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"Young men in Great Britain, Australia, and Canada have also fallen behind. But in stark contrast to the United States, these countries are energetically, even
by adt2bt 13y ago
"Young men in Great Britain, Australia, and Canada have also fallen behind. But in stark contrast to the United States, these countries are energetically, even desperately, looking for ways to help boys improve. Why? They view widespread male underachievement as a national threat: A country with too many languishing males risks losing its economic edge."
As an American, I may be unplugged from many of these happenings, but I feel like this is a stark difference between America and other countries. We seem to have a laissez-faire attitude that "If there's a problem, and a deadline for the problem, someone will just magically figure it out at the last second." And we often attribute that someone to the free market. On a broader note, as with any issue people seem to have significant worries about, what is a good way to actually begin solving it, assuming this general American attitude? I honestly don't know.
- mattlutze 13y agoI'm not certain we attribute "that someone" with the free market in many cases. Education is quite solidly considered the purview of the federal and state governments these days, which I think contributes to that last second feeling. When an opportunity for work appears in the free market, there is quite often a surge of responses. I hope it doesn't come across as cynical, but, I think often when there's an opportunity for work in the public market, there's quite often a surge of analysis and discussion and waiting until a response has to be given.
- abracar 13y agoThe author seems to call for a very American solution: lobbying... but I think all it takes is for teachers to be willing to test new practices. See for instance this TEDx talk on reengaging boys in learning through gaming: http://www.ted.com/talks/ali_carr_chellman_gaming_to_re_engage_boys_in_learning.html http://www.ted.com/talks/ali_carr_chellman_gaming_to_re_enga...