Hoff Sommers derides Gilligan's theory for seeming to attribute pathology to normal children and suggests that the literal separation of children from their fathers, not the metaphorical separation from their mothers, can better explain the overall problems suffered by boys in relation to school performance, aggression and arrest.

All agree, however, that any significant impact on a gender gap in learning will require political action. Certainly that was true when it came to girls.

Gilligan believes that part of the difficulty in lobbying for change for boys can be attributed to men's squeamishness when asked to embrace traits that have traditionally been associated with women. "Within patriarchy," says Gilligan, "manhood is privileged over womanhood. So it's easier at first to talk about elevating girls to the level of men. When you start to challenge the patriarchal notion of manhood, you can ruffle men's feathers. It's easier to be relaxed about girls becoming scientists, but boys who show feminine traits are still called 'sissy,' or 'queer.'"

But others, like Mortenson and Hoff Sommers, believe that boys are not getting the support they need because American politicians and educators are still, as Hoff Sommers put it, "mired in p.c. concerns" that lead them to discriminate against boys -- for being boys.

"Politically, it's very difficult to get support for boys," says Mortenson. "I started writing about boys in 1995, and for the first four years, I was widely ignored. It takes an awful long time to changed the mentality that girls are the universal victims of gender discrimination."

Says Hoff Sommers, "I've spoken with members of Congress, and they have told me that they can't do anything about it until there is a concerned constituency. That is something that has to be created by the media.

"It's easier to create concern for girls' issues, because there are so many journalists lending support -- Anna Quindlen, Natalie Angier, Katie Couric," she claims. "The journalists were key players in the movement to empower girls. I think they got carried away and shortchanged boys in the process."

It is somewhat astonishing to hear that boys can't get the attention of politicians and journalists, even though the majority of politicians and journalists are men. Perhaps that is part of the problem: It is difficult to convince adults that boys are in a crisis that could affect their educational and economic future when those adults look around and find men in positions of power.

Mortenson acknowledges that "college-educated men get more bang for their buck." But, he says, not enough men are going to college, and in the current economy, "the only people who make it are the ones who have a college education."

He also points out that the vast majority of organizations that have the membership base and political clout to lobby on gender issues are women's organizations, which are a good 30 years ahead of men in organization.

Says Mortenson, "One problem facing boys is that adult men have nowhere near the interest or the organizational structure to support boys on the level that adult women have provided for girls. There are simply no equivalent male organizations."

It is most often the women at Mortenson's lectures who express concern about the problems facing boys. "If we ever do anything about the boy crisis," he says, "women will deal with it, because they will realize that it is in their self-interest to engage boys in education."

With so many competing theories, it's impossible to tell exactly what that engagement will look like. The debate about boys' education mirrors many of the larger debates about American education: Do we need "tougher standards," mandatory testing, character education and strict discipline? Or do we need smaller classrooms, individual attention and encouragement of creative and critical thinking?

Gender gaps in education -- unlike the more pressing and intractable gaps associated with parental involvement, race and class -- have proved to be surprisingly bridgeable, at least when it comes to girls. The remarkable progress of girls in academic achievement and higher education over the last 30 years demonstrates that their delays and difficulties were not inevitable. It is fair to assume that boys have the same potential for catching up. What remains to be seen, however, is whether their plight can motivate adults to agree on a plan of action and finally get it off the ground.

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