Letters to the Editor

• I'm a feminist, but I'm also a realist.

  [Read the article: Bringing up the boys]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  The systemic advantages men have in our society largely apply to men who have already *been* to college. Although there are jobs that are largely occupied by men that don't require college and are well-paid anyway (mostly, skilled trades), the vast majority of men, like women, are not going to have a middle-class life if they don't have a college education. Certainly it's going to be virtually impossible for men without college degrees to acquire positions of power later in life, unless they become successful entrepreneurs. So the "most of the people in power are men" thing is absolutely true, but most of the men are not people in power, and if they don't go to college, they probably won't have successful lives.

  If there is a imbalance in *boys'* grades and *boys'* college prospects, this does not affect *men*, right now. It will affect men in twenty years, probably to the detriment of both men and women, and by then it will be too late. Just as it took 20 years after women were admitted to business school before we got Carly Fiorina, anything that affects the prospects of boys and girls *now* won't be seen in society as a whole for 20 years. So the argument that men have all the advantages and therefore nothing should be done to help boys is, frankly, idiotic. Obviously, since men did not have this problem when they were boys, there is something new going on, and the loss of intelligent and creative minds to a lack of education is a problem regardless of what sex organs they have.

  I don't want to see boys favored in place of girls. We did that one already, it sucked. I would, however, like to see PE and recess come back, since their lack is probably impacting boys' ability to concentrate moreso than girls, as well as *both* sexes' general physical fitness and risk of obesity. I would like to see less rote learning and more hands-on exploration in science and social studies classes. I would like to see more use of comic books and graphic novels to get boys back into reading (they're fun for girls too), and more exciting action stories featuring main characters of both sexes written for the consumption of elementary and middle school boys and girls, rather than the "boys read about robots, girls read about girls doing girly things" division we have now. I would like to see gifted children of both sexes presented with challenges, because in my personal experience, the gifted boy who is bored in class doesn't do the work, and the gifted girl does the work but it's so easy for her that she never learns how to surmount a challenge, and then she gets nailed the first time she actually has to do something hard. I would like to see school become more exciting and relevant in general, both to attract boys back to learning *and* because girls deserve exciting, relevant schools too, even if they'll do the work either way.

  Our school system is hopelessly antiquated and more of a jail for kids than an actual place to learn. I believe in discipline and focus in learning, but I also believe in fostering critical thinking and independence, and most schools don't promote either. It may be that the imbalance we're seeing is not the loss of boys, but an increase in girls, with boys remaining static -- however, in a world increasingly dependent on advanced education for future job opportunities, that's not acceptable. I didn't sign on to the feminist revolution so my brothers and my sons could be second-class citizens.

  Permalink Wednesday, March 29, 2006 12:56 PM