Analysis Of The Essay 'Where The Boys Were'

Women made up 49.83% of the nation’s 132 million jobs in June of 2009; for the first time in American history, “Women are on the verge of outnumbering men in the workforce for the first time, a historic reversal caused by long-term changes in women's roles and massive job losses for men during this recession” (Cauchon). Just as the current recession has impacted the way that women exist in the workforce, so too did past national events influence women’s roles in the workplace. In the early twentieth century, it was rare for women to work outside of the home; World War II, with its incredibly high draft rate, left a labor gap in the United States that made it necessary for women to enter the workforce in record numbers. Although many

A job requires skill and knowledge. Murray says, “ The increase in wealth in American society has increased the demand for all sorts of craftsmanship… work of specialized skills in stonework, masonry, glazing, painting, cabin making, machining, landscaping, and a dozen other crafts” (Murray 236). Murray says that college will not provide the skill set for these jobs. College is where. Murray wants these type of people with low academic ability to shoot for one job and not move from that occupation or move up the ladder. Sanford J. Ungar in “The New Liberal Arts” makes a counter argument saying “It is far wiser for students to prepare for change and the multiple careers they are likely to have than to search for a single job track that might one day become a dead end ” (Ungar 191). During the economic recession, many workers in the manufacturing industry were laid off without a guarantee that they would be rehired in the future or that their positions would still be available. Unfortunately some of these jobs will never come back because the positions have been modernized. Non-stop robotic arms have replaced humans in the assembly line, which have financially benefited the companies. The advancement in technology has brought the world to a state where skilled labor jobs are not needed as much as others such as jobs in computer information systems or computer networking. Ungar brings up Geoffery Grain, president of the Hart Research who says that the responsibility of higher education today is to prepare people “ for jobs that do not yet exist” (Ungar 191). Higher education will always be beneficial now or in the future, it will never be a

The founding fathers of America laid the foundation so that everyone could attain the American Dream and to pursue happiness. Unfortunately, that isn’t how today’s society operate. To live life free and happily is very hard to do. Many factors influence these hardships. Economic woes, judicial system failures, and modern day discrimination had made it extremely difficult for a male figure such as me to attain an authentic education.

After decades of fighting for women to have the same education as men and for the policy to be reformed. It has clearly payed off since girls and women are striving academically. The issue in this, is that not enough attention and assistance are given to boys and men. For example, Sommers mentions that in 1997 only 45% of college full time enrollment were men.

Between 1860 and the 1910 the United States population tripled. Because of this, industry was in high demand for skilled and unskilled workers, and the abundance of immigrants helped keep it supplied. This helped the empowerment of bosses of the leading industries the Unites States. Working in a 17th century factory did not have ideal working conditions, on average, a 12 hour work day was not uncommon, as well as child labor. Often time’s, factory owners neglected worker rights and safety in factories leading to accidents, such as chopped off fingers, and other injuries without compensation. If a worker was seriously injured or refused to work they were gladly replaced with another.

In today’s job market one prominent correlate for attaining professional careers is attaining a higher education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics from 2012, 88% of all males between the ages of 20-64 who earn at least a bachelor’s degree, are able to obtain a job, compared to women ages 20-64, where only 81% of women are able to obtain jobs (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). This statistic specifically shows how women as a whole are actually getting more college degrees

As more and more students graduate, they begin to look for work; hoping for a job capable of paying off their debts and making their chosen degree worthwhile. In America, we are running into the problem of a lack of jobs, requiring a degree or not. From service-jobs to white-collar jobs, "...more than 14 million jobs are vulnerable to being outsources offshore." (Roberts).College graduates that are native to America are struggling to find work due to the outsourcing of jobs, in turn damaging our economy.

