Essay on School: A Key to Success for Every Child in the US

In the United States, school is attended by every child since it is the right of every child. The young in society have the dream of attaining education, which acts as the key to a good life in the future. The knowledge and skills gained from school allow individuals to become competitive in the job market, thus delivering quality services (Gillard, 2011). Also, education acts as a source of social cohesion since it ties individuals belonging to all the social classes. Despite the school being designed for every child in society, not every child performs well. Some students are talented in other areas, and the score on particular tests does not determine the grades, but the teachers also consider good behavior. In most schools, girls tend to develop persistence, attentiveness, ability to sit, and work independently more quickly than boys (Booth & Nolen, 2012). This action gives the girls a higher advantage than the boys despite them doing similar things. Therefore, due to the more significant power possessed by girls in classrooms, this paper will discuss whether the school is designed more for girls than boys.

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The community acknowledges that girls tend to mature and develop various skills earlier than boys. For example, the girls are attentive and learn to sit still in classrooms, thus achieving maximum benefits from their studies (Tolley, 2014). In most societies, schools are designed to give an equal opportunity to every person, not concentrating on one gender. Also, since the girls develop more attention earlier, it has led to the boys' crisis, where they lag in their education. In schools, some boys compete with girls as they have similar academic standards, which are required of girls. For example, the boys become successful since they might be ranked the top in classes, and some become valedictorians (Tolley, 2014). Therefore, school is designed both for boys and girls as some boys have a similar focus as the girls.

The gender gaps in school grades tend to start early in girls, and it attributes to their behavior. Boys are known to struggle with classroom work, despite their performance being as well as that of girls. Families are termed to favor boys over girls during the allocation of the scarce resources used for schooling. The cultural norms which de-emphasized on the girls' education, especially past the high school education, were considered of less importance of earning the girls a living. Also, in the past, there was continuous discrimination towards the female gender in the job sector. During the current years, parents have begun valuing education for their daughters, thus allowing them to gain knowledge from studies (Bleeker, Beyler, JamesBurdumy & Fortson, 2015). Therefore, the Universities that were dominated by the affluent male gender have allowed meritocratic diversity of race, gender, and class. The increase in the number of students in schools and colleges increased due to the shift from the labor-intensive and manufacturing economy to the knowledge-based economy. Therefore, the shifts that happened in the education sector and workplace made the girls consider advancing their education.

Consequently, boys tend to be less motivated and have a less positive attitude than girls towards schools. For example, girls spend much time doing their assignments, and they do not disturb in classrooms. Also, girls are enthusiastic and have higher expectations of proceeding with their hard than the girls. The differences presented by girls and boys in classes make individuals consider that schools are more designed for girls than boys. By nature, boys are termed to need encouragement while the girls tend to persevere in all their activities (Watson, Kehler & Martino, 2010). Also, the boys get risky behaviors that affect them psychologically and socially, thus leading to failure. Therefore, the social groups in which individuals belong affect the boys' and girls' educational achievement. For example, boys might be convinced of the vital benefits of studying and achieving their set goals and objectives but not acting according to the fear of being a pariah.

Additionally, educational achievement comes off worst among adolescents since boys consider other things such as sports, and girls tend to consider their physical appearances. For example, adolescents tend to put more effort into becoming popular, but boys' achievement cannot be suited to their image (Sommer, 2013). For the girls, they are allowed to combine both the images that are academic excellence and their physical representation. In society, there seem to be conflicts between the masculine manifestation, educational efforts, and achievement of various gender goals. Therefore, educational excellence and efforts are termed as being a feminine behavior while the boys tend to have a popularity behavior.

The performance of both girls and boys in schools is influenced by the process of socialization and how they obtain values, habits, and norms of a particular group or culture. For example, the activities conducted in schools are influenced by the cultural values of the students (Watson et al., 2010). Groups can exert pressure on the societal members to adapt, thus signaling that the non-conformity to the group's rules are penalized. For example, people tend to attach their value to the acceptance of the group whenever it is viewed as the reference group (Houtte*, 2004). In schools, fellow students create various reference groups that affect one's performance. Students follow the functioning of the normative reference groups, thus affecting their academic aspirations and goals as students. Therefore, boys in schools are directed by the male schoolmates, and the girls tend to follow their female schoolmates as adolescents identify themselves with their peers from their gender.

