Newsweek on boys

The Trouble with Boys
Newsweek, January 30th issue.

"By almost every benchmark, boys across the nation and in every demographic group are falling behind. In elementary school, boys are two times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with learning disabilities and twice as likely to be placed in special-education classes. High-school boys are losing ground to girls on standardized writing tests. The number of boys who said they didn't like school rose 71 percent between 1980 and 2001, according to a University of Michigan study. Nowhere is the shift more evident than on college campuses. Thirty years ago men represented 58 percent of the undergraduate student body. Now they're a minority at 44 percent. This widening achievement gap, says Margaret Spellings, U.S. secretary of Education, 'has profound implications for the economy, society, families and democracy.'"

Worth reading. I am a very skeptical person when it comes to research findings, having worked on a research project that was determined to find what it needed for funding, but there are trends and educational adjustments discussed that are good to be aware of. As the mother of three boys, I resent the title. And, it certainly motivates me to keep on plugging away with providing an education for my boys and girls at home where they can be individuals, pursuing their academic and personal goals; where they can work at their own pace, and they only feel pressured when they know they aren't doing their best.