General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHey, look at that. There's no "crisis" in boys' (or, really, anyone's) education
So, first off, not exactly everybody, there is one group that's having problems:
Native Americans/Aleutian islanders are seeing a slip in high school graduation rates. We should work on that.
However, I'm always skeptical of any talk about "crisis" in American education when the facts show that it's doing a better job than at any point in history:
Here's the high school dropout rate, at an historically low level for both male and female students:
Here's the college enrollment rate, at historic highs:
Here's completion of "at least Associates' degrees" by gender:
Here's median college graduate income, incidentally (nominal dollars, so not particularly worthwhile to ponder):
Here's college graduation rates, note it's at an historic high for both male and female students:
And a somewhat more nicely-formatted presentation of the same data (and using a slightly more inclusive definition of "graduation", hence the higher percentage):
Boys aren't being "left behind" in any measurable way. Male students are performing better than they have at any point since we started keeping records. So, for that matter, is every single population and income group, with the notable exception of Native American/Aleutian Islanders. In fact, on standardized tests, African American students today outperform white students from a generation ago. That gap persists, but all cohorts are improving.
If this is "failing", we could use some more of it.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Thanks for this!
Recursion
(56,582 posts)That is a legitimate problem, and I hope somebody can figure out how to fix it...
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Likely the problems are related to poverty.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)I'm just saying somebody should look at that; that's the one category of students that seems to be doing worse rather than better over time, and that's not acceptable.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)If Arne Duncan et al were truly interested in great educational outcomes, they'd look at what Massachusetts is doing and replicate it:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1348146
Perhaps that would help the Native Americans, too.
alp227
(32,019 posts)championed by...gasp!...MALE-dominated talk radio/Fox News promoting "old fashioned" BS like homophobia & stuff like that in the name of...tradition.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)standing up to their peers in middle school, about dumb.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)I personally read that as a side-effect of the Clinton economy; I remember fast food restaurants in small-town Virginia back then hiring at $12 because everybody had jobs, so crappy jobs had to pay enough to attract people. Under those circumstances, the need to finish your education seems (in the short term) less important. Though I definitely think the anti-intellectualism of the W years is to blame for a lot...
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)Quackers
(2,256 posts)The only thing I'm worried about is the rising cost for higher education. Everyone should be entitled to learn as much as they want. It shouldn't depend on if you can afford it.
BainsBane
(53,031 posts)Though what they focus on are grades in k-12 and higher admission rates of women into college. They operate from a presumption that men should be superior in everything, so if males lag behind in any metric, they consider it a crisis.
Egnever
(21,506 posts)Is a good measure of performance.
I do like how the graphs are trending towards equality.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)Now to say it was a made created crisis
Recursion
(56,582 posts)But the district now finds the time and money to at least try to get them the help they need. Two of my kids were the first people in their families to finish high school -- for all my complaints about the American education system, I don't think they should be anything but incredibly proud of themselves.
reformist2
(9,841 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)I catch some hell here for my education views, but I do try to make it clear that the "schools in crisis" rhetoric is complete BS, whether it's about male students or about teachers being "paid too much". (Though, to be fair, there really does seem to be an actual honest-to-God crisis for Native Americans/Aleutian Islanders, and I advocated doing whatever the hell it takes to fix that...)
MerryBlooms
(11,767 posts)Well done.
sufrommich
(22,871 posts)working within our schools to destroy our sons? The hell you say!
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)Should I run a second regression on the data?
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)While most people try to give a head fake to the concept of equality, it's refreshing to see someone dispense with the pretense.
The fact that men are not getting an equal share of the education offered in this country is partly responsible for phenomena such as this;
Men today earn 30% less than their fathers did. Is the important thing equality or absolute wellbeing relative to previous generations?
DU: working for equality... but with breaks at 10:00 and 2:00.
DU: working for equality since 9:00 this morning
DU: What do we want? Equality! When do we want it? Most of the time!
Initech
(100,068 posts)Go away Fox News, nothing to see here.