The think tank Education Sector recently released a study that suggests the problem of academic underachievement in boys is a misperception. Sara Mead of Education Sector suggests that the belief that our educational system may be shortchanging boys is “hysteria” tied to “Americans’ deepest ambivalences and fears about changing gender roles.” Mead also said, “The idea that girls could be ahead is so shocking that they think it must be a crisis for boys.”
The Education Sector study relied primarily on the performances of fourth and eighth grade boys and girls on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, (NEAP). The test scores were similar for both boys and girls. However, test scores don’t reveal the whole picture. In most schools, boys receive up to 70% of the D and F grades. About 80% of high school dropouts are male. According to the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram series, “The New Gender Gap” by Kevin Wack and Beth Quimby, boys are 4.5 times more likely than girls to be expelled from Maine schools. Boys represent 70% of those diagnosed with learning disabilities, 80% of those diagnosed with behavioral problems and 80% of those being medicated for ADHD. In high schools, most of the students in advanced placement and honors classes are girls. Men comprise about 44% of the U.S. college population and approximately 40% of the graduate school population. About 60% of all associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the U.S. are awarded to women. Education Sector may deny there is a problem, but Americans should be concerned.
The July 9, 2006 New York Times article, “At Colleges, Women Are Leaving Men in the Dust,” by Tamar Lewin attributes men’s lackluster performance to “slacking.” The article indicated that males spent less time studying and more time videogaming, socializing and participating in sports than women did.
While there are other reasons for males’ poorer academic performance such as classes tailored to the needs of females, “slacking off” is one of them. The question that needs to be addressed is “Why aren’t boys motivated?” One reason may be that they think they can’t succeed academically. This frustration can start early. William Pollack of the Centers for Men and Young Men at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA mentioned that skills once taught in kindergarten are now taught in preschool before boys are physiologically ready to do those things. This probably discourages some boys early in their school careers. When they attend primary school, boys often face teaching styles that favor girls. One such approach is a change from grading on the basis of getting the correct answer to one of grading on the basis of showing the “process” by which the answer was reached. Another is the almost exclusive use of lectures as a teaching method. In an effort to encourage girls to participate, many teachers came to favor girls by calling on them in class while ignoring boys who raised their hands. Girls are most ahead of boys in proficiency at reading and writing. Most assigned books and essay topics are ones that appeal to girls. Books like Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage and Jack London’s Call of the Wild have largely disappeared from classrooms. Being forced to rely on one’s weakest skills, being made to feel like a second class citizen and being assigned boring material are all morale busters.
The frequent portrayal of men as idiots in commercials and sit-coms can lead boys to have low expectations of themselves. Additionally, when intellectual men are depicted in TV shows and movies, they are usually portrayed as sissies. Meanwhile, the way the media lionizes rap stars and athletes leads young men to believe education isn’t necessary for success. Media influence can be overcome by male role models in boys’ lives. Unfortunately, 40% of boys are being raised without their biological fathers. When fathers are active in their children’s lives, schools don’t always encourage their involvement. Steven Andrew, a social worker and co-founder of the Men’s Resource Center met with focus groups of fathers in Portland, ME in which fathers reported being greeted coldly when they visited their kids’ schools while their wives were welcomed. Male teachers can also inspire boys’ interest in academics. There are too few of them, especially in the lower grades. According to the National Education Association, only about 25% of U.S. public school teachers are male. Men are discouraged from teaching by low pay and by the stereotype that men who want to work with children or teenagers are pedophiles.
Fathers, male mentors and male teachers can encourage boys’ interest in school. Schools should also welcome fathers’ involvement rather than allowing PTAs to become “moms clubs.” William Pollack believes the presence of an adult, (not necessarily a male), who understands boys’ needs is key to engaging their minds. That implies that teachers should learn about the different ways boys and girls process information so both sexes can be accommodated in the classroom. The use of teaching styles favorable to boys as well as those favorable to girls can increase the skills of both. That could involve practical hands-on applications in math and science classes, fast paced question and answer sessions and providing a choice of fiction and non-fiction books for book reports and reading assignments. Boys may be more motivated if they the shown practical uses of education. Field trips to various businesses where students can see people working and learn what skills and education are needed for those careers may inspire boys more than “Career Day” lectures do.
