Heads Up Blog: Does Success Come Only Through the Defeat of Others?

Political events over the last week have generated a great deal of discussion about "boy behavior." The attached links—an op-ed piece from this Sunday's The New York Times and an NPR interview with the psychologist Michael Thompson—offer examples of the conversations and concerns that exist and persist.
Far too often, individuals and institutions fall victim to the fallacy that success, whether personal or professional, comes only through the domination and defeat of others. One can't win, they argue, unless others lose. One can't succeed unless others fail. This is irresponsible, and it runs the risk of transfiguring the inherent capacities of empathy and understanding that boys possess.
 
It's time to change this fallacy. Schools and parents must serve as the primary catalysts for change. We need to work together to develop the type of young men that society needs; young men who, in the words of Cathedral's Mission, are "bonded by open-heartedness, hope, compassion, and concern."
 
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Cathedral School for Boys

Located in San Francisco, California, Cathedral School for Boys is an independent elementary school for boys in Kindergarten – Grade 8. Our mission is to provide an excellent education through intellectual inquiry and rigor that is centered in the Episcopal tradition and is respectful of and welcoming to people of all religious traditions and beliefs.