together by Eleanor Maccoby
Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax
How to Raise a Boy by Michael Reichert, which Dr. Lanzilotti critiques
“Letter to the Bishops on the Collaboration of Men and Women” by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
“Letter to Women” by Pope John Paul II
Mulieris Dignitatem by Pope John Paul II
The Gurian Institute, training programs on boys’ and girls’ academic development
American Institute for Boys and Men, advocates for evidence-based policy solutions
Also on the Forum:
What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about The Male Brain by Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti
Raising the Boys: Saving the Difference by Dr. Joseph Lazilotti
Featured opportunities:
Convivium for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
January Workshop at The Heights School (January 7-9, 2026) link coming soon
May Workshop at The Heights School (May 6-8, 2026) link coming soon