Swagger: 10 Urgent Rules for Raising Boys in an Era of Failing Schools, Mass Joblessness, and Thug Culture

From Swagger: "At this very moment, through no fault of their own, our boys are caught in the vortex of four powerful, insidious, often invisible forces which conspire to rob them of their future." We medicate, discipline, suspend and expel our boys from school at quadruple the rate of girls. We let double the number of boys drop out of high school than girls, and of those boys who do graduate, they are far more likely than their sisters to be illiterate, to fail to go to college, or to drop out of college if they do go. Young American men are unemployed at the rate of their counterparts in Arab Spring countries. Pop culture hammers our boys with the message that manhood equals emotional numbness, gun violence, rape, and drug use. And we incarcerate more of our boys and men than any other country on earth, now or in human history. SWAGGER is a wakeup call for parents about the real world our boys inhabit right now, but it offers solutions as well. From how to teach your boy humility (the swagger anti-venom), to "making your home a reading mecca," creating an expectation of college graduation, and how to teach your boy to be critical of the media onslaught in his life, this book is also packed with research-proven, parent-tested, teacher-approved practical solutions, delivered in the author's trademark no-nonsense, often humorous, take-charge voice.
Advance Praise for Swagger:



"A comprehensive and engaging piece of work. A must-read for today's parents." --Dr. Drew Pinsky"Lisa Bloom always gives it to us straight. Swagger shows parents exactly how to keep their sons on the right track when the world our boys now inhabit so often lures them in the wrong direction. Packed with smart parenting tips that you can start using today, Swagger is both a passionate wake up call and a very useful handbook." --DR. PHIL, television host and New York Times bestselling author"As girls surpass boys in schools and universities around the country, this book could not come at abetter time. Lisa has long been a great attorney and with Swagger she is now a passionate advocatefor our boys." --Dan Abrams, ABC News Legal Analyst and author of Man Down"As the father of three sons (and sixdaughters), I am profoundly grateful to my friend Lisa Bloom for this timely and important wake up call. Every parent and anyone who cares about the next generation of boys should read this book, today!" --Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, New York Times bestselling author of 10 Conversations You Need to Have with Your Children