Originally Posted by Angry teacher I know

Well, first of all, I typically have failed more girls than boys I think--but I do not think it is at all a feminization of education issue at all. I do agree after a Nation at Risk came out in '83, they did start paying more attention to getting girls into those math and science roles, however, there is also no reason why a boy can't be an English major or whatever.

I think the real problem is that our society always throws the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. Like, why couldn't we show a boy scientist and a girl scientist working side by side? Why is it always either/ or? Its annoying and the effects are clearly detrimental, yet no one seems to figure out that this is the root of the problem; they'd rather chase their tails and look for bigger problems or invent a bigger problem.

I also think the population of the US Society is such that "minority" populations are coming through, and with the Hispanics in particular, machismo family life leads a lot of boys into working with their hands or not being into school. That is pure culture, and has nothing to do with any of the crap in that article, though according to the poll, not many people are very enlightened about it. Really, between the lack of positive male role models in roles other than sports--I mean look at all of these corrupt political men, etc, and the cultural norms, and the backlash from over-correcting the issue with the lack of female images, the problem is not as simple as it looks. But of course, people will just say that boys are lazy and spend too much time playing video games instead of looking at all the options. This is further compounded by the fact that educational fields are becoming more collaborative, and let's face it--women tend to be more socially inclined by nature than men, and that is probably another piece of the puzzle.