Girls get extra school help while boys get Ritalin

The special efforts made by schools to steer more girls into advanced math and science classes came after powerful advocacy groups embraced the problem. But Gurian and other advocates for boys say they run into resistance from educators who point to males’ success in the workforce as proof that advocacy for boys is unnecessary. | In spite of the lack of research, anecdotal evidence shows that far more effective strategies are available for teaching boys than plying them with Ritalin. — USA Today —Girls get extra school help while boys get Ritalin (USA Today Op/Ed)

And the opposing view from Jacqueline E. Woods:

The message to women and girls is clear: You are taking more than your fair share. You are too successful. You have come too far, and boys are paying the price for your accomplishments.”

Sorry — that’s not the message I get when I read the coverage on the education of boys. The message I get is that the healthy behavior of normal boys (on average more rambunctious and physical, and far less verbal than the girls in their class) has been pathologized.

Topics of interest to most boys (sports, adventure stories, comic books, computer games) are sometimes seen as too competitive, too aggressive, etc. While boys from an early age outperform girls in areas like spatial relationships, which may account for why mathematics and engineering continues to be a male-dominated field, see: BusinessWeek, Christina Hoff Summers, CBS News.