Those who don’t have sons or who fear girls will fall behind if educators pay attention to boys, should care that boys perform well academically. Males make up approximately half of the population and most of our military. Those attending school now will eventually become our workforce and our leaders. Our nation will depend on them to stay globally competitive. Additionally, well paying jobs that do not require college or technical school are disappearing due to automation and outsourcing. More than ever, education matters. In his Times Herald-Record article, “Boys flunk life 101,” Steve Israel quotes Michael Gurian, the author of The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind, who said, “(A man) will be three times as likely to be unemployed and more likely to be homeless (as he is today).” Our nation could face hard times if we ignore the educational needs of half of our population.
Copyright Eva Ellsworth, 07/23/06, all rights reserved
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Denis said,
“According to the National Education Association, only about 25% of U.S. public school teachers are male. Men are discouraged from teaching by low pay and by the stereotype that men who want to work with children or teenagers are pedophiles.”
“The frequent portrayal of men as idiots in commercials and sit-coms can lead boys to have low expectations of themselves.”
You are missing the big picture Eva. There are those morale busters and they are important but they are indicative of bigger issues. Those issues you site do add to the problem, but these issues themselves stem from a bigger problem and male students underperforming is just one result.
For the vast majority of my life this country has had an obsession with meeting not only the needs of girls and women but also an obsession with meeting their wants. This was all based on a lie that women and girls have been disadvantaged in this country by this invisible patriarchy. Men have always done the hard work and men have always done the dying in wartime, and men were always expected to take care of the females. Always.
But because so many of you women for 40+ years bought into the lie of how badly you were treated by the men, and with enforcement by the goverment, women have far and away all the advantages in both the work world and the family.
Companies for 40+ have been scambling to hire and promote over the men and that obsession by corporations continues in full force, unabated today. That was a mans primary role: provider. But women and the government see to it that men compete agaisnt women with unfair advantage and it is the women who usually win that unfair competition.
In the family, well Eva, let’s just say that you women own the family today. You know it and I know it.
This has been going on for more than 2 generations. The boys you speak of here mostly come from single parent “families”, i.e., sons with a mother but no father present.
In this world, a smarter question would be “why should males really care about anything anymore?”
Your gender has spent 40+ years telling us men you don’t need a man.
OK. You win. We get the message. Actually, we GOT the message a while ago.
Years ago there was a cartoon called Peanuts. You may remember that Lucy would always temp Charlie Brown into kicking the football but at the last minute Lucy pulled away the football and Charlie Brown again would fall on his ass. Charlie Brown always believed Lucy. He always fell on his ass.
Well, men today get it. We know that everything is about girls and women and what they want. Everything wrong in the world is mens fault. Your gender has been trashing us men for decades on that one.
Why the hell should boys and men even bother to get up in the morning?
Yea America will be hurt by ignoring half it’s population. That should not be the concern or responsibility of the men or boys. Why should it be. Your gender has more to lose then the males anyways.
The greatest force that has created civilizations and pushed society forward (all done by men btw) is when men have a stake in their families and society. Men create and work, and propel society forward when they can provide for their families. When men have a stake in society.
Your gender took that away. Why should men care if society collapses?
Unless, of course, all you and the rest of the women care about, is that we men do the fighting and dying to preserve all the perks you have in life these days.
July 24, 2006 at 1:43 am
dierdre said,
If they marry, they are under the control of a woman. If they divorce, their wages are under control of the state. I wouldn’t want to be a man in this society, it’s like you are on probation for life. Any slip ups and you are jailed or your pay is taken away.
Overall, the social changes of the last 40 years empowered all women including a lot of bad apples. It also drastically reduced the opportunities of ordinary decent guys. It has created a bizarre social dynamic in which women have all the advantages and choices. I’m not complaining, but I don’t like what it does to the good men in my life.
