vanna, I think you'll find that most decent roles models don't whinge about feminised school systems.

They harden up and deal with it.

I would make the point that it's much more difficult for male teachers to work these days than female ones, so Houellebecq makes a reasonable point there.
I don't blame this on 'feminised' schools though, which seems like a copout to me. I'd say that this is the result of a number of factors, the first being that today people are more likely to complain about sexual abuse and the media is more likely to report it. Combine this with a cotton-wool pampering attitude from parents and the result is helicopter parenting and hysteria, meaning that an accusation from a female student toward a male teacher is likely to stick, regardless of whether or not the teacher is in the wrong.

This is indeed tragic, but whinging about feminised systems or trying to pretend that women are just as likely to commit sexual assault just distracts people from the real issues.

Regarding the students, ultimately, I come back to personal responsibility.

Some kids will grow up. Some won't. That comes down to them and the efforts by their parents.

turnrightthanleft
In our feminist education system, there is the almost universal belief that if boys are encouraged, it will have a detrimental effect on girls.

I personally have not found any teacher who does not have that belief, and every teacher I know of is quite prepared to have boy's marks bottom out completely, or has no interest in improving boys marks.

There have been no exceptions.

The NSW Department of Education had a report prepared on the problems with boys' education - it was pulped before release because of fears it might lessen the advantages girls now enjoy.

For many years Education was accused of sexism as it was shown by outcomes to produce more favourable results for boys. The same analysis will produce one conclusion; education is still sexist and is designed to favour girls.

The staffing structure of schools is now dominated by females, how many are given specialist training in how to understand the way boys operate and to work with it.

An anecdote that bears resemblance to truth, and seen particularly in schools, is girls talk to think whilst boys think to talk. Silence does not mean lack of engagement, watch the boy at the back of class who seems to be doodling – when he looks up and wants eye engagement he is more than likely to give a 2 sentence synopsis of the lesson having thought long about it. Is this a lesser form of learning to those who speak volumes? And how much of this is a matter of the skills of the teacher in engendering engagement?

I have listened to teachers complain that whilst having boys outdoors doing adventure activities they could not shut them up yet whilst in class could not get them to say a word. My comment was, ‘so what have you learned from this observation’?

Much of what is claimed to be success or failure is about what is chosen as being such. I wonder what would happen if an old fashioned exam only approach was used to compare achievements against the outcomes of current HSC process – one fraught with subjective assessments.

Perhaps a myth to explode is that there are no differences between the genders in how they do things such as learn.

TLTR, go back to an exam based assessment system, & the boys will fly to the top again.

While we have an immoral teacher assessment of their pupils, based on bias, & the results of home produced assignments, often done by parents, we will have to continue to water down the demands our unis put on students, who just don't have the basics for hard knowledge based subjects.

This has led to a whole generation of teachers who could not now pass the math & physics exams we did for matriculation, in the 50s, 60s, & to some extent in the 70s.

WE are headed for the roll of poor white trash of Asia, & it's this garbage education system, devised & run by women, for women that is leading the rout.

How satisfying is it for those who stand to gain from a continuation of the war between the sexes to find a new term that sounds scientific and medicalises a new disorder for boys?

Reach for the Dymo labelling machine, lump all boys into the one negative category together, there is now 'proof' through a scientific sounding label that there is no need whatsoever to understand their individual needs because through a process of begging the question, we now have all of the 'evidence' needed to patronise boys as truly defective girls. It really makes you wonder what Darwin was thinking of that he didn't realise that human males alone carried a defective gene that makes it a miracle that any have survived to this day. Human males are crippled because their emotional IQ is zilch, they cannot communicate their emotions.

It is rubbish of course. As any mother of a son will - make that should - quickly point out, boys certainly start off loving and affectionate. So the problem is what do we do to them that causes them to retreat into themselves? It doesn't look as though they are forever rewarded and advantaged by a 'patriarchy', but there is a more than fair chance that the bile aimed at the gender and the lack of recognition and reward in the education system are setting them back.

It is not necessary to howtow to feminist ideology to get the wretched lot of boys noticed. Really, is anyone silly enough to believe that boys get their definition of masculinity from a video game, that they are now thought to be incapable of discriminating between fantasy and reality? All that stuff about bays and fashion, is he kidding?

If there is a problem with masculinity it is tat it is so regularly trashed and the denial of any positive features is taught in schools. Now there is a problem.

A clearly written article on a very important topic, although not saying anything really new to my ears.

Framing the problem, as some people do, in terms of some sort of male-vs.-female war will not achieve anything worthwhile. Better to focus on points like the one made buy Paul@Bathurst about learning styles. That is crucial: in some ways boys tend to learn differently from girls. But note that we are discussing differences between "average" boys on the one hand and "average" girls on the other. There will always be some boys who learn similarly to most girls, and vice versa.

Another important thing is the ratio between male and female staff in schools. Men have left the teaching profession in droves over the last twenty years, and one of the biggest reasons is that they felt they were increasingly regarded as potential child abusers by parents, administrators, even female teachers. Somehow more men must be attracted back into the profession. Their presence certainly encourages boys to engage more heartily with school.

Pelican's plea for more recognition and encouragement for boys in the arts should be played at high volume. As a school music teacher I go to great lengths to do this, and given some patience it pays off as boys' participation increases in lessons and in extra activities like choral and solo singing, instrumental ensembles etc