Comments on: Seminal moment arrives in the ‘boy troubles’ debate

By: Author’s WSJ Op-Ed Highlights College Admissions Discrimination « AMACOM Books Blog

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:57:06 +0000

[...] into college admissions discrimination directed at women (InsideHigherEd; Chronicle of Higher Ed; WhyBoysFail.com). Citing reporting by Richard Whitmire and U.S. News & World Report, the commission said it [...]

By: Affirmative action for males « Joanne Jacobs

Affirmative action for males « Joanne Jacobs — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:39:40 +0000

[...] Look at the underlying issue, Richard Whitmire at Why Boys Fail. Too many boys do so poorly in school that they’re not prepared for college or not motivated to try it. Why? [...]

By: Dick Schutz

Dick Schutz — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:19:29 +0000

Yikes! Proof reading obviously takes more than SpellCheck. Sorry,

By: John Armstrong

John Armstrong — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:02:53 +0000

boys consistently score higher on math tests than boys

That’s some feat!

By: Dick Schutz

Dick Schutz — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:37:08 +0000

Extending the construct “affirmative action” to gender considerations in college admissions generates heat, but little light.

Girls acquire spoken language expertise faster than boys. Experimental child psychologists have studied the cultural characteristics that account for the difference. Girls and boys are also treated differently in school and these differences have also been documented. With further schooling, boys consistently score higher on math tests than boys, which can be accounted for by course-taking patterns. But as others have pointed out, these differences are not large enough to be deal-breakers for colllege success–even in the most highly selective universities. Deliberating these matters under the banner of “affirmative action” is counter-productive.

I’d say that current college admission practices warrant thorough airing and reconsideration, but that’s a whole nother story.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:58:25 +0000

I would love to believe that one of the side effects of this investigation would be to put more focus on the educational problems of boys in K-12. But looking at the material from the hyperlinks, it seems doubtful to me. The direct issue is interesting, though. Apparently, private colleges can admit students on any basis they want to. So they do so towards what they consider their best benefit. It will be interesting to see if a result of this investigation is for these colleges to stop the practice because of some sort of legislation, from some sort of pressure from groups like the AAUW, or from the growth of a sense that the practice of favoring males to achieve balance just isn’t morally right.

By: tim-10-ber

tim-10-ber — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:54:57 +0000

Ya know…after all the bias told girls it is high time the table turns toward the male. Yes, I benefited from affirmative action as a female. Yet, the tables turned in school against my boys. It is past time for government schools to remember the boys…they are the ones they messed them up…

The good thing is schools are looking for the students that make their student body more “well rounded”. If that means more males…I am all for it…I like the ideas of my boys benefiting from affirmative action…it is past time for affirmative action and reverse discrimination to end…look at the total person…is the school a fit or not for both parties — student and school…

By: Crusty old academic

Crusty old academic — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:43:38 +0000

The story has already ignited a firestorm of comments in the NY Times. What most people there or elsewhere don’t seem to realize is that test scores and grades don’t predict much. As a wise old admissions officer told me thirty years ago - grades predict grades, and nothing else. Grades don’t measure initiative, willingness to try new things or take big risks or just about anything related to leadership, including to get along with other people. Grades certainly don’t predict anything at all about the wider world. Finishing college in 1993, especially with a degree in computer science, did not have the same outcome as finishing college with any degree whatsover in 2009.

Still, it remains true that a college degree is a necessary credential for membership in the middle class and for employment in an increasingly wide variety of occupations. A declining percentage of men in college should be a worry to educators and policy makers.