Practice democratic principles. Part 1

An issue that I feel strongly about is gender equality. For the past 4-5 years I have spent significant time analyzing how gender equality is discussed in educational and media settings. In high school I become aware of the AAUW report on gender in the classroom. I studied "How Schools Shortchange Girls" and began analyzing the role gender plays in my life and in the larger world.

During my junior year of college I decided to do an independent study on gender issues and specifically men's issues. Much of my life I have heard about the struggles of girls and women, but much of what I heard did not seem to jive with that I was seeing and reading. After a semester of studying the issues of education and body image and conducting a study to analyze the difference between the awareness of men's issues when compared to women's issues, I have come to the conclusion that it is tough to be a male in the world today.

One of the most eye opening books I have read is Christina Hoff Sommer's The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young Men. In this book Sommer's sites information from the U.S. Department of Education to show how off base the AAUW's report was. The U.S. Department of Education information shows that it is not girls, but boys who are struggling in school.

Girls get better grades than boys.
Girls have higher educational aspirations than boys.
Girls are more likely to take AP classes
Girls are more likely than boys to enroll in high-level math and science classes than boys.
Girls are involved in student government, honors societies, newspapers, and debating clubs more than boys.
Girls read more books than boys.
Girls do better on tests of musical and artistic ability than boys.
Girls study abroad at a higher rate than boys.
Girls attend college at a higher rate than boys.

Looking at the negative statistics:
Boys are more likely to be suspended from school than girls.
Boys are more likely to drop out of school than girls.
Boys are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls.
Boys are more likely to be involved in crime, drugs, and alcohol than girls.
Boys are more likely to die from suicide attempts than girls.

As a psychology major, one of the biggest issues we talked about is validity and reliability of research. How was the study conducted? What information was collected? What information was actually reported? What information was omitted?Groups like the AAUW clearly have an agenda with their "How Schools Shortchange Girls" study. As a critical individual I am much more likely to believe information I receive from the U.S. Department of Education than a feminist organization.

Learning all of this information was eye opening for me. The culmination of my independent study was a chapel presentation to all Goshen College students during May Term. I shared what I learned and was amazed at the positive response I received from other students. I continue to be aware of this issue and to voice an opposing viewpoint when I feel like only one side is being addressed.