Christians can help solve Britain’s ‘boy problem’. But we need to speak the truth
by James Mildred, Premier Christianity:
As a recent The Telegraph articles announces that “Britain has a boy problem”, and statistics show men and boys lagging behind, James Mildred says one answer is for the Church to be bolder in speaking God’s truth about marriage, family and equality.
Whether it is at school, college, university or work, boys and men are having a tough time of it. As a recent Telegraph article explained, “The UK risks sentencing its next generation of men to life’s scrapheap.” These aren’t just alarmist words. It’s backed up with evidence: Boys are being outperformed by girls in education and are working fewer hours as well. Men might still be earning more, but even that is (rightly) changing.
The attainment gap begins at school. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), by the age of three, there is a “significant gender gap in both cognitive and socio-emotional development” between girls and boys. This is a gap that never completely closes, partly due to our education system and the shift towards more coursework-based assessment, which has benefited girls.
This problem is not unique to Britain. According to Richard Reeves, an academic and author of Of Boys and Men: Why the modern male is struggling (Swift Press): “boys now lag behind girls and men lag behind women at almost every level of education. This is true in nearly every rich economy.”
I think therefore I am
The attainment gap is especially prominent for white, working class boys. And it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When a white working class boy is expected to do badly, for example, no one is surprised when he does.
As one mum told The Times: “It’s like the whole agenda is to drive girls and women forward, while ignoring boys. Girls are told they’re smarter, both genders believe it, and SATS results reinforce it.”
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