Boys, men, and education.

[Chronocidal]

On the other subforums, I've seen several threads regarding gender ratios in colleges. I can understand their focus on "college game", given the nature and primary purpose of this forum.

However, they do not mention the causes of the lack of men on campuses; specifically, that the problem regarding "missing males" in educational environments is happening earlier on in school long before university, and that schools are failing boys. I've read in the news that boys are being shortchanged in schools, and in some cases even inappropriately medicated, resulting in circular effects causing underperformance.

I have some questions for those here on the forum who have sons:

- Have any of you/them had any issues in school or with school personnel? (Or in college/university?)

- What measures do you take regarding their educations?

- In your opinions, what works? What doesn't work?

I'd be interested in anything anyone here has to share.

 

[sodbuster]

No problems for my sons,but they rank in the top 1% in their class....they know that they can lose their computers for 9 weeks if I'm unhappy with their grades.

 

[Strelok]

Most of the teachers are women and the way they teach or interact with people is the way women interact among them.
The school is probably the biggest sissy machine ever made nowadays and the fact that most women in the culture field are or are familiariar to femist crap doesnt help at all.

Ever heard on a school a teacher making fun of a girl or telling her that she is a loser cause she failed an assignment?
All I see are girls complimented even for writing their names with no spelling mistakes and guys annoyed if they dare to say something the teacher do not approve,no surprise guys at school sucks,at that age they still think what is said from teachers is right.

One last thing,guys don't give a damn about most of the subjects while girls attention wh0ring subconscious motivate them to be good and get compliments as much as school is mostly "learn and do what you're be told" and despite what people say the submissive gender is not the male,a guy even if kid get pissed off in taking orders especially from a woman(matrix doesnt work yet on him).

 

[squirrels]

However, they do not mention the causes of the lack of men on campuses; specifically, that the problem regarding "missing males" in educational environments is happening earlier on in school long before university,

It happens long before any kind of school...boys are growing up without fathers involved in their lives. The latest generation are "babies having babies"...men who never learned how to BE men (AFCs) trying to teach boys to be like them.

and that schools are failing boys. I've read in the news that boys are being shortchanged in schools, and in some cases even inappropriately medicated, resulting in circular effects causing underperformance.

Depends on how liberal your school district is.

Again, the problem is men who don't take an active role in how their children are educated. The thought instilled in parents' heads these days is, "drop the kid off at school and let the school take responsibility for parenting him".

The schools "educate" kids in the way most convenient for a large group of people, both actual education and discipline/social conditioning. They have a hard enough time giving kids individual attention with actual education, let alone social conditioning. So boys that "act out" are chastised and punished, despite the fact that they're just trying to be individuals, to set themselves apart.

The schools don't care about your kid any more than they have to. That's the parents' job. I don't think most parents in this generation understand that fully.

 

[zekko]

However, they do not mention the causes of the lack of men on campuses; specifically, that the problem regarding "missing males" in educational environments is happening earlier on in school long before university, and that schools are failing boys.

This is maybe a little OT, but I am disturbed by the lack of males who pursue higher education. It's been discussed here that you don't need a degree to succeed, which is true. But I guarantee you the average college grad makes more money than the average guy who only finished high school.

I read an article about millionaires on CNN.com yesterday. It said that 90% of millionaires went to college. If men are supposed to be leaders, they're dropping the ball, while the women are picking it up.

 

[Lexington]

To be fair, if you go and check out any college's economics, engineering, math, physics, chemistry, computer science or architecture department, you will definitely not find a lack of men. Women have achieved parity with men in the biological sciences but it's still roughly 50-50.

On the other hand, degrees like English, history, sociology are female dominated. Most of the "fluff" degree programs (e.g. women's studies, art history, theater arts) are also populated mostly by women.

 

[scrouds]

Let me throw this out at you. Is college the be-all end-all?

I can honestly tell you I'd be making more money, and be a lot happier with my job if I didn't go to college, didn't get a BA in economics, and instead learned a trade.

 

[zekko]

To be fair, if you go and check out any college's economics, engineering, math, physics, chemistry, computer science or architecture department, you will definitely not find a lack of men. Women have achieved parity with men in the biological sciences but it's still roughly 50-50.

On the other hand, degrees like English, history, sociology are female dominated. Most of the "fluff" degree programs (e.g. women's studies, art history, theater arts) are also populated mostly by women.

Maybe that explains the disparity then.
Perhaps men go to college less often than women, but when they do they make more out of it, they get degrees that will make them more money. Guys are generally more career focused than women.

You certainly don't have to go to college to make good money - Bill Gates dropped out. But on average, the college graduate will make more money. Not because he's smarter, but a lot of positions require a degree.

 

[GreyedOut]

Maybe that explains the disparity then.
Perhaps men go to college less often than women, but when they do they make more out of it, they get degrees that will make them more money. Guys are generally more career focused than women.

You certainly don't have to go to college to make good money - Bill Gates dropped out. But on average, the college graduate will make more money. Not because he's smarter, but a lot of positions require a degree.

Close.

The below article was previously posted on this website in another post. I thought it was a great read and addresses this issue well. It's a discussion of statistics and how you interpret the results.

http://denisdutton.com/baumeister.htm

Almost certainly, it is something biological and genetic. And my guess is that the greater proportion of men at both extremes of the IQ distribution is part of the same pattern. Nature rolls the dice with men more than women. Men go to extremes more than women. It’s true not just with IQ but also with other things, even height: The male distribution of height is flatter, with more really tall and really short men.

Again, there is a reason for this, to which I shall return.

For now, the point is that it explains how we can have opposite stereotypes. Men go to extremes more than women. Stereotypes are sustained by confirmation bias. Want to think men are better than women? Then look at the top, the heroes, the inventors, the philanthropists, and so on. Want to think women are better than men? Then look at the bottom, the criminals, the junkies, the losers.

In an important sense, men really are better AND worse than women.

A pattern of more men at both extremes can create all sorts of misleading conclusions and other statistical mischief. To illustrate, let’s assume that men and women are on average exactly equal in every relevant respect, but more men at both extremes. If you then measure things that are bounded at one end, it screws up the data to make men and women seem significantly different.

Consider grade point average in college. Thanks to grade inflation, most students now get A’s and B’s, but a few range all the way down to F. With that kind of low ceiling, the high-achieving males cannot pull up the male average, but the loser males will pull it down. The result will be that women will get higher average grades than men — again despite no difference in average quality of work.

The opposite result comes with salaries. There is a minimum wage but no maximum. Hence the high-achieving men can pull the male average up while the low-achieving ones can’t pull it down. The result? Men will get higher average salaries than women, even if there is no average difference on any relevant input.

Today, sure enough, women get higher college grades but lower salaries than men. There is much discussion about what all this means and what should be done about it. But as you see, both facts could be just a statistical quirk stemming from male extremity.

 

[Lexington]

Close.

The below article was previously posted on this website in another post. I thought it was a great read and addresses this issue well. It's a discussion of statistics and how you interpret the results.

http://denisdutton.com/baumeister.htm

That article makes an excellent point. As there is less standard deviation among women, a larger percentage of them are good enough to make it to college. On the other hand, a lot of men will not be good enough to make it to college but a certain chunk of them will be the most successful in college.

Maybe that explains the disparity then.
Perhaps men go to college less often than women, but when they do they make more out of it, they get degrees that will make them more money. Guys are generally more career focused than women.

Agreed. I don't know any guys that took up a degree without thinking what they'd get out of it. On the other hand, I know lots of girls that just study something because they like it with absolutely no plan for how to apply it to getting a job.