Workshops
Workshops and Presentations
The heart of Dr. Thompson's work is lecturing to parents, teachers and students about the development of boys, the social lives of both boys and girls, the parent-teacher dynamic, school culture, how to raise responsible children, and the psychological journey of children through school.
He travels about eighty days per year to make keynote presentations at conferences, to run professional development days for teachers, to consult to schools or to speak to parents. He has visited more than five hundred schools in the U.S., Europe, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and has been a keynote speaker for the National Association of Independent Schools, the International Confederation of Principals, the European Council of International Schools, The National Association of Elementary School Principals and the Near East/South Asia Council of International Schools.
For more information on workshops and presentation details, contact Elizabeth Diggins — Administrative Assistant to Michael Thompson Ph.D.
Abstracts of Talks by Michael G. Thompson Ph. D.
"Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Friendship Development, Popularity and Social Cruelty in Childhood"
Children don't want adults to be involved in their social lives.
They hate it when teachers "interfere." Yet teachers are witnesses
to the exclusion of low-status children in elementary schools
and the popularity wars of middle school and they must act to
protect the weak. Parents also see the 
"Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys" also entitled "The Nature of Boys"
What's the matter with my son?" Why is he an underachiever in
school?" Why are boys so violent?" "Why won't boys talk to adults?"
Educators and parents in the United States are engaged in an important
debate about the way we raise and educate boys.
"Dealing With Difficult Parents"
Ninety-five percent of parents are loving and concerned people
who only want their child known and well taught. Though they may
become anxious or angry at times, teachers should be able to handle
their concerns. Five percent of parents, for reasons of their
own mental disorders or troubled lives must act their difficulties
out on the school and on teachers. It is essential that teachers
be able to distinguish
"The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Find Success in School and Life"
"The Pressured Child" is, in fact, a presentation for "pressured
parents" who have forgotten what school is actually like. It is
a talk for parents who are gripped by worries and misapprehensions
about their children's life in school. In the presentation, Dr.
Thompson describes the psychological journey
"How to Raise Responsible Children"
In this talk, Dr. Thompson mixes anecdote and clinical experience
with research on the outcomes of different parenting styles and
comes up with a warm-hearted recipe for providing children with
an internal foundation for moral behavior.
"Adolescence is Hard Work"
There are five developmental challenges which every adolescent
must meet. There are no shortcuts and no exemptions, and these
challenges are, from a psychological point of view, very strenuous.
At the same time, most adolescents meet them with grace and ingenuity
"College Admission: A Failed Rite of Passage"
This talk is an emotional survival guide to the college admissions
process for high school juniors and seniors, as well as their
parents. The end of high school and the transition to college
confront both child and parents with numerous developmental challenges.
To the extent that people think the
"Going Beyond Fear in the Parent-Teacher Relationship"
Even in the closest of school communities there is a latent fear
that infects the working relationship between parents and teachers.
Parents can come to school conferences feeling amateurish, anxious
and exposed. Teachers often feel devalued and defensive and they
experience parents as potential critics. In a