Education

How to Solve the Education Crisis for Boys and Men | Richard Reeves | TED

While studying inequality and social mobility, Richard Reeves made a surprising discovery: in some countries, like the US and UK, boys are drastically lagging behind girls across many academic measures. He explains why these struggles in school are indicative of the larger crises facing boys and men — and outlines how society could thoughtfully tackle…

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While studying inequality and social mobility, Richard Reeves made a surprising discovery: in some countries, like the US and UK, boys are drastically lagging behind girls across many academic measures. He explains why these struggles in school are indicative of the larger crises facing boys and men — and outlines how society could thoughtfully tackle these challenges to work towards a more inclusive, equitable future. (Followed by a Q&A with head of TED Chris Anderson)

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72 Comments

  1. SEVEN SAMURAI

    June 21, 2023 at 9:26 am

    We now live in a world where everything is a function over form. It’s not about who you are, its about what your job is. Add in the obsession with consumerism and low-energy modern debauchery, you have a recipe for disaster. No purpose, no passion, no ambition, no point in living.

  2. bergstrom oliver

    June 21, 2023 at 10:17 am

    Education Matters.

  3. mồn lèo simcac

    June 21, 2023 at 10:28 am

    nice video

  4. Nuclear Throne

    June 21, 2023 at 10:28 am

    Summary:

    The video is a TED Talk by Richard Reeves, a scholar who studies inequality. In this talk, he discusses the growing educational gap between boys and girls, particularly in the United States but also in other economically advanced countries. Here are the key points:

    1. There is an 18-percentage-point gap in the awarding of college degrees in favor of women in the U.S., a reversal from 50 years ago when men were more likely to earn degrees. This trend is also seen in other advanced countries.
    2. Boys are trailing girls throughout the education system, with two-thirds of top academic performers in high school being girls and two-thirds of those at the bottom being boys.
    3. Boys from poorer and middle-class households are much less likely to attend college than girls from the same background. The gender gap is less stark in affluent communities.
    4. The gender gaps are even more stark for Black Americans. For every Black man getting a college degree, there are two Black women.
    5. Boys face two big structural disadvantages in education: their brains develop later, particularly the prefrontal cortex associated with planning, organization, and impulse control; and there is a lack of male teachers, who can be important role models and are more sensitive to the specific challenges of boys in the classroom.
    6. The education system often treats the problems of boys as problems with boys, medicalizing and medicating their issues rather than addressing systemic issues.
    7. Reeves suggests policy changes such as starting boys in school a year later to account for later brain development and recruiting more male teachers, especially in subjects like English where boys are struggling.
    8. Reeves emphasizes that doing more for boys and men doesn’t mean doing less for women and girls. He argues against zero-sum thinking and advocates for a future that benefits everyone.
    9. He concludes by advising boys who are struggling to understand that it’s not their fault if they’re having difficulties in a system that might not be working for them, and to avoid blaming women or feminism for their struggles.

    Generated with GPT-4 and ChatToVideo plug-in

    • clusterstage

      June 21, 2023 at 8:57 pm

      Thanks. Saved 15 minutes off my watchtime.

    • Michelle D

      June 21, 2023 at 9:39 pm

      Awesome! Thanks

  5. SAY

    June 21, 2023 at 10:52 am

    Or i m just gonna blame those fooking fools who thought boys don’t need mental support in the ways a girl’s do , so treat girls as a doll and a monster man as a rock hard stone.

  6. zworm2

    June 21, 2023 at 11:19 am

    I taught in an inner City school system for many years. I watched as the system tried all manner of expensive schemes foisted on them by educational scammers. None worked and all were cast aside. Two things made a difference – Streaming based on performance and dividing classes by gender. males and females are different and learn differently. The most basic difference is temperature of the classroom. males like it cooler. Having males separated allows them to compete without the need to show off. The system I worked in did this for a couple of years and then decided to scrap it. You see, it is not really about the Kids, it is all about the administration and putting feathers in their own hats!