July 24, 2006 at 7:19 am
jaustin9698 said,
July 24, 2006 at 7:42 am
Denis said,
yes. and also rights in the workplace so they (and women) advance based on merit alone and not a government enforced (via legal threat) quota system. This has undermined the ability of the vast majority of men to be strong providers (their primary role). Look around at all the big and mid-sized corporations. Women swell the ranks of management. Fair competition has to be restored without unfair advantage to women in the workplace. What is the point in going to school when you walk into a business on day one and the rules are to your disadvantage and you will never be treated fairly? You can work twice as hard to get half as far as a woman. Why join a game that is rigged against you at the start? Talk about a morale destroyer. Talk about disincentives.
July 24, 2006 at 8:00 am
wblackburn said,
I think Eva did not miss the big picture as much as you think. She focussed on the education system, but also touched on several of the things you mentioned, as well, but used them within the context of her article.
For a person to address the entire gamut of issues within the feminization of Western culture would take an entire series of books, many of which are already available. If you look at how she presented this article again, you might see how the Education issue was framed within the larger issue of single-parent families, hostility towards men from institutional members, exclusivity for women within groups such as the PTA, etc.
July 24, 2006 at 8:19 am
bombbombbombbomb said,
July 24, 2006 at 8:33 am
christianj said,
With women.
They promote it, they encourage it and now will be held accountable fot it.
July 24, 2006 at 3:30 pm
dierdre said,
I think the column’s message is not to ever give up on girls and women, but to maybe pay a little more attention to boys if the research determines a need.
July 24, 2006 at 8:21 pm
Denis said,
Well, the following should give a little insight of the inner working of Eva’s brain:
Eva Ellsworth wrote:
You wrote, “Your gender has spent 40+ years telling us men you don’t need a man.” I am sick and tired of being blamed for something I DIDN’T DO and that most women didn’t support. Most women were fine with men being the providers, but were told that it was unaccceptable to want to be a wife and mother and that, if a woman didn’t excel in college and at careers, she was a failure and a burden. Men didn’t exactly complain when women went to work and brought men their paychecks. Most men show no signs of wanting to be providers.
Well too damn bad Eva. YOUR GENDER…e.g., FEMALES brought this situation about, both through action and inaction. Most women bought into feminism early and many women support it today-even if they don’t want to be CALLED feminists. Most women have at least one unfair perk they don’t want to give up. Until that little perk becomes an issue these women appear normal and even fair. We men supported equal rights for women. Who told you it was unacceptable to be wives and mothers? Not men. It was the feminists. And you believed them why again? How is THAT my fault or problem? And when things went too far, women, including yourself waited until the bottom of the 12th inning to say one word about the unfairness. And mainly because men were starting to get noticeably hostile. (stick around-it’s gonna get a LOT worse). If you are sick and tired of hearing about uncomfortable truths that is not my problem. Get used to it. I don’t respond well to whining women. Especially American women.
“Years ago there was a cartoon called Peanuts. You may remember that Lucy
would always temp Charlie Brown into kicking the football but at the
last minute Lucy pulled away the football and Charlie Brown again would
fall on his ass. Charlie Brown always believed Lucy. He always fell on
his ass.” That is what happened to women. The goal posts were moved, so that being homemakers was no longer acceptable to society. We accomodated and worked our asses off only to learn that was unacceptable to men.
Oh PLEASE! Who the hell said being a homemaker was not acceptable? Feminists. Not men. We men don’t have any problem with hard work either and we recognize it and accept it in women when it occurs. No man I have ever known, and that includes myself, has complained about something earned fairly. As a guy, in my lifetime, there have been far more examples-far more-of incompetent women getting ahead for one reason: their anatomy.
“Well, men today get it. We know that everything is about girls and women
and what they want. Everything wrong in the world is mens fault. Your
gender has been trashing us men for decades on that one.” I can see from your comments that you have no clue what women, (normal women, not hard core gender feminists), want. I haven’t heard any women in real life, say “everything,” (or anything for that matter), is men’s fault. Maybe you should turn off “The View” or whatever you are watching.
