The New Gender Gap

When the leaders of the Class of 2003 assemble in Lawrence High's fluorescent-lit1 meeting rooms, most of the boys are nowhere to be seen. The senior class president? A girl. The vice -president? Girl.

Head of student government? Girl. Captain of the math team, chief of the yearbook, and editor of the newspaper? Girls. The female lock on power at Lawrence is emblematic of a stunning gender reversal in American education. From kindergarten to graduate school, boys are fast becoming the second sex.

It may still be a man's world . But it is no longer, in any way, a boy's. From his first days in school, an average boy is already developmentally two years behind the girls in reading and writing. Yet he's often expected to learn the same things in the same way in the same amount of time. While every nerve in his body tells him to run, he has to sit still and listen for almost eight hours a day. Biologically, he needs about four recesses a day, but he's lucky if he gets one, since some lawsuit-leery schools have banned them altogether. Hug a girl, and he could be labeled a" toucher”and swiftly suspended — a result of what some say is an increasingly anti-boy culture that pathologizes their behavior.

Overall, more boys and girls are in college than a generation ago. But when adjusted for population growth, the percentage of boys entering college , master's programs, and most doctoral programs — except for PhDs2 in fields like engineering and computer science — has mostly stalled out, whereas for women it has continued to rise across the board. The trend is most pronounced among Hispanics, African Americans, and those from low-income families.

Instead of catering to boys'learning styles, others argue, many schools are force-fitting them into an unnatural mold. The reigning sit-still-and-listen paradigm isn't ideal for either sex.

Experts say educators should focus on helping boys feel less like misfits. Experts are designing new developmentally appropriate, child-initiated learning that concentrates on problem-solving, not just test-taking. This approach benefits both sexes but especially boys, given that they tend to learn best through action, not just talk. Activities are geared toward the child's interest level and temperament. Boys, for example, can learn math through counting pinecones, biology through mucking around in a pond. They can read Harry Potter instead of Little House on the Prairie , and write about aliens attacking a hospital rather than about how to care for people in the hospital.英语四级作文

Indeed, brain research shows that boys are actually more empathic, expressive, and emotive at birth than girls. But the boy code , which bathes them in a culture of stoicism and reticence, often socializes those aptitudes out of them by the second grade ."We now have executives paying 10 , 000 a week to learn emotional intelligence,"says Pollock."These are actually the skills boys are born with."

A new world has opened up for girls, but unless a symmetrical effort is made to help boys find their footing, it may turn out that it's a lonely place to be.

练习题：

Ⅰ. Complete the following sentences with the words given:

banned geared labeled revealed

1. Would you please hand me the bottle wisdom.

2. Many classical books were once criticized and thus by the authorities.

3. Research has how huge the gap between the poor and the rich is.

4. This game is toward a better and faster response.

Ⅱ. Question:

Why did experts design new developmentally appropriate, child-initiated learning?

答案：

Ⅰ. 1. labeled 2. banned 3. revealed 4 . geared

Ⅱ. Because that concentrates on problem-solving, not just test-taking.

参考译文：

男孩女孩, 孰为第二性?

在劳伦斯中学里, 当2003届的学生干部在灯火通明的会议室开会时, 男生们大都无处可觅。毕业班班长是女生, 副班长是女生, 学生自治会主席是女生, 数学组组长、年鉴主编、校报编辑也是女生。

女生在劳伦斯中学掌权, 这反映出美国教育界令人吃惊的阴盛阳衰现象。从幼儿园到研究生院, 男生正迅速沦为从属性别。

这也许依然是男人的世界。但无论从哪个方面看, 这个世界都不是男孩的世界。从踏入校门开始, 男孩在阅读和写作上就已经比女孩平均落后了两年, 因为男孩发育较晚。然而, 人们却往往期望男孩在同样多的时间里以同样的方式学习同样的东西。男孩身上的每根神经都使他想要四处跑动, 可他却不得不一动不动地坐着, 每天听差不多8 小时的课。

从生物学的角度看, 他每天大约需要4节游戏课, 可他能有一节游戏课就算万幸了, 因为有些学校违反规定, 完全取消了游戏课。如果他拥抱了一名女孩, 可能会背上“ 色狼”的恶名, 动辄被学校开除。之所以造成这种结果, 正如有人所说, 是因为存在着一种越来越违背男孩本性的文化, 从而造成男孩的行为异常。

从整体上看, 大学中男生和女生的人数比上一代人增加了。但是, 如果把人口增长因素考虑进去, 那么, 男孩读大学、硕士和博士( 在工程和计算机科学等少数学科读博士的男孩 除外) 的比例, 基本上已停止增长。而女孩读大学、硕士和博士的比例却继续全面增长。

在西班牙裔美国人、非洲裔美国人和来自低收入家庭的美国人中, 女孩的这种增长趋势最为明显。

有人认为, 许多学校不是去适应男孩的学习方式, 而是强迫他们接受违背其天性的做法。让孩子一动不动地坐着听老师讲课, 这种盛行的做法无论对男孩还是女孩都不是最好方法。

专家们说教育工作者应重点帮助男孩逐步消除认为自己不适应学习的感觉。他们正在根据儿童自己的意见, 设计符合儿童发育规律的新的学习方法。这种方法重视培养解决问题的能力, 而不是一味强调考试。它使男孩和女孩都能从中受益, 但男孩受益更大, 因为他们通过动手而不只是动嘴的方法能取得最好的学习效果。这种方法专门针对孩子的兴趣和性情安排相应的活动。例如, 男孩可采取数松果的方式学习数学, 通过在池塘边玩耍的方式学习生物。他们阅读的书可以是《哈利· 波特》, 而不是《大草原上的小木屋》; 他们作文的内容可以是外星人袭击一所医院, 而不是如何在医院里照顾病人。

的确, 大脑研究表明, 实际上男孩生来就比女孩更富有同情心, 更善于表达, 也更容易受感动。但是, 人们给男孩树立的标准却要求他们宠辱不惊, 沉默寡言。所以, 他们到二年级时就被社会化了, 从而丧失了这些天性。波拉克说:“ 现在, 一些公司高层管理人员不惜每周花费1 万美元, 去培养情感能力。实际上, 对男孩来说这些能力是与生俱来的。”一个新的世界已展现在女孩面前。但是, 如果不下功夫帮助男孩在这个世界里找到自的位置, 那么, 这个世界终将是一个孤独的世界。