American boys are falling behind in academics as early as eight years old. It’s a gap that only grows as those boys become men. This special On Point series explores why America’s boys are falling behind in school and what can be done about it.
Episode breakdown
Episode 1. Do we treat boys like malfunctioning girls? Boys are falling behind academically from the earliest ages. What’s happening in elementary schools that’s leading to that — and what would it take to fix it?
Episode 2. Troublemakers There’s a discernible difference in the behavior of boys and girls at elementary school age. Yet expectations about how they behave and perform in the classroom are the same. What are the differences, and how do they shape the years to come for boys and men?
Episode 3. The opportunity gap By every academic metric, Black boys are falling even further behind than white boys. They graduate at lower rates, have lower test scores, higher rates of special education, and are suspended and expelled more often. On Point goes into classrooms that are bucking that trend to find out what they are doing, and what other schools could learn. Hear the episode on April 16.
Episode 4. Where have all the men gone? Today, male teachers make up less than a quarter of the public school teaching force. And while the number of male teachers joining the profession has only been declining over the past few decades, the number of male teachers leaving it has been increasing. What’s driving men away, and what would it take to bring them back? Hear the episode on April 17.
Episode 5. ‘We’re in jail with our emotions’ Teenage boys learn men are supposed to be strong, and vulnerability isn’t strong. Believing that makes it hard to identify when mental health is suffering. On Point takes listeners inside a school that’s created a culture around building strong, emotionally vulnerable men. Hear how those lessons can help teen boys before they enter adulthood. Hear the episode on April 18.
How to listen
Radio
- From April 14 to April 18, listen to installments of Falling Behind on your local NPR station during On Point.
- We also air live through our site at 11 a.m. ET here.
- Find more ways to listen to On Point here.
Podcast
- After the show airs, you’ll find the series in On Point’s podcast feed, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Source: Falling Behind: The Miseducation of America’s Boys | On Point