Yea right. It’s easy to see things as not so bad when it’s your side that is not on the receiving end of the unfairness and injustice. And like a typical American woman you presume to know me so well that you are convinced I could not know “normal women”. Please. It is the normal women who now make up the 8 in 10 who initiate divorce (in a 50+ divorce rate culture). I know of many men who went down this road. Yea they were normal alright. And they knew exactly how to maximize their return on that deal. I could site plenty of differing examples with the same message-women take advantage of their advantages when they need to or want to. Because they can. Women know those advantages are out there. We men know those advantages are out there for women too. We also know that we men have no such advantages. Funny, when women were yapping and complaining in the 60s and 70s men could not jump to their aid fast enough. All men get today from women (and you are yet another example-yawn) is whining. And no empathy. Your problem is that you are an American woman.
Since you blame all women for the actions of a few feminists, do you also blame all whites for slavery.
Actually I blame feminists for injustice against blacks. Modern feminism started with the WKKK and the discrimination and hatred of blacks since the Civil War and the end of slavery falls squarely on the early feminists and the suffragetes. Feminists, along with all those duped “normal” women who have spread feminism’s destruction throughout this country have done far more damage to American society than any other group. For more on this go to “Margaret Sanger-More Feminist Hate” at http://mensnewsdaily.com/wp/index.php?s=margaret+sanger.
When you read it, be sure to not blow a gasket. The truth is sometimes hard to handle.
July 24, 2006 at 8:51 pm
dierdre said,
Be fair. Eva has generally supported equity and reason between the sexes. Go to the archives and look at her first column. She supported traditional married life before feeling compelled to be independent. It isn’t just radical feminists trying to push women into certain roles, it is everyone around us.
Think about it; by the time I first had sex with my husband at age 23, most of my girlfriends had been with over 15 partners. They always pushed me to “get laid”. I work, but I don’t want a career, I want to raise children. I’ve taken a lot of abuse for not wanting a career. You don’t know the pressure that women put on each other. It is brutal. You can lose a whole circle of longtime friends if you don’t “go along to get along”. It isn’t easy.
So many women would really love to have one man who is good and decent, but they are stuck in a cycle of no-good boyfriends and guys who never commit. They have to work, but physiology is telling them to have a baby and be with a man.
It isn’t just feminists, it’s the whole society crashing down on us as much as it is on men. Grow up and stop thinking it’s all about you and disgruntled men. There are a lot of women hurting and alone, too. You may not be able to find a traditional woman, but some of us are terribly unhappy waiting for our traditional man.
Something to consider?
July 24, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Denis said,
I appreciate your comments. I have to tell you that I am not always thinking about myself when I post. Honestly. I am waging war on feminism and I am always working to get people to think and engage new ways of seeing things. To cut through “the fog of political correctness” so to speak. My combativeness has an ulterior motive.
Guys really need to have their eyes opened. The feminists brought about this very destructive division between men and women. The feminist’s should have been silenced and shut down long ago.
Today they have power that they use destructively as they always have.
July 24, 2006 at 9:16 pm
dierdre said,
I agree with your fundamental points, but many of us found ourselves in a social role we didn’t want. For the last 25 years, both boys and girls were groomed to have jobs and work. That’s reality. There is no PC going on here. Most of us got shafted, and yes it will get worse.
I have to go back to what Eva said. We are not feminists and most women never have been. Just because there are some very visible and obnoxious feminists doesn’t mean we agree with them.
Guys need to have their eyes opened that feminists caused huge social problems, but also that most women didn’t want this to happen. Remember Roe vs. Wade? That was judicial fiat, not a popular uprising by women. Remember those Supreme Court decisions against giving preferences in hiring to married men with kids? This is not what most women wanted.
Most of our big social problems were caused by leftist activists in league with socialist/communist elites. Stop pointing at women and start blaming the leftists. That’s where the blame truly belongs.
July 24, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Denis said,
until power is shifted back to men in Family Court to a degree that they have a stake in the family (rights and not just responsibilities)and women accept responsibilities (which necessarily will result in a loss of some rights) there will be a men versus women war. But women are gonna have to step up to the plate and accept this. Women your age generally do not. I’ve seen no evidence of lonely women speaking up. I’ve seen no evidence of the far more common slutty young American women of today speaking up about this.Today men have responsibilities and no rights. Women have rights and no responsibilities. Their word alone can destroy any man. No man can do this.
