The Boy Crisis Revisited

by Craig

Newsweek has a very interesting article in its January 30, 2006 issue. On the front cover was the title, "The Boy Crisis". The story that followed was more than just a good read, it was terribly concerning.

I wasn't concerned that women have made such monumental achievements in education, now taking up '56 percent of college campuses versus the 42 percent just thirty years ago'. Thirty years ago, my mother was going to college to attempt to have choices in their life; whether to stay home and raise a family or work in a career. Her generation's parents thought it was a good idea in order for the young women to find a nice, educated, and financially sound husband. Lucky for everyone, the women knew better. But how have we gone from that time to this?

I think it is an institutional issue of education. And underlying that, it deals quite extensively the differences between boys and girls; not just physically but also emotionally and physiologically. Peg Tyre nails this disparity when she says,

"In elementary-school classrooms - where teachers increasingly put an emphasis on language and a premium on sitting quietly and speaking in turn the mismatch between boys and girls can become painfully obvious. 'Girl behavior becomes the gold standard,' says Raising Cain coauthor [Michael] Thompson. 'Boys are treated like defective girls."

That sort of thinking is dangerous. There is no way that boys and girls can always be treated as the same, equals yes, but not the same. Society should learn to embrace the differences between the sexes and realize the effectiveness of such differences. With school cutbacks, Physical Education and recess has become extinct. The physical release that this time allowed boys in school to burn off energy is now gone. There is a reason why girls played "house" and boys tumbled around; they differ in their needs.

When we micromanage boys and separatet into seperate parts coming together but as one part, we lose a little about ourselves, our development, our future. As quoted before, there are more women on college campuses then men today. But is that because men are lagging behind in school, or because more men are choosing to go to work right after high school than continue their education? Are more women going to college because they feel that is what they are "supposed" to do? Are more women going to pass the years by until they get married as the median age to marry for women was 21.9 years old. Ta lot are still alot of questions to be answered, but it must start with the dissemination of boys and girls.


Tags: Newsweek