Poor boys are falling behind poor girls, and it’s deeply troubling

Submitted by Mastodon on Sun, 2015-11-29 18:51

Article here. Excerpt:

'It’s become a fact of American life that girls are better than boys at school. They get better grades. They’re suspended less. For every generation since the boomers, women have been more likely than men to earn high school and college diplomas.

In fact, girls are pretty much the only reason the high school graduation rate went up in past 40 years, according to calculations by Harvard economist Richard Murnane. The male high school graduation rate has been stuck at 81 percent since the 1970s, while the female graduation rose from 81 percent to 87 percent.

Women have been so persistently superior it is perhaps time for a new stereotype about the sexes — girls as bookish mavens like Lisa Simpson; boys as goof-offs like Bart.

There are many theories for this widening academic achievement gap, but first, here’s another observation that might shed some light: The differences between boys and girls are largest among the most disadvantaged children. Socioeconomic status does not entirely explain the gender gap. Even well-off boys struggle to compare to well-off girls. But a tough upbringing sets boys back much farther.'

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I just want to add that environmental factors seem to effect boys more including in the womb during fetal development, so it doesn't surprise me that even after birth boys are still effected more than girls.

IMO, this is a very interesting area of study. Also why I think habits of pregnant women and new mothers should be important to mens rights. Also want to note, that we dont see this gender gap in homeschooling environments, but most homeschoolers are two-parent families.

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Submitted by Kris on Sun, 2015-11-29 19:57