"Won't someone please think of the poor, poor boys?"
Oh, right, it's all we ever think about already. Because nothing is a crisis until it's affecting the boys.
I agree; the crisis is not with "boys", it's with education in the USA, and with a culture that doesn't value education. And I get suspicious, too, because history has shown, over and over, that once any particular activity or arena becomes more associated with women, it becomes devalued. Teaching as a profession, for one particularly relevant example.
Education in America is a mess, period. And I am of the firm opinion that standardized tests cause more issues than they help. I'll save that whole big soapbox because I don't think I need to pull it out right now.
One does wonder why boys don't perform as well in schools. Because they've actually been taught that they shouldn't strive to do well? Because our society is both male-centric and education-phobic no matter how much it pretends otherwise, and therefore it's seen as "uncool" to be an academically-minded young man? (There does seem to be this thing about "jocks" and "nerds," after all...)
So the solution is actually to completely overthrow traditional gender roles? I know I've been an advocate of that for a good long time, but good luck making it actually happen. Have you seen the Superbowl commercials recently?
It's actually interesting to me in interviews how many guys have come in, plopped their (lacking) resume down in front of me, and basically been like "So hey, when can I start." Where as the girls are eager to show me their experience and skills, even when their resumes are just as lacking. It's like the guys are like, hey, I have a penis, so I'm hired, right? Where the girls want to prove that they're eligible and a good candidate.
*OF COURSE I KNOW that this is just my experience and a huge generalization and I am not saying that all guy engineers are like this! But I've seen it enough that *I* noticed it. Is all I'm saying.
The problems I've seen with education are multi-pronged to say the very least. One the one hand, our social culture in many areas does not value it, and the side that values it only values certain sorts of people. If you're the "wrong" kind of person you will find road block after road block in your way.
Academia is not a friendly place.
That is coupled with people trying to streamline the education system. No one can fail, not till you get to college. That leaves people entirely unprepared for college at large and thus heavily weighs college in the favor of people whose parents have gone and whose parents can afford expensive tutors.
Hell, even when I was trying to get into graduate school, I heard at least five times "Your father is probably an engineer". I realize it wasn't meant this way, but it came off as if I couldn't make the choice to get into the field on my own.
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Oh, right, it's all we ever think about already. Because nothing is a crisis until it's affecting the boys.
I agree; the crisis is not with "boys", it's with education in the USA, and with a culture that doesn't value education. And I get suspicious, too, because history has shown, over and over, that once any particular activity or arena becomes more associated with women, it becomes devalued. Teaching as a profession, for one particularly relevant example.
Reply
One does wonder why boys don't perform as well in schools. Because they've actually been taught that they shouldn't strive to do well? Because our society is both male-centric and education-phobic no matter how much it pretends otherwise, and therefore it's seen as "uncool" to be an academically-minded young man? (There does seem to be this thing about "jocks" and "nerds," after all...)
So the solution is actually to completely overthrow traditional gender roles? I know I've been an advocate of that for a good long time, but good luck making it actually happen. Have you seen the Superbowl commercials recently?
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
*OF COURSE I KNOW that this is just my experience and a huge generalization and I am not saying that all guy engineers are like this! But I've seen it enough that *I* noticed it. Is all I'm saying.
Reply
Academia is not a friendly place.
That is coupled with people trying to streamline the education system. No one can fail, not till you get to college. That leaves people entirely unprepared for college at large and thus heavily weighs college in the favor of people whose parents have gone and whose parents can afford expensive tutors.
Hell, even when I was trying to get into graduate school, I heard at least five times "Your father is probably an engineer". I realize it wasn't meant this way, but it came off as if I couldn't make the choice to get into the field on my own.
/rant.
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