I read an article from Time magazine titled The Boys Are All Right and it was reassuring regarding what we are doing at Arapahoe High School. The article investigates the notion that the boy crisis is only a myth, and concludes that there is hope for males of today because we are paying more attention to them. The books that call for a change in how society in general, and schools in particular, deals with the male population were the result of statistics and behavioral indicators from the 80's and 90's. During that time a large percentage of boys were in trouble with the law, drinking too much, having sex without protection, and performing low in all academic areas in school. The article claims that these trends are now leveling off and, in some cases, taking a turn in the other direction.
Investigations four years ago at Arapahoe High School showed our male population was falling behind in academic performance as well as participation in leadership roles. As a result, we began offering single-gender classes in some subjects along side of their co-ed counterparts. Teachers, administrators, and parents have met regularly over the past few years to discuss ways to meet the different educational needs of our male and female students. It has been this continual investigation of best practices that has contributed to the success of this group. It is my belief that the trend here is also taking a turn for the better. I believe we are doing the right thing. Now, how can we prove it is working??
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I read this article too. I thought it was interesting that they said the pattern is leveling off. DUH. That happens any time you do something like this. The teen pregnancy rate is at an all time low, so is teen smoking. If you put some time into it, it helps. There was a similar push back when I was young (you know, the dinosaurs) and girls not going into math and science. There were all kinds of programs that were for women, run by women. There still is a huge program at Stanford and the EQUALS program with Theoni Pappas etc. I remember all my math and science teachers being men, now, we can see from our own department the number of women becoming math teachers. High school has changed, but from what I understand it does not continue as much in college. Perhaps if we eventually learn that we must pay attention to ALL students and ALL learning styles, it will work better?
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