That chart you see above is one reason why this issue is so intriguing: What happened in that time interval to motivate so many more girls than boys to aspire to higher education? That’s a puzzle, but there are reasons beyond that puzzle to conclude this is an issue that will rise in importance. Regardless of why boys are relative slackers, the momentum of this social change appears unstoppable, at least in the near future. Women will increasingly dominate higher education. Within about ten years, the average U.S. campus will have two females for every male. 

      Given that both the College Board and U.S. Department of Education agree there are no economic reasons for these imbalances (men and women get equal income boosts from earning bachelor’s degrees), something here is amiss. My own theory is that as the world has become more verbal, schools have allowed boys to slip behind in literacy skills.

      This blog, both in commentary and library selections, reflects that bias. I’m open to alternate explanations, but to date the other rationales for this problem, which range from digital distractions to female-centric schools, appear to fall short.

     So far, the discussion around boys falling behind has centered on whether or why it’s happening. To me, the facts on the ground, as in gender college graduation gaps, will soon render that discussion partly irrelevant. In future years, the more compelling discussion will revolve around personal issues (will women settle for a less-educated husband?) and economic questions (what are the competitive consequences resulting from relatively fewer men earning degrees?)  My commentary, and library, reflect that bias as well.

You can reach me at: whitmire@whyboysfail.com