I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.
There
is a lot of discussion in the United States about differences between boys and
girls in school. Lately that discussion has centered on concerns that boys are
not doing as well as girls. Boys, for example, receive seventy percent of all
failing grades.
In April, the Manhattan Institute released its yearly study of graduation
rates. The research group used information from 2003. The researchers found that
seventy-two percent of girls successfully completed their high school education.
That compared to sixty-five percent of boys.
The newspaper Education Week noted earlier this year that, in some ways, what
people are worried about now is really not new. Boys have scored lower than
girls on tests in the National Assessment of Educational Progress since at least
1971.
And the differences are not limited to the United States. Education Week
noted the results of an international reading test in 2003. Fifteen-year-olds
took the test in forty-one countries. Girls scored higher than boys in almost
every country.
Differences between males and females are a continuing issue of fierce
debate. Cultural and economic influences play an important part. But recent
findings suggest that another part of the answer lies in differences between the
male and female brain.
These include differences in learning rates. As a result, some researchers
say, boys may not be able to develop language and reading skills as well as
girls do.
The last time there was a lot of concern about differences in school, it was
about girls, especially in math and science classes. Efforts to improve the
situation for girls included hiring more female teachers.
Yet some people think the opposite situation exists now. They say not enough
male teachers is one reason why boys may not learn as well in class.
Another explanation being heard involves the increased testing in American
schools. Some people say schools are preparing for these important tests by
forcing boys to sit quietly at their desks. They say this is unfair.
Still others say that society is failing boys, by giving
them the message that studying is not manly
. And others say boys are failing in school because
they become too interested in the girls in their classes.
One attempt to solve problems like these is the use of same-sex classrooms.
That will be our report next week.
This VOA Special English Education Report was written by
Nancy Steinbach. I’m Steve Ember.
manly :belonging to or befitting
a man（適合男人的）
（來源：VOA 英語點津姍姍編輯）
