The Meaning of Life Before Twenty

Fenn School, 516 Monument St, Concord, MA | Get Directions »
FREE

Free Public Lecture - Adam Cox, PhD

The Fenn School- Meet The Experts Series:

The Meaning of Life Before Twenty

Noted author and researcher Adam J. Cox, PhD will present “The Meaning of Life Before Twenty,” focusing on boys’ development and education. As part of his lecture, Dr. Cox will give a powerful series of "I’ve learned" statements that he recently shared with the Fenn School Board of Visitors, including these:

• I’ve learned that boys are desperate for adults to be honest with them and to hear the truth about what they are good at, but also about what they are not so good at.
• I’ve learned that boys love and relate to animals; they have a grounding effect that technology doesn’t have.
• I’ve learned that just about the worst thing a boy can experience is disappointing his parents.
• I’ve learned that boys spend about three hours a day checking Facebook, but actually think Facebook is a huge waste of time; they would be glad to give it up, as long as everybody else is willing to do the same.
• I’ve learned that the biggest fear of boys is that they will be stuck in a job that makes them feel like someone they’re not.
• I’ve learned that every boy has had a teacher who he believes has changed his life

Among Dr. Cox’s recommendations to parents and educators is that they need to teach with vocation in mind, to uncover and promote purpose, and to create a forum for dialogue.

Adam J. Cox, Ph.D., ABPP, is a psychologist and educational consultant. He is the author of the just-published book On Purpose Before Twenty (Four Corners Press 2012) No Mind Left Behind: Understanding and Fostering Executive Control: The Eight Essential Brain Skills Every Child Needs to Thrive (Penguin 2007) and Boys of Few Words: Raising Our Sons to Communicate and Connect (Guilford 2005). He has visited hundreds of schools and organizations in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa, and is author of a global school-based research project on how youth finds significance and purpose in their lives.