Bad boys or bad schools?

In a time obsessed with political correctness and equality of the sexes, America remains more gender-polarized in one significant arena than it was three decades ago. As the number of women attending college continues to exceed the number of men, one can not help but ask: Is America failing its boys?

In 1972, in the wake of the neo-feminist movement, all of the attention was on girls. Concerned gender-egalitarians pushed for the now infamous Title IX and accompanying legislation that was to help America’s girls “catch up” to the boys, who were trumping them in almost every subject. Then, boys accounted for 58 percent of the nation’s undergraduate population and consistently outperformed girls on national achievement tests.

At least up until the early 1990s, the intensive federal funding appeared to be working. Although girls still struggled to match boys in math and science, by the middle of the decade more girls than boys were taking rigorous high-school science courses. It seems that in the heightened effort to help girls, somehow boys were allowed to slip through the cracks.

As neuroscience and fMRI research blaze new scientific frontiers, it is clear now more than ever that there are fundamental and profound differences between the male and female brain. Boys excel at spatial and mechanical reasoning and are more than two times as likely as girls to score more than 700 on the SAT reasoning test. Girls, on the other hand, outshine their male counterparts in emotional and verbal capacity, and eighth-grade girls score 21 points higher than boys on standardized writing tests.
Given this increasingly evident gender gap, America’s equal-opportunity education policy seems fundamentally flawed: How can we expect girls and boys to achieve at the same level and in the same way given such pronounced physiological differences?

It is evident that the cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all view of education is failing America’s boys. Girls and boys are fundamentally different and should be taught in environments where curriculum is geared to each gender’s strengths and weaknesses. Single-sex public schools would encourage learning that caters to the distinct needs of both boys and girls.

Although co-ed interaction is necessary for both boys and girls, integrated lunchtimes, homerooms and after-school activities could offer students a chance to mingle with peers of the opposite sex while still maintaining the separation that might better foster individual achievement.

More male teachers in elementary schools would further enhance the educational experience of boys. Boys need male influence at a young age. More importantly, though, they need someone who understands their needs and tendencies. Incentives should be given to college males who pursue a career in elementary education and schools should hire male primary educators in greater numbers.

The state of America’s boys is in jeopardy, and without ambitious educational change, the only true failure will be the country’s.