Decreasing Percentage of College Graduates Are Men
There appear to be 2 reasons why the percentage of male college graduates is falling.
The first reason is economic discrimination. Women have more financial aid available to them than men. Big corporations donate money to college grant programs with the stipulation that men not receive any of it. Corporations such as Walmart, Home Depot, Starbucks, Pfizer, Coldwell Banker, JP Morgan, Robert Half International, The General Electric Company and Prudential have donated large sums of money to college grant programs such as The Business and Professional Women Foundation, and the American Association of University Women. These programs provide college grants only to female students.
Additionally, the National Science Foundation (a federal agency) has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last few years for college grants with the stipulation the student cannot be a man. These donations have gone to organizations such as Women in Engineering and Computer and Information Science, American Association of University Women, and The Association for Women In Science Scholarships. This is a violation of Title IX and is government sponsored discrimination.
Lastly, some - not all - professional women donate tens of thousands dollars every year to grant programs such as The American Association of University Women, The P.E.O. Program, The Educational Foundation for Women in Accounting, and The Business and Professional Women Foundation. These programs hand out tens of thousands of dollars for college tuition with the stipulation the student not be a man.
It is financially easier for a woman to go to college and graduate than a man.
The second reason for the decreasing percentage of male college graduates is education discrimination.
In the subjects of math and science, girls have more assistance and encouragement than boys. Programs such as The National Girls Collaborative Project, Women & Math Program, The National Math & Science Young Leaders Program, The All Girls/All Math Program and many others across America are designed to promote learning solely among girls. These programs are financed by corporations such as Exxon, Fortune, GlaxoSmithKline Inc., Cisco Systems and even the Federal government. There is no comparable or equal assistance for boys. Many colleges and Universities such as Meredith College, Michigan State University, University of Nebraska & many others also sponsor similar girls only learning programs. Additionally, institutions such as Carnegie Science Center & Arizona Science Center coordinate math & science learning programs with local teachers to ensure girls succeed in these subjects. Boys are not given the same encouragement.
In today's information age, reading has become a very important subject. Many US schools use poetry & novels to teach reading. The literatures taught are specifically designed to appeal to girls. They are generally based on various character's feelings and emotions. Most literatures allegedly designed for boys are also written from the same emotional perspective. Thus, boys generally find reading class unappealing. A few teachers have allowed students some freedom in selecting literatures for learning, including offering novels based on adventure, exploration, and hobbies - subjects which commonly appeal to boys. Thus, the development of a boy's reading skills appears to depend on how many open minded teachers he encounters.
America's education system is designed to promote the advancement of girls into college.
To further emphasize it is America's sexist education policies that is causing the drop in percentage of male college graduates, Chinese and Japanese boys do not experience the education difficulties of American boys.
A few teachers have rebelled, notably Judith Kleinfeld. They want the education system modified to address boys's difficulties.However, there has been resistance to solving boys education problems. The American Association of University Women, Time Magazine, the Association of Colleges & Universities American and Feminist Teacher Journal are openly against altering the education system to help boys. They insist girls should remain the focus of American education. These organizations state men often get high paying jobs in manufacturing and construction - jobs which require no college degree. Thus, boys won't have a problem in adult life. However, since 1980, about 5 million manufacturing jobs have been eliminated in America. Additionally, construction jobs are highly unstable. They only pay well when they are available. These fields no longer provide a financial future.
A college degree is now very important for remaining employed. This fact is displayed by the current recession. The vast majority of layoffs are men who have no college education. Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that since 1970, the unemployment rate for high school graduates has been twice the unemployment rate of college graduates. Lastly a study by Dr. Beveridge appears to show wages for men as a group, adjusted for inflation, have declined since 1970 largely due to a lack of education.
America has learned nothing from its early 20th century past - an era of mass discrimination. The narrow minded arrogance which excluded large groups of people from higher learning in that era, continues to control education in the 21st century. People who intentionally inhibit the advancement of groups of students should be swept aside.
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