Something is going very wrong. We males are fast becoming an endangered species. Endangered in terms of both our chances of success or, even worse, making it to a ripe old age.
Let's look at the facts. Within our education system it is very clear that our boys and young men are not succeeding nearly as well as girls and young women.
This begins early in critical areas such as reading and other areas of literacy and continues through school, manifesting itself in poorer results at almost every level of the secondary system.
In addition to the increasing sneering about their failure, our boys and young men account for over 80 per cent of those defined as behaviour problems at school, 75 per cent of those stood down or suspended from school, over 80 per cent of those who appear in the criminal justice system, represent most of those who develop serious mental health conditions and, tragically, those who end their lives prematurely through suicide. In short, the statistics describing the plight of males are more comprehensive than any of the breakdowns based on ethnic or socio-economic grounds.
To cap it off, if we make it through all that, we die younger.
I do not in any way criticise the positive campaigns to improve the lot of girls and women. It had always been neglected and in many areas there is still a way to go - for example, in salaries.
My concern is that while all of this has been happening, we have not noticed the gradual and insidious decline in the fortunes and welfare of our boys and young men. If this slide continues, it is likely that in the coming years we will have a social tragedy of considerable proportions. In fact, we already have.
When topics such as this get identified many and various hackles get raised. So, let's deal with that.
Some of the comments here will be viewed as a middle-aged, middle-class Home Improvement fan wistfully lamenting days of yore with the blokes.
If that is the case, I don't care because such an assumption would be ill-informed and foolish.
This is an issue that needs to be debated and none of us, male or female, should be afraid to do so. Ask some of the mothers near you. Ask some of the teachers. Ask the psychiatrists. Ask the police. Ask the jail wardens.
It is dangerous for a society to ignore issues of importance because the dominant view at the time happens to see them as unfashionable.
So, what is it that has gone wrong? The truth is we are not sure. But there are three broad theories: the "role model" theory, the "feminisation of education" theory, and the "it's not cool to be a bloke any more" theory.
The role model theory proposes that a reason for the decline in maleness is that so many boys and young men do not get consistent, positive and strong male role models.
There is probably truth in this. Many families are single-parent and in the vast majority of these the strong parent is the woman.
All too often the men in this situation would give the average boy reason not to be like them. So, our young girls get presented with a very strong female model. The boys ... well, who knows?
Then the boys go to school. The vast majority of their teachers are women; another strong model for the girls. Not only are the male teachers they encounter quite rare, particularly in the early childhood and primary sectors, but they may be afraid to behave like normal people because of possible accusations of abuse and assault. What the boys think about all of these sanitised blokes is anyone's guess.
The feminisation of education theory claims our teaching and assessment methods favour the behaviour of girls over that of boys.
For example, the regular and consistent drip-feed method of assessment used in many tertiary institutions and the NCEA is said to favour young people who are focused, well-organised and who have a consistent approach to their tasks.
This tends to describe the behaviour patterns of girls and young women more accurately than it applies to boys and young men. So while it can be dangerous to generalise about behavioural characteristics, it might be fairly claimed that girls bring more cultural capital into our education system than boys.
Those who espouse the "it's not cool to be a bloke" theory point to many things. Among these are the messages sent out that all men are potential predators (and women are not?), that it's not acceptable to sit around with the guys and talk about footy, that traditional male jobs that might have required elements of physical strength are no longer sexy.
And, for heaven's sake, that hair on the chest should be removed so that we all end up looking like some of the clowns who bedevil our movies and magazine covers.
Whether any or all of these theories are contributing to the downfall of our boys, and to what extent, I don't know. What I do know as an educator is that this is every bit as big a problem as the plight of Maori, Pasifika or the poor.
In fact, this phenomenon traverses all of those areas equally and then some. It also affects Pakeha from homes across the economic spectrum.
We must stop overlooking the "male" factor in our analysis
of the challenges we face. And we must begin the long-overdue process
of finding out what it means to be a good man and how we get there.
We cannot afford to fail.
Dr. John Langley
