Many have noticed that the male population at Colleges and Universities is shrinking. In fact, today, males
Make up less than 44 percent of America's college population.
It didn't use to be this way. There is no doubt that in the past, females had to work pretty darn hard for academic achievement and culturally they weren't expected to need an education. The cultural changes alone would have helped women succeed academically. But recently the Department of Education released a report which concluded, in part, that
At some point in the early '80s, boys' relative academic records and aspirations took a downward turn.
But now, it seems to me, after putting four children through the school system, that boys are experiencing bias; this time against them. One of the this is that us boys need to run and play and yes, sometimes we have to duke it out. It's an honor thing. Girls wouldn't understand. The educator-authored Stepping Stone Blog points out
Developmentally, boys are generally more impulsive and more active than girls, and the development of school-related skills in boys can lag behind same-age girls by as much as a year. Since most schooling requires large blocks of time where children must remain seated, or quiet, or listen and follow directions, boys often struggle in school. (Boys are also more likely to be harshly disciplined by teachers and parents, according to the authors.) Since schools are also scaling back or eliminating recess entirely (such as at my school and other schools in Chicago-- I recently read that 70% of the public schools in Chicago have no recess), boys are denied a much-needed chance to run and play. All of this adds up to the decision by many boys, by the age of ten or twelve, that school is not for them.
- Receive the majority of D and F grades given to students in most schools, as high as 70 percent.
- Create 80 percent of classroom discipline problems.
- Account for 80 percent of high school dropouts.
- Represent 70 percent of children diagnosed with learning disabilities and 80 percent of those diagnosed with behavioral disorders.
- Are an average of a year to a year-and-a-half behind girls in reading and writing skills. (Girls are behind boys in math and science, but to a lesser degree.)
- Represent 80 percent of schoolchildren on Ritalin or other medications used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
This last is something I'm familiar with. Teachers didn't want to deal with a high-energy inquisitive boy, my son. So they decided he was hyperactive and wanted him put on Ritalin which we went along with for a while because a doctor said he just might be hyperactive. But once this was done, I began to watch and from my point of view, he was just a boy. So we took him off the drug and looked around for a different school.
My impression after this ordeal was schools were trying to feminize the boys, and perhaps, the world. They are, in my opinion, being feminized. The problem is, boys are boys and can't be feminized. I'm not the only one to notice.
And some are beginning to fight back.
At Milton High School, girls outnumber boys by almost 2 to 1 on the honor roll. In Advanced Placement classes, almost 60 percent of the students are female.
It's not that girls are smarter than boys, said Doug Anglin, a 17-year-old senior at the high school.
Girls are outperforming boys because the school system favors them, said Anglin, who has filed a federal civil rights complaint contending that his school discriminates against boys.
Among Anglin's allegations: Girls face fewer restrictions from teachers, like being able to wander the hallways without passes, and girls are rewarded for abiding by the rules, while boys' more rebellious ways are punished.
Grading on homework, which sometimes includes points for decorating a notebook, also favor girls, according to Anglin's complaint, filed last month with the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.
''The system is designed to the disadvantage of males," Anglin said. ''From the elementary level, they establish a philosophy that if you sit down, follow orders, and listen to what they say, you'll do well and get good grades. Men naturally rebel against this."
And check this
As for assignments, she said, one teacher expects students to type up class notes and decorate their notebooks with glitter and feathers.
''You can't expect a boy to buy pink paper and frills to decorate their notebooks," Little said.
It goes to the core of a guys code of conduct.
Hey folks, listen up. You are not going to get a more peaceful world by turning boys into girls. Not only is it as stupid as believing in Communism, but you fail to consider that even if you succeeded in America, not everyone lives in America.
And while you were out trying to turn boys into girls, girls have started to realize they can kick butt too.
Now whatcha gonna do about that?
