OT: Any other parents worried about young men struggling?

Does this mean we are all going to be working for women one day?  

...women are still at a disadvantage in the workforce - at least at times - but the structure of our schools is poorly suited to boys.  I remember seeing a relativley brief piece on TV about an all-boys schools where the students were doing very well academically.  Part of its successs seemed to stem from the fact that it had the boys engage in physical activity for several hours each day.  Speaking purely on an anecdotal level, that made a lot of sense to me.  My (male) friends and I had a lot of steam to burn off each day when I was a kid and a teenager.  Sitting in a classroom for hours on end could be difficult. 

What I hope - however naively - is that this situation can be addressed without people falling into camps.  We could, in theory, have an educational system that works well for girls and boys.  A system that serves girls well doesn't have to be a system that serves boys poorly - and vice versa. 

For the interesting post. Yes, it is a concern, especially in a time when men's rights are under assault. Unfortunately, the popular pc narrative doesn't accept these uncomfortable facts. Thus, you get downvotes. I, for one, wish for everybody to have opportunity, fulfillment and success in life, no matter their gender. And of course, I will get downvotes since men are evil and don't deserve any rights, lol.

When I was in high school in the 1990s this was the case as well. In college it evened out or flipped (at least for my subjects, economics, math, and law). Gen X was the original slacker generation. 

I would hesitate to find gender differences in school or later life to be a problem in themselves.  There are natural differences between the genders and that's fine.  We should celebrate the achievements of young women while making sure that everybody has the opportunities to succeed and find fulfillment in life whatever path they choose.  If their future plans are undermined by underachievement, then we should be concerned.  But some people, maybe more likely males, are late bloomers.  Or they may prefer a career that requires less academic rigor.  At the same time, we need to make sure that these scholarly women have the opportunity to pursue their occupational desires after school.  But as I pointed out above, it's also perfectly fine if they freely choose to be less ambitious in their careers. 

and the government's child support system have created the New American family.

I'll be one of the few middle-aged/old people to say that I think kids have it tougher or at least perceive it to be tougher than we did in the 80s.  My sense is that in middle/upper middle class American there's a fear that if you aren't at or near the top the economy has no place for you (that may be true although any functioning economy has to have a lot of places).  Anyway, I think in my era there was a feeling that you could be average and be fine whereas now I think some kids (perhaps boys than girls) decide that if all they can achieve is average why try?

I read an article a few years ago that some competitive colleges are becoming something like 60/40 women to men based on the applicants they receive, which from a social standpoint may be more of reward for the men than the women.

I'll be one of the few middle-aged/old people to say that I think kids have it tougher or at least perceive it to be tougher than we did in the 80s.  My sense is that in middle/upper middle class American there's a fear that if you aren't at or near the top the economy has no place for you (that may be true although any functioning economy has to have a lot of places).  Anyway, I think in my era there was a feeling that you could be average and be fine whereas now I think some kids (perhaps boys than girls) decide that if all they can achieve is average why try?

I read an article a few years ago that some competitive colleges are becoming something like 60/40 women to men based on the applicants they receive, which from a social standpoint may be more of reward for the men than the women.

everyone on this board, and a whole bunch of people on this board have met some or all of my kids.  among our kids we have been blessed with 5 boys.  thus, i may be familiar with the task of raising boys. 

1. socialization - if at all possible homeschool your kids at a young age, and do not age segregate your kids. integrate them regularly with sports, work, neighbors, church/temple, etc.  people say 'how will they get socialization'?  well, all children are fools (i do NOT mean this in a pejorative manner) and don't know how to socialize.  so if you were going to teach them, say, spanish, would you put them in a room full of non-spanish speakers and say, 'learn'?  no.  you have a teacher.  don't expect them to learn to behave in a roomful of fools (again, not meant pejoritavely). as it relates to socialization there is a truism: more is caught than taught.  so if they aren't doing what you teach them, maybe they are 'catching' lots of bad habits from their friends or (looks at self) you/me/us/the parents/TV/videos.   

2.  no TV/video games/cell phones - this does not mean a complete black out, but nearly so.  if you actually watch TV these days many/most shows ridicule the family unit, dad is always the fool and/or evil one, and the brave, clever young person is the paragon of wisdom.  and language.  and sex.  so don't be surprised when your kids act like what they watch.  dumb phones with no cameras for the kids when needed for events and necessary communications. 

3.  run a parent directed home, not a kid directed home.  loving but very clear command structure.  as they show initiative and maturity increase their freedom and ability to make decisions for themselves. . 

4.  work.  every day, chores, tasks, skills, building, yard work, laundry, dishes, whatever matches where you live.  work beside your sons.  encourage them. teach them.  share with them.  they'll eat it up and you will be blessed for spending the time with them.

5. spoil them with time, not stuff. 

6.  faith - and i'll say no more about that one out of respect fpr the rules of the board. 

I'd say it's a few things:

• girls mature earlier than boys
• they "play school" better (are more organized, more focused when sitting & listening, etc.) than boys
• the inherent male dominant biases in STEM (and in general for females getting an advanced education) are falling away, thus girls making huge strides in those subjects over the last 30 years and indeed in girls going to college overall. In short, we used to not see value in a girl going to college/grad school 40 plus years ago. now we do see value in that
• Video games hook boys at a greater rate than girls at these ages.
• for me, I see (generally) fewer ego issues in girls meaning: they are more agreeable to learning difficult material. Many boys have an attitude of, "it's either too easy b/c I'm a genius so I don't need to work hard to do well or it's so hard even for a genius like me thus it must not be all that big of a deal if I don't do well b/c it's SUCH (*eyeroll*) advanced material that only phds in astrophysics would need to understand it. Either way, the boy's ego convinces himself that the extra effort isn't all that necessary/useful.

TL;DR: our society is now valuing a girls opportunity to excell academically so the perceived deficit we're currently seeing in boys is really just girls getting a fair shake now, in combination with some inherent advantages girls have in a purley academic/educational setting.