The National Center for Educational Statistics tells us that boys are 30% more likely to fail or drop out of school.
Now get this – according to education achievement data, there are more “boy geniuses” than “girl geniuses.”
They also outnumber girls in the top 1% of the IQ scale.
Why then are so many boys struggling or failing in school?
The National Center for Educational Statistics continues its gloomy picture of the outcome in the education of boys.
- When it comes to grades and homework, girls outperform boys on all levels of schooling.
- Boys are four to five times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
- Females outnumber males in higher education…they obtain 56% of the bachelor’s degrees and 55% of the graduate degrees.
The United States Department of Education, adding to the above, informs us that boys make up two-thirds (67%) of the students in special education.
We have the numbers. Now what?
Of what benefit is statistics without insight?
Numbers don’t give us reasons.
Don’t you first need to know the problem before you can devise a solution?
Michael Thompson, co-author of Raising Cain, offers reasons why school is not as good a fit for the average boy, as it is for the average girl. Here are three of them:
- Because of their naturally higher activity level, boys are likely to get into more trouble than girls.
- Boys require more physical activity generally…they must move around often.
- Boys need opportunities to move to reinforce their learning…they learn by doing, making and building things.
Obviously, not every boy demonstrates academic difficulty. However, the number of them who do is disturbing.
That brings us back to the question in the title, “Do boys have more trouble learning than girls?”
Absolutely not!
But with the proliferation of female teachers, the prevailing methods of teaching will automatically favor girls. Not deliberately…but as a natural outcome of who they are.
What’s needed?
An awakening…a level of awareness of the learning needs of boys, accompanied by a willingness to make a paradigm shift.
It’s happening. But in so few places. And oh so slowly.
How will you help propel the movement to save our boys…educationally? Tell us below.
Thank you for sharing this. I found Michael Thompson’s insight very interesting.
Great to have you stop by, Debbie.
As a speech-language pathologist with a caseload of elementary school children, I see what he’s talking about every day. The type of activity and instruction provided will either reel in the boys or lull them into an educational twilight zone.
This is so true. Having worked with incarcerated male teens, and as a school nurse for over 20 years, this trend is obvious. The feminization of education over the past 30 years is great for girls and women, but horrible for boys and men. Although a lot of people dislike the idea of separate education, it does offer both males and females distinct and focused proven strategies for learning. It should be made available and free. Coeducational public schools will require a lot of revisions to make it equally effective for both boys and girls, but I am all for trying to make this happen, although am somewhat doubtful of it’s success. Keep up the good work, boys definitely need powerful educators in their camp now.
Thanks, Karen. I couldn’t have said it better than you just did. My prayer is that every educator is intentional about educating the children in their care so they can become the best they can be.