EDITOR'S NOTE: Jeannine Guttman

Series explores educational barriers faced by boys

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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The New Gender Gap TODAY: Maine's boys are lagging behind girls in the classroom, and there are signs that the gap is widening. (Read more ...) enlarge What is the NAEP? The National Assessment of Educational Progress is called the "nation's report card." It is the only measure of student achievement in the U.S. that compares the performance of students in one state with that of students across the nation or in other states. Monday: The classroom struggles of boys do not end inside the walls of a university. The number of men at Maine's colleges is dwinding; many are not doing as well as women. Tuesday: The loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs in Maine threatens to leave men behind in an economy that holds less room for the uneducated and unskilled. Wednesday: Maine schools are trying methods such as hands-on learning and single- sex classrooms to narrow the gender gap. Let Us Know E-mail your thoughts about this series to boys@pressherald.com or post a comment on our Reader Comments page. To top of story

For many of us, the term "gender gap" conjures up an image of women struggling to gain parity and equality with men. Decades ago, for our mothers and grandmothers, it was "a man's world." Women entering academia and business often faced extra obstacles in attaining a seat at the table.

Now, generations later, we find that the gap is still there - but with a new face. The students confronting the toughest challenges today tend to be male, not female. That may translate into men, not women, who find themselves stranded by a gender divide when it comes to pay, career advancement and self-fulfillment.

How did this happen? Why? And what can be done to remedy the situation?

At the newspaper, we set out to determine the impact of this new gender gap in Maine. We wanted to understand why boys are lagging behind girls in school, how the state's changing economy contributes to that gulf and what solutions could be brought to bear on this counterintuitive development.

I say "counterintuitive" because this trend goes against our culture's conventional thinking about men and women. Indeed, it's difficult for some people to openly recognize that it is males who are trailing in academic achievement now, not females. Crossing that hurdle - letting go of the old truth - proved to be a big step in our reporting.

We assigned three reporters and a photographer to the story. The result is a four-part series, "The New Gender Gap," which begins today on Page A1 and concludes Wednesday. Led by city editor Andrew Russell, writers Beth Quimby, Jenn Menendez and Kevin Wack and photographer Gregory Rec spent about five months on the series.

Completing the team were two copy editors, Don Coulter and Carol McCormick Semple, and our copy desk chief, Angie Muhs.

I asked those journalists to give their perspectives on covering this important topic, and to share insights they gleaned from the experience.

We found that the reporting brought the issue into the open, for discussion, even though many people had been dealing with the concerns privately.

"During the months I spent working on these stories, I was genuinely surprised by what an enthusiastic response I got from a wide range of people," said Wack. "They would make comments like, 'I'm so glad you're writing about boys.' Sometimes this happened during an interview for this series.

"But just as often, I'd hear it in casual conversations with friends or from sources for other stories. Over time, I noticed that the people who made these comments tended to be parents of boys. In some cases, they'd watched their own boys struggle at school. In other cases, their sons were excellent students, and they'd seen the problems their kids' friends were having. But most of them agreed that something important was happening."

Despite that realization among parents, Quimby said she found other folks less willing to discuss the problem.

"What really amazed me was the extent to which many educators were unwilling to acknow- ledge the gender gap, mainly for reasons of political correctness, while the kids were totally aware and articulate about it," she said. "I hope the series causes schools to consider what they can do to help boys make the same strides in academic achievement that girls have been able to make in the past decade."

Semple, one of our copy editors, brought to the series her expertise as a mother of three college-aged sons. "I've watched that generation of boys try to make its mark in a system that was not an easy fit," she said. "Sometimes I've wondered whether their perceptions were accurate. The information in this series tells me that they were right on the money, that the boys were vocalizing the day-to-day frustrations that add up to what statistics are now telling us is true. . . .

"What I found especially interesting about this series is that the statistics and the experts can tell us what is happening, but they can't pinpoint why," Semple said. "Get together a group of parents and boys and you'll hear endless anecdotes that speak to a cultural shift that reaches far beyond schools. We've worked hard to empower girls, to encourage girls to excel, to break down barriers.

"What's been left out of the equation is the boys - who are they supposed to be in this new world? It's really no mystery that they seek the answer in the fantasy worlds of video games, Internet personas, movies and pop culture icons of masculinity. What's sad is that they find the power, success and satisfaction there that eludes them in the real world."

Russell said the origin of the series was a news brief published in the newspaper more than a year ago, detailing a recent study that found Maine's boys were falling behind girls in college enrollment.

"The reporting started with some basic questions," he said. "Why was this trend happening? Was Maine's experience any different from that of other states? How do you measure the gender gap in schools?"

Initial research showed that while many academic journals had published articles on the phenomenon, few newspapers had written much about the topic.

Our staffers were put on the story in October. "Their work was made difficult by the fact that research on this trend is contradictory - no one really knows for sure why boys are falling behind girls," Russell said. "Also, the impact was unclear, especially since women continue to lag behind men in career opportunities and pay."

The reporters found that Maine's experience mirrors what is occurring in other states, he said. "Boys are lagging behind girls on standardized tests. They're diagnosed with more learning disabilities. Fewer boys are going on to college, and fewer still are graduating.

"But in Maine, the gender gap is a particular problem because the state continues to lose the manufacturing jobs once dominated by men in rural areas. If boys/men don't do well in school or go on to college, they risk being left behind in a high-tech global economy that values a college education or specialized training."

We hope this series generates further discussion in Maine about this important development and helps spark solutions and remedies. To that end, we welcome your feedback and thoughts on the issue.

We have created a separate e-mail address to capture your input. It is boys@pressherald.com. You also can call me at 791-6310, or contact Russell at 791-6320. Finally, you can send us a letter at: Boys Project, Press Herald/Telegram, 390 Congress St., Portland, Maine 04101.

Let us know what you think.

Jeannine Guttman is editor and vice president of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. Send e-mail to

jguttman@pressherald.com or write to 390 Congress St., Portland, ME 04101.

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