Continuing Sexism in American Education

There are, of course, other factors. The Economist notes that boys see “doing well in school” as uncool, and read for pleasure less often than girls do. But this too is a failure of the modern educational system, in that it ought to engage and challenge boys as well as it does girls. Instead, the current system prioritizes traits that girls are more likely to exhibit than boys are. It’s no wonder that parents are losing faith in the school system. In America, the rise of homeschooling across different racial and cultural groups suggests parents are casting a vote of no-confidence in the system’s ability to serve children well—and, perhaps, boys especially (see a recent Vox article on homeschooling). Homeschooling could allow, for example, parents to integrate more vocational work or physical activity into primary education. Boys need an educational system that engages them, and creating that will require thinking outside the blue box.