Boys Will Be Boys

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Boys Will Be Boys In Nicholas D. Kristof’s article “The Boys Have Fallen Behind” Kristof explains the struggle between boys and academics in the last few years. Grade point averages, reading levels, and overall interest in school have decreased in the past decade. He claims that it is not only in America either. Boys in Canada, Scandinavia, and Britain are closing their books and plopping themselves in front of televisions. I agree with Kristof’s view on what’s happening in the modern school system. Life and technology have become so fast paced that the analog styling of the classroom has become dull and mundane to even the average kid. Boys are surrounded by 3-D movies, brightly colored cartoons, and action packed video games every day of their lives. A classroom can’t deliver surround sound explosions or the excitement of a colorful cartoon. Although girls are subject to the same things, boys are seemingly more stubborn and impressed with the electronic entertainment around them. In my opinion, I feel girls are more consumed by social issues and looking pretty. If we want to see the number of dropouts decrease and higher test scores, we have to change the pace of the classroom. We have to embrace technology as a friend and a learning aide in the next couple of decades. Boys have become accustom to an extreme world around them and if we don’t accommodate for that we may see a continual decline in interest among boys. Boys are more likely to glue themselves to a monitor and read more words in a video game then they will ever read in a book. I feel like the only other solution, like Kristof said, is to coax boys into reading and learning. Find subject matter that is exciting and will grab a boy’s attention but also pertains to what needs to be learned. Kristof also makes another interesting observation in the New York Times article, “There is one

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