    • AJ Walker

      June 21, 2023 at 1:05 pm

      I’ve worked several years in public education and I 100% agree, all decisions were based on money and convenience for the ADULTS, nothing about the students. Sure, they _said_ it was “for the students” but it was really to make things easier for the ADULTS and to look good to the “stakeholders”. The only stakeholders any educational system should care about is what’s best for the students and if that care inconveniences the adults, they need to find a different profession.

    • zworm2

      June 21, 2023 at 2:21 pm

      @AJ Walker every year I fought to get good furniture in my classroom. I installed AC units in the windows. I paid for materials so I could have experiments. Did I ever see a politician? Not one. Look how much money gets ‘lost’ every year from the school system. For lost read stolen! Special needs students never get the same opportunity as regular students. Inclusive classrooms are another lie.

  7. Recks

    June 21, 2023 at 11:46 am

    9:53 incredibly powerful statement

  8. Gia Huy

    June 21, 2023 at 11:54 am

    meaningful❤

  9. Aldrian Grose

    June 21, 2023 at 11:58 am

    It’s because America spends 85% of it’s economy on the military. Because war is profitable. Now that’s what you call a dictatorship. Not a democracy.

    • Into the Sky

      June 21, 2023 at 12:33 pm

      This is a problem across the Western world, as Reeves discussed in the video.

  10. Detective Conan

    June 21, 2023 at 12:06 pm

    Humans really need to fix that suicide rates problem because then it’s no use for making more babies if they are just going to die because of the OUTDATED corrupt systems in reality 🙏🧐👻
    That suicide rate number is just an example which actually tells something about the OUTDATED system in reality 🙏🧐👻
    Humans should understand one simple thing in reality “human babies are not made for the system, systems are made for the human” 🙏🧐👻
    If humans children are dying because of that then humans really need to fix it and find the solution for it 🙏🧐👻
    Then what’s the use of that nonsense money that administration offices make when they are not capable to keep up with the current reality 🙏🧐👻

  11. Chakravartin

    June 21, 2023 at 12:48 pm

    Guys, record this video quickly before it is removed by YouTube or simply deleted by Ted themselves

  12. Tries Valencia

    June 21, 2023 at 1:09 pm

    Beautiful.

  13. Hi it's me

    June 21, 2023 at 2:32 pm

    The skill of planning, impulse control and organization develops later in boys, but maybe it’s not biological, maybe boys need to be pushed harder or better supported in those aspects

  14. troy milton

    June 21, 2023 at 2:44 pm

    we need mandatory military training for boys which will lead to what is known as a closed society..

    closed society=military parades

    open society=gay parades

    • troy milton

      June 21, 2023 at 2:48 pm

      the military is where races are socialized towards cooperation through physical discipline

    • Sarah 13

      June 21, 2023 at 3:36 pm

      😂😂😂 good one. Bravo!

    • Interopsty

      June 21, 2023 at 5:43 pm

      great joke! i’m dying of laughter here!

  15. Justin A.

    June 21, 2023 at 2:45 pm

    What makes this whole video ironic for me is that I didn’t care for English in school, and yet I did very well, especially with reading and writing. Years later when I graduated from high school and enrolled at the community college, I had to take a placement exam. I got almost a perfect score on the portion of the test that tests your reading, writing, and comprehension abilities.

  16. troy milton

    June 21, 2023 at 2:46 pm

    Marx and Plato called for centrally planned societies where both reproduction and production are under state control..

    these would be societies with out a political left and homelessness

  17. Donald Auguston

    June 21, 2023 at 3:22 pm

    Very interesting talk. Thank you. DA

  18. Whoda

    June 21, 2023 at 3:45 pm

    It’s so nice to hear from someone who is sensible and compassionate. That seems to be rare in today’s age.

  19. Margo Rodriguez

    June 21, 2023 at 3:51 pm

    Give me a break. Men in union jobs a make waaaay more than women in union jobs.
    One way or another society rewards men’s work at a higher level.

