The current academic focus of the Race to the Top education initiative, as well as that of its predecessor, No Child Left Behind, is in keeping with democratic ideals about success for all. However, the push-down approach to academics has transformed pre-school classrooms into environments that more closely resemble first or second grade. Many room arrangements and schedules are so focused on promoting academic learning that they do not attend to the developmental capacities and needs of young children, particularly young boys. While it is not appropriate to suggest that early childhood teachers should ignore academic directives from their school administrators, it is critical to find ways to help educators address the needs of the "whole child," a tenet central to sound early childhood practice, thus coming to the aid of boys. This article reviews the social-emotional development of boys, suggests ways to help teachers rethink the daily schedule, and encourages teachers to observe and record classroom behaviors as a way of identifying and better meeting boys' needs.