How the Schools Shortchange Boys - In the newly feminized classroom, boys tune out.

City Journal ^ | Summer 2006 | Gerry Garibaldi

[ModelBreaker]

This, more than any other reason is why we homeschool.

[luckystarmom]

I got a great public education many years ago, and my kids were in a good public school for 3 years.

Last year, my daughter had to go to a new school because our district closed their old good school. The new school was horrible. Unbelievably bad. Academically poor, and it had lots of kids with behavior problems. It was awful. Anyway, we're putting them in a small private school next year. It's going to cost a ton of money, but I hope it will be worth it. If not, I'll be homeschooling.

[luckystarmom]

I'm on a list serve with hundreds of parents of special needs children in other schools across the nation, and none of us would dream of taking our children into an IEP meeting until they are older.

[MattinNJ]

Shakespeare is about pushing the boundries of language to make something beautiful. He made up, quite literally, many of the words and phrases still in common use every day, many by people who have no idea what they are really saying. You probably quote him constantly

Great point. Imagine if Dubya had walked up to the podium on September 12, 2001 and simply said "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war"-then walked away. Much more powerful and to the point then any 5 page speech. Then again, "You are either with us, or with the terrorists" was beautiful in it's own way.

[ModelBreaker]

I just think that more accountability (and less political correctness) in public schools would do wonders for boosting the value of education received there.

I respectfully disagree. The public school system is irrevocably broken. The union runs the entire show in the schools and they own the school boards. Unions make big contributions to the legislators who protect them. They have no reason to change and without union buyin, change is impossible. Plus, the ideological element is overwhelming. Even teachers who think they are conservative have, for the most part, bought into the cooperative learning crap that is destroying our schools. And then there's the subject of this thread. It's the result of the militant feminists who control the education agenda combined with administrators seeking to label boys messed-up so they can collect more money.

There are no entry points to reform the system. It is self-contained and self-perpetuating. We need to replace it entirely and toss most of the folks currently employed in the system out of work.

[ModelBreaker]

My guess is that a smart, motivated male still does well in the system, and that spoiled, LAZY, cossetted brats get left behind.

You should read Sommer's book, "The War Against Boys." It will dispel some of your misconceptions.

[Tax-chick]

four years of required formal logic

Yes, that would get amazing results, I think!

[TontoKowalski]

I'm not sure I buy this whole "boys constantly question authority and if they don't know the purpose of the assignment they won't do it" argument.

How do you explain the US military?

Not that I don't think schools have become feminized, I just think this is the wrong argument. Physical energy, application, logic. These are not emphasised, and THAT is the problem, IMHO.

I hope you're right. We're entering our 6th grade boy in a small-classroom private military school this fall. Day school, not a boarding school.

He's been homeschooled up till now. Based on our meetings and orientation, I think we've made the right move. I strongly endorse homeschooling, but we needed to make a change.

[Tax-chick]

Forcing antiquated, uninteresting books on captive teenagers ...

"Antiquated" can just mean "timeless." "Uninteresting" is a question of personal taste. You'd probably find many of the books that fascinate me "uninteresting," and vice-versa.

The real problem is the "Forcing ... captive teenagers." Few people like what they're forced to consume, and, as you say, they can lose their taste for the whole process of reading if the material is poorly chosen, as I believe much reading material in schools is.

Reading should be a joy. It is certainly the greatest one in my life, especially because I can read while pursuing many of my other pleasures, such as walking, snuggling babies, taking a bath ...

I do not recall the originator of this wisdom: "Many delightful passions come and go throughout life, but the only one that will never let you down is reading."

[LexBaird]

Yes, that would get amazing results, I think!

Imagine how far the James Carvilles of the world would get if everyone could spot a strawman argument coming and going. Great site on logical fallacies here.

[Tax-chick]

I hope it works out well for you and your son. One of my boys is interested in military school, and we're not going to dismiss the possibility of his going to one, just because we've always homeschooled.

[Tax-chick]

Oh, thanks for that link - I'd seen it once and lost it! We have a reasoning skills book, "Thinking Toolbox," that I'm going through with my sons, and we'll be looking at "Fallacy Detective" next!

[TontoKowalski]

Thanks. When people asked "How long are you going to homeschool?" (I bet you're familiar with the question), we always said, "We're committed to this year, and then we'll re-evaluate our options."

Sadly, our public schools are so incredibly bad that we could never seriously consider them as a viable option. I think that we had semi-decided to move Jr into a more traditional private setting in 7th grade. But, we like this school, and they begin in 6th grade... we didn't want him to enter next year as the "new kid."

Maximum class size (and they only have one class for each grade) is 15. Jr had to take a standardized test for entry, and he'd never taken one before. I've never been worried about his being smart, but I was worried whether he would understand "Water is to lake as tree is to _____."

No worries. Passed with flying colors.

[CottonBall]

My kids asked that question all the time. Come to think of it, so did I.

I always tried to give them answers because I, too, hate busy work and if I felt something in the curriculum was just that, I didn't make them do it.

I didn't mind that type of question when I was teaching - as long as the student really did want to know and wasn't just trying to distract from the lesson. Part of the standard lesson plan that I used had an objective for each concept and why the students needed to learn it. I found as long as I explained why we were learning something new, they were more cooperative. (For the ones that didn't want to learn anything and just wanted to argue, they got to write a paper to explain why the concept was important. Of course, they rarely did and got a 0 for it.)

[LexBaird]

Much more powerful and to the point then any 5 page speech.

Hear me more plainly.
I have in equal balance justly weigh'd
What wrongs our arms may do, what wrongs we suffer,
And find our griefs heavier than our offences.

(2 Henry IV 4.1.70-3)

[CottonBall]

Boys will pin you to the wall like a moth. They want a rational explanation for everything. If unconvinced by your reasons—or if you don’t bother to offer any—they slouch contemptuously in their chairs, beat their pencils, or watch the squirrels outside the window.

And the problem these days is that many teachers can't give rational explanations.

A female teacher, especially if she has no male children of her own, I’ve noticed, will tend to view boys’ penchant for challenging classroom assignments as disruptive, disrespectful—rude.

I guess I was the exception. I found the boys in the class to be the ones to ask the more intelligent questions and to grasp the difficult concepts quickers. But then, I taught AP Calculus and Trig. A whole class of girls sitting quietly doing their work would be so boring!

[Scotsman will be Free]

Because we were taught to obey or get our asses handed to us. Then we learned about teamwork, etc.

[Tax-chick]

Excellent! I'll bet he does great.

We don't have a military school nearby, so we'll have to have a good deal of extra money turn up if Tom wants to be a boarding student somewhere. But if it's God's will, it will happen :-).

[gathersnomoss]

TV also blows of the males...unless of course your into an alternative lifestyle.

[Xenalyte]

Brandon’s current problem began because Ms. Waverly, his social studies teacher, failed to answer one critical question: What was the point of the lesson she was teaching?

Well, guess what, Brandon?

Someday, if you ever graduate and manage to find a job, your boss will tell you to do things.

And he will NOT tell you why you have to do them.

And - worst of all - if you want that paycheck, you do it.

So butch up, Nancy.