    • Luke H

      June 21, 2023 at 4:41 pm

      So we shouldn’t strive for equality in education because of perceived (albeit highly questionable) inequality in a completely different setting?

      That’s as stupid as me saying we shouldn’t advocate for abortion rights because ‘give me a break’, women are doing better in school.

    • Margo Rodriguez

      June 21, 2023 at 5:03 pm

      @Luke H
      Wow. You don’t seem capable of getting it.
      Road safety workers with a high school diploma make more than double their wives do with two degrees and 20 years teaching experience. Get on board with reality.

    • Luke H

      June 21, 2023 at 5:11 pm

      @Margo Rodriguez Road workers have a dangerous, physical, arduous, unforgiving work environment with little time off.

      Teachers work in a nice comfortable classroom for relatively short days, no weekends and more time off that any other job in the world. You also only need a degree which is what, 3 years more in education than high school?

      You’re the one who needs to get on board with reality. Qualifications don’t = more money. Labour markets take far more factors into consideration.

      Besides what’s stopping you from becoming a road safety worker?

    • Margo Rodriguez

      June 21, 2023 at 5:50 pm

      @Luke H
      You are proof positive of what I’m talking about. Short days. They have meetings after work, are responsible for life, limb, and psychological well being if children. They do online and out of town seminars year round, Buddy. They take continuing education and train children for shooter’s drill. My daughter never gets home before 4:30 and the. Has more work for school to do. See what I mean. Two degrees and far less compensation than workers that are laid off in the winter.
      You are clueless and the perfect example of how women’s jobs are not deemed as worthy as men’s. BS.
      My daughter has 5 1/2 years after high school you apparently don’t. Go to summer school which they also teach.
      And you seem to know little about road safety workers. Lol.

  20. ClockworkAvatar

    June 21, 2023 at 3:51 pm

    boys aren’t just broken girls, and that’s what they are treated like.

  21. vila777

    June 21, 2023 at 5:01 pm

    the idea of putting boys in school a year later kind of completely disregards how it would impact the girls in class. sounds like a recipe for a really awful power imbalance

  22. Anna boschpuig

    June 21, 2023 at 7:17 pm

    It is true that girls perform better at school than boys, but this is not due to differences in brain development. This is the conclusion psychobiologist Lara Wierenga draws from a recent study. Publication in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

  23. Anna boschpuig

    June 21, 2023 at 7:17 pm

    It is a myth that boys lag behind in brain development. It is true that girls perform better at school than boys, but this is not due to differences in brain development. This is the conclusion psychobiologist Lara Wierenga draws from a recent study. Publication in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

  24. Viddy Man

    June 21, 2023 at 7:59 pm

    Wow Ted is finally allowing perspectives that contradict the female=victim male=perpetrator ideology. I’m very pleased to see it – it’s a shame it’s 8 years overdue.

  25. Doug Carr

    June 21, 2023 at 8:08 pm

    I really hesitate to be critical of this presentation in any way. I agree with all his conclusions about how boys are being treated in the education system. One change that he didn’t mention happened guite a few decades ago, and is hurting both girls and boys. That is the requirement for gym class that was removed somewhere in the late 80s. My critic of his analysis is his focusing on the macro data without putting those numbers into context. One huge reason women are outpacing men with regards to college degrees is that for women, virtually all paths to a career involve a college degree. If you look at roughly equivalent pay scales, women have the choice of pursuing a nursing degree (or similar). Women hold a 5.6:1 advantage in the healthcare fields.For men, skilled trades are often the choice. Men occupy well over 90% of all high skill level trade jobs. One requires a four year degree. The other requires a 3-4 year apprenticeship. As for careers in teaching, good luck! The pay is terrible, and the support level is even worse.
    It also has to be pointed out that boys are not as bad off as might be indicated by the raw degree numbers. For the following “parental bragging rights” degrees. Stem degrees are still overwhelmingly awarded to men (76%). With many women transferring out of stem curriculum after their freshman year. Business degrees are roughly equal among men and women. As are graduating doctors and lawyers. Women who pursue law as a career still only make up about 38% percent of the workforce. The three reasons given by women for abandoning law are childcare, stress, and the pressure to meet billable hours.
    Degrees that are dominated by women that are of some concern are what I call “the fast track to a Starbucks career” degrees. These degrees are Ethnic/Gender studies, English majors, Family Science, Foreign language/literature, and Liberal arts/General studies. (Somebody need an explanation for the wage gap? Yikes!)