Likewise in the workplace. Affirmative Action has to go.
False accusations of sexual harrassment must be prosecuted with real penalties; at least as equal to the charge of sexual harrassment.
Equal protection and equal prosecution under the law. An adult man having sex with a 14 y/o will get him 15-20 years. An adult woman doing the same with a minor gets away with a relatively easy sentence. Equal application of the law for men and women in all areas of law.
Schools must treat boys and men fairly compared to girls and women.
The VAWA has to go. Laws must be put on the books regarding domestic violence by women.
In fact, a thorough screening of all law ought to be done eliminating all favoritism for women.
Men must be given advantages that women will not have if they are drafted into the military service. The advantages become greater if the man serves in combat.
Women will have to stop voting for Democrats who represent the leftist, socialist/communist elites you refer to. I’m not saying the Republicans are big friends of men-but the Republicans often do what is against the interest of men so as to appeal to women more than the Democrats. But deirdre-women, especially women in your age group, vote overwhelmingly Democratic. THEY are part of the problem as to why this gender war continues as long as they vote Democratic. The Democrats will have some power from this and the Republicans will keep trying to win over women (at the expense of the men). Women will have to choose between lonliness and hostility from men, (while being treated preferentially at the expense of men), or fair and honest treatment in all areas of life with men. If women en mass demand these things for men, the Democrats (leftists/socialists/communists/elites) will be finished and the Republicans will not have to screw over the men to compete with Democrats to get the women’s vote. Otherwise men will continue with this war.
July 24, 2006 at 10:13 pm
dierdre said,
I do agree with your points above. Even I see things out of balance, but at least accept the possibility that many women don’t like the imbalance either. I’ve never voted Democrat or threatened police on a man. I only believe in a merit system to advance professionally.
Many women fully understand how things stand. They also realize it is why men won’t commit and never let their guard down. My point is that lots of women are unhappy too, and for the same reasons you just listed.
July 25, 2006 at 5:11 am
Denis said,
July 25, 2006 at 8:12 am
PolishKnight said,
But women have also been hurt by the system even if only indirectly. I knew lots of female supremecists who went under different labels but their overall agenda was the same: More goodies for her because of her gender regardless of how it’s justified: traditionalism, equality, etc. and they didn’t see any problem.
But society, overall, has suffered as it’s most productive members (men) have been marginalized and the structure to empower women had to also attack society and even women themselves. Taxes have skyrocketed along with the welfare state. Dierdre may not be complaining, but a lot of women aren’t much better off 40 years later. Middle class women now have to work long hours just to make ends meet. This isn’t empowerment so much as women getting to be on the “top” of a social order that’s stagnated if not decayed a bit.
The biggie that women wanted and most don’t want to give up is that nice, fat paycheck. They want and like the idea of equal rights in the workplace but also want the ability to come and go when they please and have men foot the bill. That’s the big cahoona and it needs to be addressed.
July 25, 2006 at 10:55 am
fourthwire said,
Sara Mead of Education Sector and Tamar Lewin represent all of the worst excesses of feminism in their attempts to deliberately misinterprete our nation’s war on boys.
At some point in the future, their names will be reviled as the Joseph Goebbels’ of their day.
Obviously women like Eva Ellsworth care more about the health, growth, and well-being of America’s boys and future men than lying gender-feminists such as Mead and Lewin ever could be trusted with.
Also, great posts, Denis. And you are 100% spot-on with respect to your explainations and clarifications to Dierdre, in my opinion.
If I might add as well, the coming male birth control pill and patch will go a long way toward redressing men’s disproportionate share of their own responsibilities in the face of female reproductive rape.
Once men have better birth control technology available, fewer women will be able to trample men’s civil, reproductive and social rights.
Technology simply provides better options for men to defend against reproductive rape, though - it’s no substitute for equal rights, privileges, and responsibilities between the sexes.
July 25, 2006 at 4:31 pm