“Many North American universities are graduating 50 percent more women than men.”

David Kitz
Spur Ottawa Contributor

Did you notice that most of the medals Canada won at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil were won by women? Margaret Wente, an opinion columnist for the Globe and Mail, made the same observation in an article entitled, The lost boys: Video games more fun than growing up. Wente draws a link between poor athletic performance from our male athletes and poor overall academic and work performance among young men today.

Wente quotes a male high school teacher as saying, “The majority of boys checked out of classroom a long time ago, when video-game offerings and online activities exceeded anything the classroom could do for them. For every 10 motivated female students, there are maybe one or two male students who can compete with them, due more to natural ability than any higher degree of motivation.”

Are we raising a lost generation of young men?

Wente goes on to state, “The gender gap at universities is increasing. As postsecondary education becomes more and more necessary to compete for the good jobs, many North American universities are graduating 50 percent more women than men.”

On the local scene, Dr. Chris Kennedy reports that this year’s medical school graduates were about evenly split according to gender. Kennedy works as a senior scientist and professor at the Departments of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa.

“In the past, males were dominant, but now we are roughly at parity. I see that as a good thing, but any gender imbalance has its down side,” Kennedy says. “I’m not sure what factors are holding boys back at the high school level.”

On a personal level, as a teacher with 35 years of experience, I have witnessed a marked decline in the general achievement level among middle school boys. I began noticing a distinct shift about 10 years ago. Up to that point boys and girls were about equally represented as class finalists in our school-wide public speaking competition. But year after year the number of male finalists began to decline. The current ratio has female competitors out number male by about six to one. Class presidents are universally female.

We should celebrate all the successes that girls are achieving. They are well earned. But why are boys hanging back?

We should celebrate all the successes that girls are achieving. They are well earned. But why are boys hanging back or simply choosing to not engage? It seems that in the academic realm they have lost interest and their competitive drive.

Paul Cameron, a teacher at Knoxdale Elementary School, identifies four factors that are holding boys back:

1. There is a lack of positive male role models. At Cameron’s school, female staff outnumber male staff by a ratio of 40 to nine. Many boys do not have a male teacher until they reach high school. By then, it is often too late.
2. Boys have active minds and bodies, but schools and curriculums are structured for sitting. The educational curriculum has moved away from hands-on activities and resources by eliminating science and art rooms, as well as shop and family-studies classes.
3. A permissive approach to parenting creates an environment where teachers have to deal with increasing numbers of defiant and disruptive children. As Margaret Wente states, “Boys, much more than girls, need external discipline and strong role models to turn them into successful adults.”
4. Video games are the crack cocaine of the male adolescent. It’s hard to put in a good day’s work at school, or engage well socially, if you have spent the entire night playing video games. I know twelve-year-old boys who are spending sleepless nights doing just that and then showing up at school.

Finally, here are some pointers to help Christian parents keep their sons engaged in learning:

1. Establish clear school and homework routines, including due dates for major assignments.
2. Pray nightly with your child. Use it as a time to let them open up. Listen attentively to their concerns—then pray with them.
3. Be a reader. Model reading at home. Read a good book with your child.
4. Get to know your child’s teacher. As much as possible, see this as a cooperative three-way relationship between the parents, child, and teachers.
5. Absolutely, limit and restrict TV, computer, and cell phone time. Establish that you are the boss of these devices. Model personal self-discipline and self-control.
6. Fathers: engage, engage, engage with your sons. You are their chief role model.

Parenting is the greatest responsibility God has entrusted to you. Do it like you mean it. Don’t raise a lost generation when you can raise children who are filled with God’s wisdom and purpose.