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boys doing worse in school

Mon, 06/08/2009 - 08:43
Submitted by gibbsfunction

So as a female postgrad physics student i get a little annoyed that you get all sorts of articles such as this http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8085011.stm that act all horrified about the fact that girls are doing better in some academic aspects. Not that i don't think this is a real issue, but its totally blown out of proportion, and there seems to be the attitude that boys have to be at least as good as girls in everything, if not better.

So if boys do better in maths or physics its because they're more logical, but if girls do better in something its because the school system is failing boys.

Also i see a lot -though not in the article above-of the proposed reasons for this (without much reported science to back it) as being the "feminising" of schools and that boys need rough play (i.e. have lots of sport and ignore bullying)  and male role models (blame single mothers). Ever thought of beginning to analyse this a different way?

Anyway, thats my angry rant for today.

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Small rant for the day

Nina's picture
Tue, 06/09/2009 - 09:20
Nina

In my experience, (roughly 6 different schools in 5 different countries) the only reason boys are failing, or not doing as well as girls, is their attitude towards schoolwork. Admittedly I go to private/paying schools, and as a result, all the boys are completely loaded.

Kids with money (not always, granted) tend to have a more laid-back attitude towards life, as they have the comfort of money to fall back on. They can go partying, get wasted, fuck however many girls in one night, and still have the funding left over for back up tutoring to get them a job when they're older.

Then again its not always money, as you mentioned single mums. I have to say, 'bad' parenting is a massive issue in this day and age, but we all like to turn a blind eye to it. My mum works in a nursery, and I get to see new parents first-hand. Wow some of them can be awful. You may think of me as being judgemental, but when the children are as young as 2-8 years old, you really can see the effects their parents have on them (some of them really can be quite malicious!). As the children get older, this 'effect' blurs, slowly being less and less obvious. Until it starts to affect them subtly - for example their grades, or how they treat other people.

I completely agree it shouldn't matter at all if boys are 'failing', because, they're not. The problem (in England, at any rate) is that we're not actually allowed to say children 'fail' or not. In case we hurt their feelings. Which is pathetic beyond means - I remember being 13 years old and DEMANDING my teacher tell me I failed - because thats what I did. Without being told I failed, I had no incentive to do any better.

If there is no incentive, then why bother working? The parenting just decides what form this incentive takes.