Analyzing Education Gaps: Why Boys Fail

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In the United States, many lack the skills necessary for college. Unfortunately, the education system fails to prepare some of its students for work or higher learning. Despite these circumstances, teachers and bureaucrats seek improvements to obtain higher success. In spite of the pressure for success, the current situation is not yielding the desired results. Moreover, in the recent State of the Union Address in early 2014, President Barack Obama stated the need for improved education, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM fields. Yet, what should reformers pursue? Researchers have observed recurring problems to direct the improvement of education. The information presented, particularly over the past ten years, has revealed a need to involve the students that lag the most. Education risks excluding k-12 boys and minorities, as well as remedial education collegians, in higher education. The reality that boys are failing, especially through elementary, middle, and high school, strikes many as news. Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail, cites teachers’ experience that have noticed distinct differences between boys and girls. He presents multiple witnesses of boys’ and girls’ education, one of which is Kenneth Dragseth, the superintendent of schools in Edina, MN. In 2001, He noticed the disparity between the participation of girls and boys in education. He first noted the recipients of almost all academic achievements and scholarship awards were girls. Dragseth initiated specific research into the disparity between boys and girls, and discovered even more details. In a study, he further discovered that girls earned honors awards far more than men, while boys earned suspensions far more than ... ... middle of paper ... ... students. Whitmire and Sax simply attempt to broaden, but not weaken, education, so that schools can empower all its students to succeed. Leonard Sax notes an important distinction when describing quality schools. In an interview with Blah blah balh, he recites the positive effects of a single-sex school on the success of men and women. However, he admits the reality that various qualities of a school cannot determine the academic achievement of its students. As a simple example, he prefers sending a child to a good co-ed school than to a bad single-sex school. As his point demonstrates, and many other education reformers agree, modifying one aspect of a school will not yield results elsewhere. Consequently, there are solutions for any circumstances, but there is no single solution that ensures success. Works Cited Whitmire, Richard. Why Boys Fail Sax, Leonard

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