Furthermore, girls tend to consider interpersonal and intimate relationships while boys are attached to the way their peer groups view them. For example, boys are concerned with their images as they want to behave and look cool. The differences in the relationships of what affects girls and boys act a significant difference in the achievement of school goals between girls and boys (Houtte*, 2004). Also, the gender-specific cultures affect the academic performance of boys and girls, thus making this influence to become stronger among the boys. Therefore, the cultural groups and their practices tend to affect the students' achievement and their desire to study.

In schools, both boys and girls have heightened attention for attaining academic excellence since it acts as the cornerstone of a long-lasting success. The grades achieved by students in schools determine entry into the advanced classes, and the enrichment programs serve as an honor to the society. Also, the educational grades are believed to either close or open the doors to college or higher education. For example, the girls are better positioned due to the grade disparities between boys and girls (Sommer, 2013). Besides, improving performance among Latinos, blacks, and lower-income students requires more attention to the boys. For example, in recent years, black women are likely to have higher chances of attaining college degrees than men (Sommer, 2013). The increase in the number of female genders in schools will create a more significant gap between the girls and boys present in schools. Also, the gender-gap of boys and girls from middle-class backgrounds is still higher, with the number of girls being high in colleges. Therefore, the creation of campaigns for encouraging make literacy and having more male teachers can help in minimizing the gap between the number of girls and boys in schools.

Therefore, schools are designed for both boys and girls despite having a population of girls being higher than that of boys. Girls tend to develop much attention and remain focused in schools, thus achieving maximum benefits from their studies. Education acts as a source of social cohesion since it ties individuals belonging to all the social classes. These social classes determine the academic achievement of students as they possess various beliefs and norms. Since the girls develop more attention earlier, it has led to the boys' crisis, where they lag in their education. Girls tend to consider interpersonal and intimate relationships, while boys are attached to the way their peer groups view them. These relationships make girls follow the character of their female teacher and peers, while boys follow their male peers. Also, the girls are better positioned due to the grade disparities between boys and girls. Therefore, the gaps created in schools between both genders can be minimized through the creation of awareness on the importance of education.

References

Bleeker, M., Beyler, N., JamesBurdumy, S., & Fortson, J. (2015). The impact of playwork on boys' and girls' physical activity during recess. Journal of school health, 85(3), 171-178. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/josh.12235

Booth, A., & Nolen, P. (2012). Choosing to compete: How different are girls and boys? Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 81(2), 542-555. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167268111002010

Gillard, D. (2011). Education in England: a brief history. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/35236474/Education_in_England_-_Chapter_2.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D4-10-17_8_07_Education_in_England_-Cha.pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A%2F20200120%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20200120T194729Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=7f9780191f312b0c2f1779914a9445d5905bd54bae8716e903d5ef2bb1a44a7d

Houtte*, M. V. (2004). Why boys achieve less at school than girls: The difference between boys' and girls' academic culture. Educational Studies, 30(2), 159-173. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232974467_Why_boys_achieve_less_at_school_than_girls_The_difference_between_boys'_and_girls'_academic_culture

Sommer. C.H. (2013). The Boys at the Back. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/the-boys-at-the-back/

Tolley, K. (2014). The science education of American girls: A historical perspective. Routledge.

Watson, A., Kehler, M., & Martino, W. (2010). The problem of boys' literacy underachievement: Raising some questions. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(5), 356. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/33021106/JAAL2010-Boys.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DThe_Problem_of_Boys_Literacy_Underachiev.pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A%2F20200120%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20200120T194112Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=adf745842d71f0dab39237d94048a853b7ab60cdcea684199f11f3ca263d8335