School’s in, but where are the guys?

Doing well in school and caring about your grades has come to be seen as unmasculine.

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau Monday shows that college enrollment in the United States is up due in large part to an upsurge in the enrollment of female students. Male students, on the other hand, are not faring so well. According to a USA Today report, “the numbers confirm years of enrollment data showing that women have not only closed the college enrollment gap — they have far surpassed men on campuses. For every four men enrolled in graduate school in 2006, there were nearly six women.

A leading Maryland psychologist partially attributes the downturn in the number of men in college to the notion that, “Doing well in school and caring about your grades has come to be seen as unmasculine.”

It is a positive development that many women are taking advantage of their God-given gifts to pursue advanced levels of education. On the other hand, it is disturbing that so few young men are seeing the need to equip themselves to be more able breadwinners for their families. As CBMW has long asserted, men are called to lead, protect and provide for their families; education, under the Lordship of Christ, can aid in all three areas.

The Maryland psychologist is correct in his assertion that books and brains are often stigmatized as geeky and “sissified.” Let us dispense with the false notion that books and masculinity are not compatible and encourage our boys to love God with all their hearts and minds.