The Crisis of the Disappearing Educated Male

The American Thinker ^ | May 28, 2009 | Janice Shaw Crouse

[hoosier hick]

The secondary effect of all this is the decline in enrollment in the “traditional” male majors: science and engineering. Even 30 years ago when I was an undergrad, fully half of our professors in EE were from Taiwan/Hong Kong. The doctorate program was filled with foreign-born students because there weren’t enough domestic students applying. The school tried to recruit me into grad school, but I declined, completing my MS after going to work. Today the problem of filling technical slots has shifted down into the undergrad ranks. My grad work was done at Santa Clara University, and I saw where they are actively recruiting high school students, because of the lack of applicants to the Computer Science undergrad program...

hh

[mikey_hates_everything]

A conference at Penn? This is what they want more of. No thanks.

[Brookhaven]

Another stat they don’t add in is that a huge percentage of female college grads (something like 40%, don’t know the exact number) end up being full time mothers/housewives.

I remember an article from a few years ago that had the president of Harvard bemoaning the fact that like half the women who graduated from HARVARD didn’t work full time.

[Old Badger]

I can only say, “well stated, rarestia”!

[WaterBoard]

Lets not forget that the bias against men has reached the point that more women graduate from law school, medical school, and graduate school now. Women now out earn men in many career fields, and for the 1st time in history there are more women in the work force nationally then men.

Oh, for God’s sake please medicate boys with some more Ritalin in grade school. Got to medicate out that evil manhood. LOL. Everyone has to be Adam Lambert now.

[wdnhrse]

I agree with some of the sentiments, but I also want to add some experiences from three decades in the World of large Corp. Employment. My educational experience at College was different than it is today, but after college, I got the Experience as you have described. The first came in the early 80’s, I was hired by a large and very prosperous company. My responsibility was to develop the program for screening and hiring employees on a national scale, and being careful to not cross any of the (then new) laws on sexual discrimination and other new awareness programs. I was also sent all over the country to handle the exploding series of ‘Harassment’ or ‘Discrimination’ complaints. It took three years of really long hours, uncounted meetings with thousands of employees, and three rewrites and reprint's of the Employee Manuals and Management/Operations Manuals. But I finally got the company in line with the ‘Legal’ requirements, and a real working and succeeding grievance program. After solving all the problems, and doing the Corporate headquarters to meet with the owner and his Board of Directors. After presenting all the developments of the program and how it was succeeding, I was told that the company was going to create a dedicated Corporate level team, equal to the HR dept. that would continue the program I created, developed, and implemented. They were deeply appreciative of my work and even mentioned the several millions of dollars I had saved them in personally handling the many suits and complaints during the previous three years. Then I was introduced to the, newly hired woman, that would now take over these duties, and I would be her assistant.
Soon after that, I left that company. The wife of the Owner received information that she acted on. She hired a P.I. and got very incriminating pictures of the Owner and the woman I was assistant to, there were also pictures of the same woman with the Director of HR doing cocaine and each other, along with a huge volume of documents that the IRS found interesting... The company was out of business within two years.
I worked for six more companies during the three decades and saw similar events in two of them. I have seen many good male employees pushed down, pushed aside, or pushed out. Now their sons and grandsons are feeling the results.
For three decades I watched ‘European Heritage’ males being told and forced to be accepting and inclusive of ‘others.’ Now, it is interesting to note how unacepting and noninclusive their replacements are. President Lincoln said something about a 'House divided won't be able to stand.' He was giving good advice...

[zeugma]

Speaking as a male with a BA in English and an MBA let me ask a fundamental question. What constitutes education? Is a man who can read (and comprehend) a service manual not literate? Is man who can tear down a diesel engine and make it run better after he puts it back together not educated?

Absolutely. One thing I've found as I've grown older is that just about everyone has something they know a lot about. They may know nothing about computers, but can rebuild an air-conditioner. Both skills are critical in the modern society. I think it's a real shame that the "trades" are looked down upon by so many. I appreciate my mechanic because he has applied himself to learn the ins and outs of mechanical things in a way I've never had time to. I'm a professional computer nerd, who will gladly fix his computer if he'll fix my motorcycle.

[rarestia]

Very apropos article to our conversation, if anyone is still watching the thread.

'Power' move by male students ruffles U. of C.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I think we should run you for President. ;-)

[rarestia]

I paid my own way through college and didn’t go to an Ivy league university... I don’t think I would qualify, but thanks for the invite.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"and didn’t go to an Ivy league university..."

See, you just keep looking better and better ! ;-D

[Clemenza]

From my Alma Mater no less! Nice to see some folks still have balls at U of C (albeit in the nebbishy manner of most U of C male students).

[Old Badger]

From the article:"Similarly, Ali Feenstra, a third-year student and a member of the Feminist Majority, questioned Men in Power's utility. "It's like starting 'white men in business' -- there's not really any purpose," she said."

Leave it to them to inject race into the mix.

[texmexis best]

I agree with a lot of what the author has said, but I will add this:

My older generation wanted to be CEOS, the upcoming generation wants to be owners of companies. Lots of reasons for this switch but many younger people have no intention of working for a company that may or will replace them with an H1b employee for one third the price, or will be replaced by out sourcing, or will be subject to periodic layoffs or will be replaced by technology. There is a long list that extends beyond the above written list.

Many are not willing to pay a large sum of money and 5 years of their life for a degree that will result in a 15 year career that becomes difficult after the age of 40.

They will go to college, but they will do so for specific courses and information and may never bother to get a degree.

They will hire those female college graduates and pay them well, but ultimately those college grads will always be employees. Because that is what they were taught.

The upcoming generation’s belief is:

“If you’re an employee, you’re a failure.”

[bt_dooftlook]

Would also recommend “The Death Of The Grown-Up” by Diana West as a companion read.

[Plutarch]

The female predominance is not seen at the most selective colleges, there it is more like 50:50.

[tom h]

Excellent work by you and your husband. Another thought, when the boys get to be mid-teens and finish with Scouting, is to consider volunteering with one of the local service branch auxiliaries. Here in San Diego we have the Civil Air Patrol (USAF auxiliary) and the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

The CAP takes them pretty young (age 14 I think) and is quasi-military in that the youths wear uniforms and drill. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is real-man stuff — working the radios, riding the boats, carrying out duty. I think the minimum age for the Coast Guard Auxiliary is 16. Depending on where you live there may be associated organizations for the other service branches.

Whatever it is, recognize that your boys need men and not just their Dad, uncles and grandparents. They need other men whose role model they can also observe. I am technical and business-oriented so I am lousy at fix-it guy stuff around the home. But it would do my son well to be volunteering in a Coast Guard shop and watch a technician use a lathe or fix an electronics box. Or, to get to know an MP at a guard post and listen to him talk about his duty.

Good luck to you and your family. God bless.

[neverdem]

bttt

[John Will]

Office Space is a perfect reflection of how the modern workplace is.