Avoiding the Obvious

This past Sunday Times (Actually, it was two Sunday's ago. It has taken me a while to finish this post.) contained an article by a Harvard sociologist who points to the relational breakdowns between black men and women as one of the underlying factors to the troubles for African-American men. This breakdown manifests in domestic violence and misogyny. The real problem is that no one is talking about how sexism has helped foster many of the problems that plague black men.

This is the same problem I see in schools. We don't talk about gender and its effect on student learning. Not only are there too few men teaching in elementary schools, but schools continue to perpetuate gender roles. These roles are too constraining for boys especially. While the advancements for gender equality has allowed girls to forge their own identities (although, we still have a long way to go with this), boys are being left behind and failing miserably at school. They are confused as to whether they are to be lost boys or choir boys.

My main point is that we have to talk about gender, especially the dominant gender in order to get at what's ailing our male students. To ignore the failings of masculinity is to ignore our failings in education. When we as educators decide to discuss this issue openly and search for ways in which we can transform gender into something that allows our boys to succeed, then we may be able to help them avoid some of the same problems in the Times piece.