Is There a Crisis in Boy’s Education?

Laurel DurhamEDUC 2110

● Some analysts are claiming that boys are falling behind girls in school.1

● Consequently, those boys grow to be men who fall even further behind women in higher education.

Why?

With a lot of effort going into pushing for girl’s enriched education, those same analysts feel that boys are being left behind. There is not as much of a focus on boy’s education as there is for girls.2

In essence, a case of unintended reverse discrimination.

Girls are also being pushed into male-dominated fields of study (math, science) while boys are not being given the same encouragement to female-dominated areas (the arts and social sciences).3

A win for feminism. But is this win harming boys?

Richard Whitmore writes in his study that girls have exceeded boys in learning, graduating, and getting into higher levels of learning. Apparently, boys’ motivations have also been affected by the ‘boys crisis.”4

The evidence of the discrimination, Whitmore argues, is in the grade and enrollment demographics, which drastically favor women over men.5

Others argue that there is no such crisis.

An article by Judith Warner reports that these discrepancies “isn’t new.”6 A Washington Post article states that the claims of a ‘boy crisis’ is merely a myth.7

Educationsector.org believes that while girls do have higher graduation rates and grades, it is only because they improve faster than boys.8

If anything, the differences in grades and graduation rates can be attributed to ideologies and gender expectations. It is not necessarily a

fault of teachers or the education system.

A look at the census data does show that women attend school, graduate, and go onto college at a higher percentage than men. However, the data shows only minute differences. Male Female

Is the data enough to claim a ‘boy crisis’? http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0253.pdf

Evidence also suggests that it is not a gender problem - but a race and class issue.

In the Washington Post article, Rivers wrote that white boys in the upper and upper-middle classes scored evenly with their girl counterparts.9 The only drastic differences they saw was in lower-income areas where boys are more likely to drop out.

In lower income schools, African American girls were far more likely to graduate than African American boys.10

So, instead of championing for separate gendered classrooms to appeal to the boys’ interests, the focus should be instead on helping poor African American boys and families bridge the gendered gap.

So is it an issue of income rather than gender? Or is it income and gender?

Staunch believers in the ‘Boy Crisis’ blame the statistics on:teacher discrimination

“feminization of the classroom”lack of male role models

lack of diversity in female-male teachers rationatural learning differences between girls and boys

schools’ lack of appealing to said differences11

However, the report by the Education Sector states that boys are keeping up with their girl classmates. Boys may be behind in some areas, but it is not to the extent that those who believe in the “Boy Crisis” will lead people to believe.12

The boys who skew the percentages attend poor school districts, are economically disadvantage, and are typically not white.13

Historically, masculine and feminine ideas change together. The idea of femininity in the education field has changed, now the masculine idea needs to change as well.

The ‘Boy Crisis’ looks to be another masculinity crisis.

There is the legitimate problem of masculine-feminine education roles. Just as girls are being encouraged to study maths and sciences, boys should also be encouraged to study the social sciences and the humanities. Social stigmas should be removed (a long, very slow process that can begin in the classroom). But with those standards in practice there is a limited focus of seeing if the minute gaps can be equaled out.

In the educationsector.org debate, the main cause for concern was with men’s education was their future job perpectives.

However, they also noted that traditionally, boys are geared to take blue-collar jobs - a job market that is disappearing in today’s economy.

If boys - men - are to be successful in the workforce overall, there needs to be an awareness of the job market change.

Strong Pre-K programs, mentoring, and bases for support for both boys and girls could help bridge the gap.

Exploring other learning routes could work for students as well. Apprenticeships, career academies, and other alternative schools. If a boy or girl is not adapting well to the traditional school setting, then they need to find

which learning style suits them best.

Encouraging more males to become educators would also provide positive male role models in boy’s lives just as female teachers often do for girls.

FootnotesSlide 1Clip-Art: http://www.clker.com/cliparts/6/1/a/d/12603896661797746970jantonalcor_ReaderBoy.svg.med.png

Slide 21. Lois Collins. “The war on boys.” last modified January 10, 2014. <http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765552031/The-war-on-boys-young-men-are-facing-a-new-crisis.html?pg=all> accessed March 9, 2014.2. Collins. “The war on boys.”

Slide 33. Michael Kimmel. “Solving the ‘Boys Crisis’ in Schools.” last modified April 30, 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kimmel/solving-the-boy-crisis-in_b_3126379.html> accessed March 9, 20144. Richard Whitmore. “Why Boys Fail (excerpt)” last modified January 15, 2010. <http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/excerpt-boys-fail-richard-whitmire/story?id=9561763&page=2> accessed March 9, 2014.5. Whitmore. “Why Boys Fail (excerpt.)” Clip Art: http://www.sylviarimm.com/images/Boyatdesk.pngClip Art: http://clipartfort.com/clipartfort/plog-content/images/people/education/schoolboy3.png

Slide 46. Judith Warner. “Is There Really a Boy Crisis?” last modified March 21, 2013. <http://ideas.time.com/2013/03/21/the-boy-crisis-is-it-fictional/> accessed March 9, 2014.7. Carl Rivers. “The Myth of the ‘Boy Crisis’. last modified April 9, 2006. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/07/AR2006040702025.html> accessed March 9, 2014.8. Education Sector. “Are Boys Really in Crisis?” last modified September 12, 2006. <http://www.educationsector.org/events/are-boys-really-crisis> accessed March 9, 2014.Clip Art: http://datastore02.rediff.com/h450-w670/thumb/605662606C586D6A6A5E7064/xv0cn6cuixvtielr.D.0.education_clipart_boy_writing.gif

Slide 69. Rivers. “The Myth of ‘The Boy Crisis.’10. Rivers. “The Myth of ‘The Boy Crisis.’Clip Art: http://blackhistory.phillipmartin.info/school_desk.gifClip Art: http://school.phillipmartin.info/math_girl3.gif

Slide 711. Collins. “The war on boys.” ; Whitmore. “Why Boys Fail.” ; Kimmel. “Solving the ‘Boys Crisis’ in Schools.”12. Educationsector.org. “Are Boys Really in Crisis?” 13. Judith Warner. “What Boy Crisis?” last modified July 3, 2006. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/03/opinion/03warner.html?_r=0> accessed March 9, 2014.

Slide 8Clip Art: http://www.vectorart.com/webart/products/42991Y.GIF

Slide 9Clip Art: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQHKXwndBABPT0SpRDGdg39IpPer9Y2R5iFfkZTjKYzu-6wAt41kg