  26. Michelle D

    June 21, 2023 at 9:42 pm

    I learned a lot about the issues that boys and men face from your book. I was worried that the conversation was dropped. Glad to see this

    • dug moon

      June 23, 2023 at 12:07 pm

      aren’t you surprise you never heard about this issue from the conventional(fake) media. i always wondered why for each issue, even minor one, female gender has you will have the media reporting but men issue are always neglected even if these issue are more important (for example – swimming competition affected by transgender has smaller affect on society then the education issue reported here. another example is a report on the rise of women in jail while its clear there are more men suffering from that issue and nothing is being that of them.)

      this causes many men (some i know) to pass and go to the east when they are more welcome.
      you can see the decline of the west lately on economics crime and more. The east will win this and will rise stronger has week men bring bad things while strong men bring prosperity. and strong men are those that have the balls to pay the price and go to places better for them.

      lately i heard that they want to pass a rule that ppl that go overseas will still pay taxes to west origin countries and i wonder if that is related.
      if you don’t live in a country why you should pay taxes if you don’t use that county services – i bet these ppl will pass their citizenships, its going to be interesting

  27. tinyfingerdildos

    June 21, 2023 at 9:59 pm

    a huge part of the problem is that any [political] mainstream public education reform will inevitably be supportive of the capitalist system that creates the poverty and inequality central to the problem. if a parent lacks the time to properly sustain a family, the children are going to suffer, as anyone who has gone to school hungry knows. alleviating the suffering caused by our rigid gender hierarchy is important, and we need to look at why it exists in the first place.

  28. Susmita Bhattacharya

    June 21, 2023 at 11:55 pm

    So pushing the girls and woman down down is the new strategy 😢😢 oppression is still there ..

  29. Heriberto Hernandez

    June 22, 2023 at 12:36 am

    A good teacher recognizes each students ability to learn is as unique as thier fingerprints.

  30. Samson Fernendez

    June 22, 2023 at 2:07 am

    Thoughts:
    1. How would this work in a “gender is a spectrum” perspective?
    2. Should we assign “boys” as age -1 (negative one) at birth?
    3. How about those outside the average – would the less “girly” girls be doomed, would the more “girly” boys be at an advantage?

  31. Stetson Baker

    June 22, 2023 at 2:34 am

    I am a 25 year old male that returned to university after a 4 year break, and am thankful to see people recognizing this issue. A disturbingly large percentage of the males I met in college, or knew already that went to college, did not graduate on time or dropped out and pursued other interests. I think it’s more nuanced than discussed but it’s a challenge that needs to be recognized and needs special attention from parents and the education system as a whole. For the record, I graduated HS with a 4.0 and am a year and a half away from a dual Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering degree; it’s not just about men and their ability to learn and understand complex topics, it’s much deeper than that.

  32. RJRJ RJJ

    June 22, 2023 at 4:34 am

    thank you very much Richard

  33. Alex Stephanie

    June 22, 2023 at 6:47 am

    Being able to provide all my needs without the help of the Government is really a dream come through and I’m getting $20,000 returns from my $7,600 investment ☺️

  34. Anurag Bisen

    June 22, 2023 at 10:06 am

    I was amazed

  35. leslie muneeza

    June 22, 2023 at 1:49 pm

    The guy nails every point especially the role model explanation

  36. Jack D.

    June 22, 2023 at 2:26 pm

    It’s essential for young boys to dedicate more time to reading. Starting from a young age, reading becomes incredibly valuable, even during summer break. By investing just a little time each day, they can engage with clean, short, and affordable ebooks (for example “From Peaks to Waves: A Family’s Summer Story”). These books should be slightly challenging, but not overly difficult, to encourage continual growth, expand their imagination, and sharpen their minds. I’ve noticed that most intelligent adults I know were avid readers during their childhood.

