Primary education does everything in its power to turn boys into neuters

A few days before the snow/ice freeze happened last December, the first Sunday of that month I was perched in front of the television set, to watch one of my favorite television programs: In Depth.

That Sunday guest for three hours?  Christina Hoff Sommers.

For years now, I have been in the camp that Sommers and a few others are in, worrying that the entire education system is making boys underachieve in class and in life.  I have often blogged here even with the tag line of "save the males."

It is not that I am any macho, macho man--far from that.  I am a wuss. A wimp. Further, as many of my blog posts will show, I am one heck of a supporter for rights for women, especially in the poorer countries where the treatment of women is atrocious.  But, all those are different from the evidence and logic upon which I draw my conclusions that align me with people like Sommers.

As I watched it, I got so excited that I tweeted. Like this one, for instance:

Am watching @CHSommers on @BookTV and reviewing my own blog posts: Do #professors think and say foolish things? http://t.co/R7HuPyKuz6
— sriram khe (@congoboy) December 2, 2013

I didn't have time then to blog about her comments.  So, why now?  Because I was reminded of Sommers when I read this piece about Camille Paglia in the WSJ.  During the interview, Sommers commented about "her friend" Paglia during the interview and I was all the more excited because I am a huge fan of Paglia's commentaries.  Paglia's take on Sarah Palin was a classic.

Camille Paglia, too, has been worried about the war against masculinity.  She is one heck of a feminist herself, and so is Sommers, which is all the more why their commentaries are that much more insightful.

Ms. Paglia argues that the softening of modern American society begins as early as kindergarten. "Primary-school education is a crock, basically. It's oppressive to anyone with physical energy, especially guys," she says, pointing to the most obvious example: the way many schools have cut recess. "They're making a toxic environment for boys. Primary education does everything in its power to turn boys into neuters."  

In my years of reading and listening to public intellectuals, only one other person was so brutal and powerful in conveying ideas--Christopher Hitchens.  Oh, how I miss his commentaries!

She is not the first to make this argument, as Ms. Paglia readily notes. Fellow feminist Christina Hoff Sommers has written about the "war against boys" for more than a decade. The notion was once met with derision, but now data back it up: Almost one in five high-school-age boys has been diagnosed with ADHD, boys get worse grades than girls and are less likely to go to college.
Ms. Paglia observes this phenomenon up close with her 11-year-old son, Lucien, whom she is raising with her ex-partner, Alison Maddex, an artist and public-school teacher who lives 2 miles away. She sees the tacit elevation of "female values"—such as sensitivity, socialization and cooperation—as the main aim of teachers, rather than fostering creative energy and teaching hard geographical and historical facts.
By her lights, things only get worse in higher education. "This PC gender politics thing—the way gender is being taught in the universities—in a very anti-male way, it's all about neutralization of maleness." 

Yep!