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What does the author have in mind? Instruction by way of boxing match? Coeducation in elementary schools isn't a recent development. When I was a kid, boys could sit quietly, listen, and raise their hands as well as girls could. The difference was, if they didn't behave, the teacher could and often did beat the crap out of them. (Ah, Texas!) They hit girls, too. Our natural temperaments didn't count for squat. We paid attention.
So we've progressed beyond the barbaric old methods, but we apparently haven't yet discovered a new method of emphasizing to kids that learning is a serious business. I agree it's not fair to simply let a generation of boys fail; I also don't think you can teach a kid who doesn't want to sit still and pay attention.
