There’s been a lot in the media recently about how boys are struggling in the U. S. educational system. Newsweek ran a cover story in its January 30 issue titled “The Trouble With Boys,” and PBS this month aired the documentary “Raising Cain: Boys in Focus,” based on the book of the same name. Some of you may recall, however, that the concern not so long ago was on girls’ challenges in education. (See, for example, the American Association of University Women’s report, “How Schools Shortchange Girls“, their follow up, “Gender Gaps: Where Schools Still Fail Our Children,” and “Math, Science, and Girls: Can We Close the Gender Gap?” from the National Network for Child Care.)
What’s going on here? Has there really been an about-face in terms of the gender being favored in our schools? One doesn’t have to be an expert in education to be suspicious of such a simple explanation. Ann Hulbert at Slate has attempted to give a more balanced answer. (Thanks to Blogging Baby for the sighting.) She takes issue with the educational statistics and biological research cited by Newsweek, and points out that socioeconomic differences in education may be harder to overcome than gender ones. If you’ve read the Newsweek article, seen the PBS special, or otherwise have an interest in this issue, I urge you to read Hulbert’s column. If nothing else, it will caution you that there are no simple answers and no easy way to label why some children struggle in school.
It’s also worth pointing out that the recent media frenzy over boys overlooks any issues of gay youth or boys being raised in LGBT households. Newsweek even states:
One of the most reliable predictors of whether a boy will succeed or fail in high school rests on a single question: does he have a man in his life to look up to? Too often, the answer is no. . . . Psychologists say that grandfathers and uncles can help, but emphasize that an adolescent boy without a father figure is like an explorer without a map.
Hmm. As the lesbian mother of a son, I’m very aware of the need for male role models for him, but would argue that grandfathers and uncles who are active in the boy’s life will do just fine. Supporting this is research from Cornell University professor Peggy Drexler, published in her book Raising Boys Without Men. She concludes that boys raised by lesbians are as well-adjusted as any other boys. In fact, she writes, they may even be “more adept at communicating their feelings and exhibit more empathy for people different from themselves,” and be better at “developing skills at thinking independently and standing up for what they believed.” How do these boys fare in school?
Just as important is the question of how GBT boys manage in the educational system. It’s a misleading stereotype simply to say their behavior and results will more closely parallel girls (for every flaming fag, there’s a gay football player), but it’s not beyond reason that they may have some differences from straight boys.
Ultimately, the issue is not one of girls vs. boys. We need a more nuanced view, taking into account matters of socioeconomics, culture, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and, well, pretty much everything that makes a child an individual. What we need is an educational system that recognizes individual learning styles and is flexible enough (and well-funded enough) to support them. Kudos to those teachers who are already trying to do this. You’re a national resource.