Good article, glad others are seeing these same trends, tho there seems to be little hope nonetheless.

“That can be translated into students becoming more and more skilled at the manipulation of symbols, tasks at which our boys are not genetically endowed and, thus, are falling behind.”

I would have to disagree with that statement. The way in which school is designed now, is catered to discourage the young men. First of all, they are NOT being taught about the great men in history. If you were to flip through the books, they are not given any ‘role models’ as to how they ought to live their life, whereas girls are given every one. History is taught to list the impressive deeds of women throughout history at the expense of men. It would be interesting to ask these boys how many presidents they know of compared with the ‘important women’ who take up the time in class.

As a result, they come to associate performance in school with ‘feminine ideals’. Men can excel in all aspects, they have been the vast majority in university up until the very recent age, and even now, they are the majority of those engaged in engineering, the harder sciences. If you look at most degrees these days, they are in teaching and nursing, or one of the ‘soft’ disciplines like sociology, and women’s studies.

Out of a class of 400, perhaps 100 will be in arts (about 70-80 percent female), another 100 will be in biology or nursing (again about 70-80 female), another 100 will be in sociology and the remaining 100 is in computer sciences, math, physics, chemistry. There were three men who graduated in Physics, out of a class of 400. Less then one percent.

What a refreshing, wonderful article.  This is the way boyhood was meant to be.

Dear Mr. Ryan,

Thank you for a very good article.  I hope that you will be able to publish this article in a good Catholic magazine called “New Oxford Review.” You certainly it the nail on the head with all of your observations.

I hope that you will have continued success in promoting these ideas to parents, and that they will be inspired by your article to bring their children back to the basics, as God wishes us to be.

I wish you God’s blessings!

Dear Mr. Ryan,

I don’t know what happenend to my previous email regarding your article--so here goes again.

Thank you for a very informative article.  I hope that you will be able to publish this article in a very good Catholic magazine called “New Oxford Review.”

I hope that you will get much exposure with your ideas in this article, and that parents will be inspired to go back to the basics with their children as God intended.

God’s blessings!

True, it’s about time that boys started acted more like boys, being a woman I’d like to see a whole lot more masculinity in the malesheard11

Let boys be boys. Our feminized society is turning us all into soft Politically Correct spineless wimps.

Excellent piece! My eleven year old also loves The Dangerous Book for Boys. I highly recommend it.

Yes, I see it in my grandchildren. Corrective moves are needed now. Actually, some of the same observations apply to girls, which is also counter to life as we have appreciated it.

In the early 70’s I taught at a boys school that thought as you do. The school was criticized for having the boys go canoeing for extended periods and to learn to walk on snowshoes.  The school’s chores were done by the boys and in so doing they helped to keep the cost of running the place down. We had a meat program where we produced hams, bacon.sausage,and chickens all done ,under supervision and in concert, with a teacher.  The product was sold,by the boys, in a nearby city, and the profits used to fund the school.  There was a recognition by the school that the students were far more capable than society gave them credit for.  I saw boys have many small successes that added up to a self confidence that was marvelous to behold. The best example of this confidence was when I saw a group of grade 11 boys reading the poetry that they had written to each other with no signs of embarrassment just self- confidence.

Dear Jean:  This is the first time I’ve responded to a comment...and I’m not sure if I’m doing it correctly, so I’d appreciate you responding if you get this.

And thanks so much for your encouragement.

Kevin

I agree with Bob de Bray’s comment that the same issue exists with girls too. *All* children could use more opportunities for child-directed play outside and more “hands-on” learning activities rather than drill-and-kill worksheets. An involved father is good for daughters as well as sons, though the latter are more at risk for problems when it’s lacking. Girls may be better at coping with today’s unhealthy environments than boys, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for them either.

The gender gap in college degrees is a bit misleading since many male-dominated trades actually pay good money but do not require college. Occupations such as plumber, electrician, high-end auto mechanic, HVAC technician, etc. In my area, a skilled one can make six figures and he doesn’t have to worry about his job being outsourced to India or China.

I agree that there has been a steadly demasculinization of our culture, largely, I think, due to the overwhelming “feminine power” hype.  A recent graduate of UCLA, there were times when I even felt intimated by those of my own sex. 

Males seeking acceptance from females have a hard time acheiving that acceptance without being boring and fat and doing lots of “indoorsy” activities. 

Of course there are the males who are just plain lazy, but I’m speaking in generalities that they can be hurt be the harshness of the fair sex, when woman condemn men for acting the way they do.

I am terribly troubled about the amount of time boys spend in front of electronic screens.  My own boys seem to have adapted well to fairly restrictive TV and computer usage rules.  No computer or TV-based games are permitted in the house.  So what do they do?  They each play at least two musical instruments. They do sports - baseball, soccer, and ultimate frisbee.  They love to go fishing and bicycling.

I concur with Jean Fallace that this article should gain wider publication in Catholic periodicals.  Parochial school administrators should pay particular attention.  Our parochial school is good on the whole, but tends to treat boys like defective girls. They won’t sit still and insist on climbing the trees.  We moved them to an all-boys school.

Sounds like I need to find a copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys.

JMJ

Dear Kevin,

As you requested in your comment, you wanted to know if I had seen it, and I did today.

This past Sunday, one of my sons-in-law and I were talking about the games and activities that he and the children of his generation played when they were young. He was very bothered about the inactivity of children these days. I was happy to tell him about your article and how it was just what he was talking about.  See, we never know who we may influence, and hopefully, we will be good Christian examples.

By the way, I have been blessed with six grandsons and fourteen granddaughters, and God willing many more. I am going to look into buying The Dangerous Book for Boys for my grandsons. 

Take care, and again may your article reach many more parents.

God’s Blessings,

Jean