not_this_again: Interesting read pertaining to why males are doing a lot worse in school these days. From a personal perspective there are quite a few females ubiquitous at my university and many females at my high school were the ones achieving high grades. The article touches on a dearth of male role models and video games as the culprit in the decline of males' performance in school.
Sensatione: Not needed research for that i could also name a few other things But the easy accessability of things makes everything so distracting... for sure
Idonthaveausername: I just finished reading the article. I think there is more to it than that. When it comes to poor performance in schools I think it comes from distractions (family and friend issues, mental stress, video games?? Idk), lack of motivation (which could stem from a variety of sources), not getting the help needed to master the material, etc. Are males falling behind in school? This article isn't enough to determine. However I will say that anyone with distractions, male or female, will fall behind. If anyone is motivated and has dedication, both male and female alike can succeed. I would like to know what other people think about the article too. ^_^
JM: We live in a gynocentric society that doesn't give a shit about men. Excuse my language. Little boys are not designed to be in our school systems, taught by female teachers that don't understand the development of the male mind and body. The school systems are designed for girls and always have been. Aside from "family studies classes", point #2 in the article hit the nail on the head. If I ever have kids, they will be home schooled or private schooled, where they will get a real education that is tailored to their needs and not to the needs of only girls.
Video games are an outlet for young boys(including myself growing up) to be competitive and develop extremely finely tuned skills and precision with something. The only close thing to this growing up was gym class(which was only an hour every 2nd day or so). Don't get me wrong, language arts and all that other stuff is important, but it matters when and how its all delivered to a young boy. Boys develop much differently than females(and our brains also mature at a later age). So couple that AND the fact that the school systems favor girls = failing boys and boys that want to channel their unused potential into a video game.
Western countries are going to shit because nobody cares about men and boys anymore. If you speak up in any way about this you are called a sexist and a misogynist.
not_this_again: Agreed Idonthaveausername-there are so many other factors to take into consideration. This article in particular focused on the decline of school performance in males relative to females I believe. Chief contributing factors are motivation, home life and relationships, as well as school environment and teaching style or teachers. Unfortunately school systems don't always accommodate different types of learners (there is a lot of focus on theory, reading, writing and math, which are important too, but a paucity of hands on practical methods).
Agreed JM. I think everyone has a different way of learning, so it's difficult when institutions impose a method of learning on others (but also tricky if it isn't one on one teaching). Many courses, especially in university, aren't geared towards males. Many males go into factory work, manual labour, carpentry etc. so perhaps this article is a reflection of the decline of males in certain programs. In general I find the school system flawed, there is a lot of emphasis on facts, theories, and formulas that aren't typically applicable in real life, except in esoteric professions. I think the North American system would benefit from offering more practical courses at younger ages. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of gym class, it's certainly healthy (and would probably help with the obesity problem in younger kids too).
I agree too that video games provide certain levels of skills (visuo-spatial, attention, cognitive), but I also agree somewhat with the article that this could interfere with social development. Moderation is key.
All in all, I think motivation is imperative. Males need different incentives at that age for learning and role models. there are very few male public school teachers. On a negative note I can see a future with classrooms being taught by robots and kids learning predominantly via technology or even online at home. The first time I used a computer in school was grade 8, I'm sure children are being shown how to use computers in kindergarten now lol. On another tangent, we've become a very politically correct society where teachers and schools have less say in a child's development than parents. Obviously parents play a big role in a child's development, but it seems teachers are walking on egg shells now with how they interact with their students.
http://www.spurottawa.com/boys-why-are-they-falling-behind-at-school/
Video games are an outlet for young boys(including myself growing up) to be competitive and develop extremely finely tuned skills and precision with something. The only close thing to this growing up was gym class(which was only an hour every 2nd day or so). Don't get me wrong, language arts and all that other stuff is important, but it matters when and how its all delivered to a young boy. Boys develop much differently than females(and our brains also mature at a later age). So couple that AND the fact that the school systems favor girls = failing boys and boys that want to channel their unused potential into a video game.
Western countries are going to shit because nobody cares about men and boys anymore. If you speak up in any way about this you are called a sexist and a misogynist.
Agreed JM. I think everyone has a different way of learning, so it's difficult when institutions impose a method of learning on others (but also tricky if it isn't one on one teaching). Many courses, especially in university, aren't geared towards males. Many males go into factory work, manual labour, carpentry etc. so perhaps this article is a reflection of the decline of males in certain programs. In general I find the school system flawed, there is a lot of emphasis on facts, theories, and formulas that aren't typically applicable in real life, except in esoteric professions. I think the North American system would benefit from offering more practical courses at younger ages. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of gym class, it's certainly healthy (and would probably help with the obesity problem in younger kids too).
I agree too that video games provide certain levels of skills (visuo-spatial, attention, cognitive), but I also agree somewhat with the article that this could interfere with social development. Moderation is key.
All in all, I think motivation is imperative. Males need different incentives at that age for learning and role models. there are very few male public school teachers. On a negative note I can see a future with classrooms being taught by robots and kids learning predominantly via technology or even online at home. The first time I used a computer in school was grade 8, I'm sure children are being shown how to use computers in kindergarten now lol.
On another tangent, we've become a very politically correct society where teachers and schools have less say in a child's development than parents. Obviously parents play a big role in a child's development, but it seems teachers are walking on egg shells now with how they interact with their students.