  37. agr0nianTV

    June 22, 2023 at 3:43 pm

    I wonder if part of it is because guys are more likely to go into manual labor jobs/fields that don’t require a degree.

    As far as highschool gpa goes I have no clue.

    5:03 Very interesting I did not know that

    Blegh hate the sitting down and doing it part 😅 especially once I’m home

    8:44 biggest problem there is just how few men have degrees in that field, my whole learning career I never once had a male English. One topic I’d like to bring up is History, over half my history teachers were men (no clue if that’s normal), but that has quite the analog to english since you often have to read and write in history classes granted grammar often means far less.

    23% damn :/ That’s horrible some of those adhd really mess with a kid. My brother has adhd himself and when he tried those meds (multiple different kinds at different times) he acted like a different person, sure he mellowed out and would sit still, but it was like talking to a high person it just wasn’t my brother…

    10:45 An extra year would be extremely rough on poor households. Childcare is insanely expensive so getting their kids in public school is a massive income relief as soon as they hit kindergarten. Low income houses are less likely to have a stay home parent so that’s just extra money down the drain.
    Another issue later on is turning 18 earlier while in school. People in highschool will still act like their peers, but now there’ll be more risk of being charged as a adult if stupid crap goes awry after all boys will be boys.

    Good luck getting more teachers most people will turn down a low paying pain in the butt job like teaching unless they are passionate about it.

    Excellent talk hopefully changes will happen 😁

  38. Dusk

    June 22, 2023 at 4:35 pm

    This also carries over into the workforce – a few women might feel an aggressive duty to overpower the men on the team but it comes across as just toxic in the longrun rather than actually collaborating.

  39. CatatonicBug

    June 22, 2023 at 5:31 pm

    The problem with recruiting men as teachers is that teachers in the US don’t make a respectable salary. Its just not a profession that makes teenagers feel aspirational in the belief that they could support a family on the earnings from a career in education.

    • Ben Tomlinson

      June 25, 2023 at 1:25 pm

      And female hypergamy also plays a role there, if men think that their income is going to be more important when it comes to seeking romantic partners (which public data agrees to, a survey conducted in 2017 said in relationships 70% of US citizens believe male income is incredibly important, whereas only about 24% of citizens said the same about female income). However, I will say if a man chose a profession that was 3:1 female, there’s a good chance logistically he’d meet a potential partner in that profession. And most of those on social media who talk about hypergamy, which is real, under estimate the importance of logistics in relationship seeking.

  40. Byron Dunn

    June 22, 2023 at 6:08 pm

    Excellent speech. Young men have very few good role models. They’re falling into the hands of these weird “alpha” male types. This is a path away from that.

  41. The Freshest

    June 22, 2023 at 8:03 pm

    He doesn’t take into account for how long females were put behind. This would have to continue for a very long time before it starts to be even. Using the limited data it’s more like a rebound then, the gap will continue and/or get worse. Women essentially deserve more focus (just more calculated, for the lack of words).

    • ND

      June 23, 2023 at 2:30 pm

      He literally starts the talk about that. That despite being behind, women have now surpassed men. You quite easily google it. Regardless of where in the world women surpass men in tertiary education.
      If cant understand, actually even affects women even more than it affects men. Women are biologically more choosy about mates. Less educated mates mean more competition for women.
      If you want to see how this correlated just look at America’s black community. The more educated black women is, the higher % of them are single. Well is the are graduating at a 2 to 1 ratio, that make clear sense. And that does take in to about that in general men die at a higher rate than women. Which mean even fewer qualified mates. There another research that found with online dating, 23% of men are swiped on by 80% of the women, cause the men to create digital harems. Further failing men is extremely dangerous for society. Mass shooters are generally males.
      Failing men equals to a worse outcome for women.

