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The importance of being literate
Gender differences in education
The importance of being literate
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Boys are often raised to have a competitive outlook in life, because it is the norm in society. High school boys aren’t usually interested in reading; they need books more appealing to them such as a book about war. Boys are expected to compete and do their best at sports and extracurricular activities rather than education. Due to the lack of push to compete educationally they more times than not end up being left behind.
Boys in high school are less interested in reading because they feel the books they are required to read tend to appeal more to the girly side of things. The textbooks and literature assigned do not reflect the dispositions of the male students. When my brother was in high school he was required to read Romeo and Juliet and he had a really hard time getting through it because it simply did not appeal to him at all. There is a big gap between the two genders when it comes to the percentage of those that enjoy reading. The numbers tend to go down as years pass, for women it went from 63% to 59% not too big of a drop where as for the boys it plummeted from 55% to 43%. I believe that the women’s percentage is larger because when they are in high school most books appeal to them and so they are more interested in reading them where as for the males they haven’t ever really been interested in books and so it is much harder for them to get into a book in general because they have never really been into books.
Boys are expected to be competitive at everything they do or be invisible. Usually people want to be known, they want everyone to know their name and what they have accomplished but that doesn’t happen for everyone. For boys if you don’t play sports or aren’t part of something very known you are expected to just...
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...not that boys are more competitive than girls but that boys and girls are competitive about different things. It’s not 100% a gender thing it is the influences that are put upon both boys and girls. The outside influence of others usually teachers or parents that have the most influence on the children. Boys need more attention when it comes to education and girls need that extra push or influence for when it comes to extracurricular activities.
Works Cited
Bauerlein, Mark and Sandra Stotsky. “Why Johnny Won’t Read.” The Language of Composition.
1st ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2008. 408-410. Print.
Walker, Rebecca. “Putting Down the Gun.” The Language of Composition. 1st ed. Boston:
Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2008 412-414. Print.
Hulbert, Ann. “Boy Problems.” The Language of Composition. 1st ed. Boston:
Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2008. 414-417. Print.
Boys are influenced by many of their coaches in life; brothers and fathers telling them they must be tough and show no pain, teachers who expect them to work hard at everything they do, and in the back of their minds are their mothers who worry about them over extending and getting hurt. Kimmel asked a few men in their 20’s, “where do young men get these ideas” (the Guy Code), they all gave the same answers: their brothers, fathers, and coaches. One mentioned that his father would always be riding him, telling him that he must be tough to make it in this world, another said his brothers were always ragging on him, calling him a “pussy” because he didn’t want to go outside and play football with them. He just wanted to stay in and play Xbox. Yet another said that whenever he got hurt his coach would mock and make fun of him because he was showing his feelings. The world is a very competitive for men, they believe they must always prove themselves to other men. Men get pressured into doing things they don’t want to do. Men shouldn’t be pressured they should be able to do what they want to
The story of Inside the World of Boys by William Pollack brings the attention to us that the boys often suffer from low-self esteem, in large part due to “the boy code”, the unspoken rules that compel them to feel they need to hide their emotions and keep them from exposure. In effect, “the boy code” causes the problem of gender gap between boys and girls in academic performances. I choose this essay because I am concerned with how “the boy code” raises the gender gap between boys and girls in their academic performances and how our societies often underestimate all emotional needs of boys. This story is not only a story but also is a research paper of Pollack which is supported by his research results and statistics. The background story of Adam and his personal conversation with his mother make this story so fascinating and touching. It brings a social message to parents, school, and societies.
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There has been a link between media coverage and the indulgence of girls in sporting activities in schools. This is primarily because television and other media show sports as a preserve of men. As a result, there are few females in the sporting activities on media. Hence, female students never have role models to ape in sports. Boys find several sources of, motivation to participate in sports.
Boys have to hide their true selves and feelings to fit in, but in society expect men to be both tough and gentle, and be able to express their feeling, try to not hide behind the mask. Regardless, masculinity is an unrealistic expectation of men. Who cares what others think as long as they be their true self. It is apparent through my though that this essay is a good source to research or write an essay and can be teach. This essay helps parents learn more about their children feeling and grow into manhood to become real men.
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The argument David Brooks delivers about the gender gap at school regarding males reading comprehension is irrelevant. As students beginning their education they need to be able to create their own study set, regardless of the material. Despite, "what field males are interested in, they will have to read. And the better they can read, the easier it will be for them to learn new subject matter and to effectively communicate their knowledge"
In the Washington post the essay “Why Schools Are Failing Our Boys” relates to the study of the “boy problem” Fink’s concern is that boys have a harder time in school causing them to drop out or not to go on to college. I agree with Fink’s concern because of the mistreatment of genders and the pressure put on students as a whole. Based on class readings it has been illustrated that throughout history boys felt as though school made them feel less masculine. From what I have personally seen in school, boys are constantly being told to “man up”. I feel as though boys are expected to act a certain way and all students are expected to conform to a certain type of learning. Fink’s truthful experience through her son is an accurate model on how
As a child develops, their surroundings have a major influence on the rest of their lives; if boys are taught to “man up” or never to do something “like a girl”, they will become men in constant fear of not being masculine enough. Through elementary and middle school ages, boys are taught that a tough, violent, strong, in-control man is the ideal in society and they beat themselves up until they reach that ideal. They have to fit into the “man box” (Men and Masculinity) and if they do not fulfill the expectations, they could experience physical and verbal bullying from others. Not only are friends and family influencing the definition of masculine, but marketing and toys stretch the difference between a “boy’s toy” and a “girl’s toy”. Even as early as 2 years old, children learn to play and prefer their gender’s toys over the other gender’s (Putnam). When children grow up hearing gender stereotypes from everyone around them, especially those they love and trust like their parents, they begin to submit themselves and experience a loss of individuality trying to become society’s ideal. If everyone is becoming the same ideal, no one has a sense of self or uniqueness anymore and the culture suffers from
While Reading the book Real Boys by Dr. William Pollack, I realized that our society is holding boys to contradictory standards aiding the problems that many of them face while in adolescence. This book introduces the reader to numerous boys who share their feelings of shame and despair in trying to live up to the "Boy Code". Pollack feels the pain that comes from boys prematurely separating from their mothers puts them on the cycle to hardening themselves emotionally. The one acceptable emotion becomes anger.
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In the past decade, research showed that in the process of education in some countries, girls do better than boys, this problem was called ‘a boy’s problem’. The Dutch Ministry of Education published the study which examines the boys’ and girls’ position in primary school based on previous studies (Driessen, Langen, 2013). As a matter of fact, this problem is not a new question, and there are many discussions about gender differences. An important part of the problem is that boys’ scores are far below those of girls. In all education, based on some researchers' opinions, involving spatial and mathematical reasoning, skills, boys always doing better than girls, but in the aspects of language application and writing, girls often do better than boys (Bonomo, 2010).
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