27 January 2006

Silly Boy, School is for Girls!

This kid in Milton, Mass. has got to win the award of Stupidest Lawsuit of the Month. He argues that as a white, middle class boy, he is dimscriminated against in school? How? Well, let's turn to his own comments, as recorded by the Boston Globe:

''The system is designed to the disadvantage of males," Anglin said. ''From the elementary level, they establish a philosophy that if you sit down, follow orders, and listen to what they say, you'll do well and get good grades. Men
naturally rebel against this."

And his suggested solution?

For example, he proposes that the high school give students credit for playing sports, not just for art and drama courses. He also urges that students be allowed to take classes on a pass/fail basis to encourage more boys to enroll in advanced classes without risking their grade point average. He also wants the school to abolish its community service requirement, saying it's another burden that will just set off resistance from boys, who may skip it and fail to graduate as a result.
Now, over the past twenty years or so, there has certainly been a shift towards a curriculum and pedagogy that has favored girls to some degree, and certainly we have neglected the needs of the boys. However, I would argue that much of this problem can also be tied to the increased emphasis on reading and writing, linguistic based skills that boys often struggle with in adolescence, while girls thrive.
That being said, this kid's nuts. Elsewhere in the Globe piece, he mentions that his GPA is a 2.88. Gee, ya don't think that THAT could be a reason for the lawsuit? I somehow suspect that SOMEBODY was a lazy student, or, well, maybe he was just 'naturally rebelling,' being a boy soooooooo disserviced by the school.