    • The Freshest

      June 23, 2023 at 2:57 pm

      @ND my point was we surpassed them for like thousands of years. They could b way ahead for hundreds and it wouldn’t b equal. You made a good point that’ll help women too if men are better but your example about mates is almost like saying women are meant to be wives and mothers (I’m exaggerating a bit but u chose that example)

    • From Africa I Came

      June 24, 2023 at 1:41 pm

      Mandatory education isn’t that old

    • The Freshest

      June 24, 2023 at 1:58 pm

      @From Africa I Came true. Ig I’m thinking too broadly. The further you go back the worse women were treated. But that is a separate conversation if you’re talking just education.

  42. Woonkyu lee

    June 22, 2023 at 8:14 pm

    Such an Excellent thought and advice you give. Thank you for men and women.

  43. Bianca D.Jordan

    June 22, 2023 at 10:02 pm

    I wish i learnt most of these principles about seven years ago. A lot of people have been trapped strongly in the matrix– Go to school, get a job, and then slave your whole life. Many miss out on life-changing information that could have great effect on their finances. I played with the stock market sometime in 2020, and I was surprised at how well it turned out. I want to put in $90k more into the market. I heard people are making really great returns despite the downturn. Any recommendations?

    • Philippinespolicedepartment

      June 22, 2023 at 10:07 pm

      Avert too-good-to-be-true con tricks. Consult a fiduciary counselor; these professionals are among the best in the business and offer individualized guidance to clients based on their risk tolerance. There are undesirable ones, but some with a solid track record can be excellent.

    • Albarran Marco

      June 22, 2023 at 10:09 pm

      Yes, I’ve been in constant touch with a Financial Analyst Mark Stuart Jordan for approximately 8 months. You know, these days it’s really easy to buy into trending stocks, but the task is determining when to sell or keep. That’s where my manager comes in, to help me with entry and exit points in the industries I’m engaged in. Can’t say I regret it, I’m 40% up in profits just in 5months with my initial capital of $160k

    • Daniel Albarran

      June 22, 2023 at 10:10 pm

      How can one find a verifiable financial planner? I would not mind looking up the professional that helped you. I will be retiring in two years and I might need some management on my much larger portfolio. Don’t want to take any chances.

    • Patrick Vien

      June 22, 2023 at 10:11 pm

      Big Credits to Mark Stuart Jordan he has a web presence, so you can simply search for, there are some others but it might be difficult to get them, but Mark Stuart Jordan has been a good guide through the year.

    • praiseGod Anderson

      June 22, 2023 at 10:12 pm

      I just looked up Mark Stuart Jordan online and researched his accreditation. He seem very proficient, I wrote him detailing my Fin-market goals and scheduled a call.

  44. Just a guy

    June 23, 2023 at 8:38 am

    Its well know mens brain develop slower, the solution would be to stagger the entry of boys into education start them later into brain development so they are as developed as the girls they study along side. Boys education may extend into 20 instead of 18 but at least they would have a better chance at understanding and not falling behind.

  45. João de Carvalho

    June 23, 2023 at 4:25 pm

    Liberal capitalism is more compatible with women.

  46. Ligia Sommers

    June 24, 2023 at 10:23 am

    Great talk , thank you 🙏🏻🌷✨🙏🏻

  47. iCT教師

    June 25, 2023 at 5:46 am

    As a leading expert in “education in the age of AI,” I am the most advanced teacher in Japan.
    In the future, teachers will not be “teachers” but “learners”.
    In other words, school teachers are facilitators, not teachers.
    I am the only high school teacher in Japan with such an education.
    I also do national presentations, university lectures, and teach faculty on my YouTube channel.
    I am also a former semiconductor engineer who has successfully developed a national project and obtained a technology patent.

  48. ope katakata

    June 25, 2023 at 5:29 pm

    I agree with most of the talk but he’s trying to be nice. This feminsi movement contributed. There was and still is a deliberate effort to pull males back for females to catch up

  49. Tanya C

    June 25, 2023 at 7:20 pm

    Thank you

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