In his article, “Some Lessons From The Assembly Line” Braaksma (2005) asserts that the typical college student feels that their college education should be tailored to their sensibilities for scheduling as well as the expectation of outputs. Not knowing how easily one’s fortunes can be reversed, Braaksma’s peers moved through their education with the belief they were above the daily struggles commonly seen in the blue-collar workforce. Instead of learning the value of hard work, the modern attitude seems to be one of entitlement of all things with little to no effort. One almost gets the sense that the work ethic of today’s youth has suffered due to the relative ease required to perform most summer or part-time jobs. The main theme of the article, that a strong work ethic is an asset to future endeavors, is persuasive because it highlights the importance of an understanding of the intrinsic value of an education, comprehension of the uncertainty the job market, and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Boys, on average, are a year and a half behind girls in reading and writing; they are less committed to school and less likely to go to college (Sommers 14). More boys than girls are suspended from school. More are held back and more drop out. Boys are three times as likely as girls to be enrolled in special education programs and four times as likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)(Sommers 25). Larry Hedges and Amy Nowell, researchers at the University of Chicago, warned that the larger numbers of males who perform near the bottom of the distribution in reading comprehension and writing also have policy implications. It seems more likely that individual males with such poor literacy skills will have problems finding jobs in an increasingly information-driven economy (Sommers 34).

The main goal is to show readers that Braaksma’s points are valid. However, due to larger cultural and social issues, that point fails to resonate with the majority of people. Therefore, the overall goal becomes a two for one approach, hone Braaksma’s original argument to make it more assertive while illustrating to readers the direct reason why they might fail to relate. The goal of Lessons was to get people to see the advantages they have in attaining a degree versus what life could be like without one, all the while having people understand the struggles of the average blue-collar worker. The critical essay will ask readers to look at how blue-collar work is negatively stigmatized in modern society, and how such a mentality breeds separation. This separation creates a divide that makes it difficult for people to meet on common ground. This disparity is why essays such as Lessons have a hard time impacting its target audience.

When men are better educated, they make positive contributions to society by being less involved in criminal activities and more involved with voting and volunteering. Because educated men eventually tend to find adequate jobs, they wind up being content with their life. Mortenson says, “Women are going to pull further and further ahead of men, and at some point, when they want to form families, they are going to look around and say, ‘Where are the guys?’” (Conlin 174). Women are advancing in their education, which is leaving men behind. Eventually, women are going to become the primary gender and men will not be on the same social status as women. The gender inequality in colleges and universities leaves men to fail in the future leaving no adequate men for educated women to associate with. Therefore, actions need to be taken to support men in

“Not only do women enter college at higher rates than men, but they’re less likely to drop out once they get there, female graduates now account for about 60% of U.S. Bachelor 's Degree holders” (Fisher ). The being the case, the rates show that women are entering college at higher rate but accounting for over half of U.S. Bachelor 's degrees. In her next quote she goes below the surface line to explain how societal standards might have a reason for the gender gap in college.”Boys involved in extracurricular

As college has become more accessible over the past few years, more American students are being encouraged to attend. However, not everyone believes this is a benefit to society. Political scientist, Charles Murray, voices his controversial opinions in his paper entitled, What’s Wrong With Vocational School?. Murray argues the merits of non-traditional post-secondary education, such as vocational schools and technical colleges, while simultaneously condemning the results of the “false premium” placed on a college degree. He believes that due to the stigma surrounding tradesmen, many people are encouraged to attend college to “get a better job”, despite the fact that a degree promises no such thing.

In module seven, we were presented with the topic of “the failing boys panic”. In short, the panic was in regards to how boys have gone from being good students who succeeded in their studies to students who were on the edge of failing or dropping out. It is suggested that this panic was caused due to feminism. The rise of feminism caused many women to feel that they had the same rights as men in work and education. This power caused many to become very interested furthering their education. From this, we were posed with the question being whether or not the panic is a social problem or rather just due to boy’s lack of interest towards school. The answer in which this essay will address is that the failing boys panic is a little bit of both a social problem and lack of interest. On top of this, this essay will also look into the effects this gender disparity will hold in the future. Before moving into the essay any further, I just wanted to note that I personally have no experience in my educational history of anything like this topic. So with that being said, I will just be answering the question posted about this panic being a social problem and a lack of interest.

These three are similar to those ‘road trip’ frat boys that you see in movies. The typical lads that prank around, laugh, tease, but they’re also really close. They’ve know each other for years, maybe through school or university, which explains the dynamic between them, a ‘bromance’ if you like. Again they’re sporty, play football and like nothing better than passing through the drive thru on their way home for a well deserved McDonalds meal deal.