School Has Become Too Hostile to Boys

[OHMomof2]

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I really don’t get why it would even be controversial to want to have policies and procedures in place to get as many kids as possible to graduate and become productive members of society.

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<p>Not controversial to me. An important goal. </p>

<p>But the problem you are pointing to doesn’t exist yet at the societal level. I get that you see it coming, but it’s still a prediction at this point. I can’t, personally, imagine that in the next generation, our politicians, CEOs and religious leaders will suddenly become mostly women. </p>

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Boys make up 67 percent of special education students. 80 percent of whom are black or hispanic. I find that a huge problem since special education kids are much less likely to meet any of the benchmarks of success.

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<p>I didn’t know that. It seems special ed may be perceived as a way to punish or hand off boys who act out?</p>

<p>[Special</a> Ed Gender Gap Stirs Worry](<a href=“http://www.bridges4kids.org/articles/2002/7-02/BostonGlobe7-8-02.html]Special”>Special Ed Gender Gap Stirs Worry)</p>

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The more subjective the diagnosis of the student, the wider the gender gap, records show. In Massachusetts schools, boys are slightly more likely than girls to be identified with hearing or vision problems, and 11/2 times as likely to be ■■■■■■■■. But boys are twice as likely to be labeled with a learning disability, and more than three times as likely to be called emotionally disturbed.

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<p>but</p>

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Boys do exhibit some disorders with higher frequency - four times as many boys are autistic, specialists say, and three to four times as many boys are diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Biologically, boys have more birth defects and mature at slower rates than girls. And in classrooms, boys are more prone to disrupt lessons if they struggle with learning, while girls turn more inward and simply tune out the teacher.

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<p>How much of this IS biological? It would seem autism is, but ADD/ADHD, not so much. </p>

<p>I suppose the flip side of twice as many boys being in special ed is that girls who need it may not be getting it, as in the “turns inward and tunes out” example above.</p>