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Baker, Beth. Helping boys become men; Author says an older male must coach, mentor and lend a hand, in: AARP Newsletter, March 2000

Boys need more personnel in their lives. There's kind of an emergency when boys don't get enough mentoring and enough direction." This is especially important for boys", Gurian argues, "because they tend to be more impulsive than girls and less able to form close personal relationships." [...]
"If we had to look at the top three problems right now in our culture, the lack of fathers and other older males in the lives of young males would have to be at the top," he says. Fix that, he believes, and a host of problems would diminish.

Boeve, Reinder, Boys Achieve Bad at School, Girls do much better; Translated from Wegener Dagbladen 25 juni 2001

After a years-long spurt, girls have made up their arrears in education.
Contrarily, boys achieve worse.

Boeve, Reinder, Scarcely Attention to the Arrears of Boys; Translated from Wegener Dagbladen, 25 June 2001

In contrast with other countries, in the Netherlands is scarcely attention to the growing arrears of boys in comparison with girls. Lauk Woltring, lector at the High School of Amsterdam, and independent counselor in the field of youth care, knows why.
"In the US and the UK, the arrears are worse.  But in the Netherlands, we think too little about boys." [...]
"Boys are only seen as a nuisance, only in connection to alcohol, drugs or traffic offending."

Chorus, Jutta, The Rise of the Revenge Boys - Worried Books about Youth; 
 Translated from NRC 16 July 1999

Since the 60s, girls and women have started an advance in society. For boys, however, life has become much more difficult. They now have not only to show their muscles, but also speak about their feelings. But with whom? US therapists try to decrease the emotional stress of the suppressed boy.

Kreulen, Erwin, 'Quality Time Does Not Work Well'; Translated from Trouw, 2000-12-28

Does fear of conflict dominate the Dutch families? Doe families from other cultures function better? Experts react to the report of the Trouw survey. Today Professor Micha de Winter, University of Utrecht. [...]
"I do not agree that a short quality time will be enough. parents must structurally create time for their children."

Levering, Bas, Boys... How to Bring Them Up? Why boys are different and how they may grow to happy and balanced men - Plea for an intensive fatherhood. Translated from O-25, July 1999. About Raising Boys, Steve Biddulph

'Nowadays, girls often have the best self-confidence. They are more motivated and work harder than boys. Boys do not know how to set about their life, achieve bad at school, are clumsy in relationships, and have risk to violence and alcohol and drug abuse." This says Steve Biddulph in his much discussed book Raising Boys.

Phillips, Angela, Boy's self-esteem depends on 'Highly Involved Men' - The Guardian, 17 March 1999 

[...] He is a key factor in building the self-esteem and success of boys, according to a report published on Tuesday. It is the quality of his relationship with the man in his life which marks out the supremely confident boy from his peers. The man doesn't have to live with him, he doesn't even have to be Dad, but he does have to take an interest. 

Sampson, Ovetta, These friends bridge the gap between young and old, The Colorado Springs Gazette

Neighbors Bill Brockelman, 71, and Micahel Atwell, 12 are the best of friends. They go fishing together and Atwell accompanies Brockelman to the grocery store and to doctor's appointments.
Michael Atwell arid Bill Brockelman are best buds. The next-door neighbors do everything together. They fish. They fix up old rods and reels. They tell stories. They cruise the flea markets. And after Michael gets out of school, he usually makes a beeline to his Fountain home just to hang out with Brockelman. The two have been friends for four years.
They view their friendship as ordinary But many people might see it as unusual, because Michael is 12 and Bill is 71. "It's pretty different, for as old as Bill is and as young as Michael is," Michael's mom, Debbie Atwell, says of the friendship. "But I think it's pretty neat."
Academicians and analysts say such intergenerational friendships are not only "neat," they're needed for the good of society. By fostering more relationships like Michael and Bill's, kids can find mentors and get the one-on-one attention they often lack at home, experts say.

Sartwell, Crispin, It's time for us to rethink boyhood, source unknown

Masculinity still means aggressiveness, but now that aggressiveness is frowned on and pathologized, to the undoubted delight of the makers of Ritalin.
Masculinity in boys seems to be something to be treated rather than something to be celebrated. [...]
If we don't rethink boy- and manhood, we risk creating a seriously asymmetrical generation of young people in which the females have changed but the males haven't, in which femininity is cool and masculinity is medicated. We're creating a generation of boys who are going to be puzzled and conflicted about how to be men. In fact, most men are already puzzled about how to be men.

State's zero-tolerance policies victimize 'good' kids; Parents say officials go too far, violate childrens' constitutional rights; 8 June 2000, Author & source unknown

Families in New Jersey are becoming increasingly frustrated with "zero-tolerance" policies in the nation's public schools.
Case in point: Parents in Sayreville, N.J., are venting their anger by suing school officials over the suspension of their son for playing "cops and robbers" on the playground during recess. Known only as A.G., the 5-year-old kindergartner made news after he and three of his friends were suspended March 15 for three days. The boys were "guilty" of using their fingers as guns and shouting words like 'bang' while running around in the school yard.

Time for Boys - Translated from Wegener Dagbladen, May 1999 - About Steve Biddulph's Raising Boys

Because of a lack of male mentors, boys join peer groups hanging around on the streets. The worst we can do is to leave adolescents to each other. A community of peers has only lost souls who cannot help each other. The high level of testosterone causes that the boys start a competition to create a picking order. Without an adult in their nearness, they become troublesome and things go wrong, Biddulph fears.
If we want that boys develop balanced, parents and society have to invest in them. With money, but particularly with time. 

Wouter, Special Bond Remains - A Letter to Achterwerk (Backside), the kids' page in VPRO Gids, 22 July 2000 - translated.

Hello Girl of ten, who wrote "My Teacher" in # 27.
I think I understand very well what you mean. Long time a go, I was a teacher and I had a student with whom I had a very special bond. For me, he was the most pleasant student of the whole world!
When I got sick and had to stay home, I missed him quite, but I never have dared to phone or write him. I thought: People will think: what's going on in the mind of that man who likes a boy?

See also two articles from "Read More" at Statement # 1:

Koning, Petra de, Schools react cramped to abuse incidents - No goodnight kiss; translated from: NRC 24 October 1998

Behavior codes, protocols, rules about taking a child on your lap. Teachers try to protect themselves against suspicions. They are afraid. It is difficult for them to recognize child sexual abuse.

Lammers, Marijke, Fear of touching hits also students and patients; translated from
De Volkskrant, 29 oktober 1998

Because of the growing attention to sexual abuse, more and more teachers and professional helpers suffer of 'fear of touching'. Marijke Lammers sounds a warning note not to make more and more severe rules. By so doing, the problem will be hidden, not resolved.