In 1972, the US passed a landmark piece of legislation. The new law was called Title IX, and it expanded economic and educational opportunities for women, especially in higher education. Back then, there was a 16-percentage-point gap in the awarding of college degrees in favor of men. Within a decade, women had caught up and then just blew right past the men.
1972年, 美国通过了一项具 有里程碑意义的法案, 新法案被称作 《教育修正法第九条》 它拓宽了女性在经济 和教育方面的机会, 特别是在高等教育领域。 在当时,大学学位授予方面, 男性比女性 高16%。 在十年之内, 女生很快赶上并且超过了男生。
Today, there's an 18-percentage-point gap in the awarding of college degrees. So there's a bigger gender gap today, in US higher education, than there was 50 years ago when Title IX was passed. It's just the other way around.
今天,在授予大学学位方面 的性别差距是18%。 也就是说,在美国高等教育领域, 现在的性别差距, 比50年前第九修正案 通过时更大了。 事情向着相反的方向发展。
I study inequality for a living, and for most of my career, I focused on the divides of class and race. But in recent years, I've just been noticing more and more gender gaps and not in the direction that I was expecting. Probably like most of you, I’m used to thinking about gender equality and the goal of gender equality as synonymous with the advancement of women and girls. But it's now clear that there are many boys and men who've fallen behind and that we have to be able to think about gender inequality in both directions. One thing that makes that hard is that the changes have been so quick, so rapid, that it's hard to update our beliefs to match the new facts. It's a bit like the needles on a compass swinging round. Suddenly north is south and south is north. It's really quite disorienting.
我一直研究不平等的问题, 大部分的时间, 我关注阶级和种族的分化。 但是最近一些年, 我关注到越来越大的性别差距, 这与我所期待的方向相反。 也许,像你们大多数人, 我习惯于将性别平等, 以及性别平等的目标 等同于女性和孩的发展。 但是,现在的问题是 很多男性和男孩落后了, 我们不得不思考两个方向的 性别不平等。 一个问题是,这个变化来的太快, 太迅速, 我们还来不及去更新我们 的认知来适应新的状况。 有点像罗盘上摆动的指南针。 突然北变成了南,南变成了北。 这真的让人晕头转向。
But it's clear that on some measures at least now men are lagging quite a way behind, not least on college campuses. And that reflects the fact that boys are trailing girls throughout the education system. Two thirds of the top academic performers in high school, measured by GPA, are girls. And two thirds of those at the bottom are boys.
但是很清楚,在一些方面, 男性已经落在了后面, 尤其在大学校园里。 这反映出在整个教育系统里, 男孩落后于女孩的事实。 在学业优秀的高中生中, 三分之二是女孩。 而垫底的学生中,三分之二是男孩。
It's not just in the US. If we look at the 20 most economically advanced countries in the world, there's on average a 13-percentage-point gap in the share of young men and young women with a college degree, with young women much more likely to have a college degree. And in some nations, the gap is much bigger. In Norway, for example, there's almost a 20-point gap.
这不仅仅发生在美国。 让我们看看世界上经济最发达的20个国家, 在获得大学学位方面, 年轻男性和女性差距是13%, 也就是说,更多 的年轻女性获得大学学位。 在某些国家,这个差距更大。 比如挪威, 这个差距是20%。
And just like in the US, these differences at the college level reflect what's happening earlier in the school system. It used to be that maybe boys were ahead in math and science, girls were ahead in reading and language in roughly equal measure. That's not true today. Internationally, at the age of 15, there's a five-point gap in favor of boys and math. There's essentially no gap in science, a slight gap in favor of girls actually in science. But boys are 30 points behind girls at the age of 15 in reading and language skills.
和美国一样, 这些在大学方面的差距 也反映出整个学校系统 早期的一些状况。 过去我们认为, 在同样的标准下, 男孩在数学和科学方面更出色, 而女孩在阅读和语言方面更出色。 而现在并非如此。 在全球范围内,在15岁左右 男孩比女孩在数学方面 更具优势(差距5%)。 在科学方面几乎没有差距, 女孩在科学方面甚至有微弱的优势。 而在阅读和语言能力上, 15岁的男孩比女孩落后30%。
But not all boys and men are struggling in the same way. The intersection of gender with class and race really matters here. So boys from poorer households and middle-class households, much less likely to attend college than girls from the same background. But there's a much smaller gap at the top of the economic ladder. I think one of the reasons that elites can sometimes struggle to grasp what's going on with boys and men is that the gender gaps are just much less stark in affluent communities.
当然不是所有的男孩都学得很艰难。 性别和阶层的交互效应也很重要。 贫困家庭的男孩, 和中等家庭的男孩, 对比相同背景的女孩, 进入大学的可能性更低。 但是对于经济阶层顶端家庭 这个差距小很多。 我想,原因之一 是精英们能够设法把握 男孩在当前教育体系里的状况, 从而使得性别差距 在富裕的社区不那么明显。
And the gender gaps are even more stark for Black Americans. For every Black man getting a college degree, there are two Black women. So anybody who really cares about boys and men has to care about racial injustice and economic inequality. And anybody who really cares about racial injustice and economic inequality has to care about boys and men.
在美国黑人群体里, 这个差距则更为明显。 在获得大学学位的美国黑人中, 男女性别比是1:2。 所以,关心男性和男孩的人们, 也应该关心种族和经济的不平等。 而关心种族 和经济不平等的人们, 也应该关心男性和男孩。
Now, the fact that the education system doesn't seem to be working very well for lots of boys and men is obviously not intentional. There wasn't a feminist conspiracy 100 years ago to say, "Well, it might take a century, but eventually we'll overtake them."
关于教育系统不适合很多男性和男孩 这个事实, 明显不是故意的。 100年前,并没有 女权主义者的阴谋 “好吧,这可能需要一个世纪, 但是最后我们会超越他们。”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Especially as it was men who mostly designed the school system. What’s happened is that as the artificial and sexist barriers that were placed in front of women and girls have been successively removed, so their natural advantages in the classroom have been revealed.
尤其是,这个教育系统本身 基本是由男性设计的, 而现在,当女性所面临 的人为和性别的障碍 人为和性别的障碍 被逐渐移除之后, 她们在教室里天然的优势显露出来。
Compared to girls, boys face two big structural disadvantages in education. First, their brains simply develop later. The skills of planning, organization and impulse control are associated with the prefrontal cortex, which develops in adolescence especially. But about a year later, on average, for boys than for girls. So there's a significant difference there in the timing of brain development. Social scientists refer to those skills, planning, organization, etcetera, as non-cognitive skills. I like to think of them as "chemistry homework" skills. You know, doing your chemistry homework requires a lot of steps. You have to be paying attention in class when the assignment is given. You have to make a note of it. You have to remember hours later that you're supposed to do it. You have to actually sit down and do it, instead of something more enticing instead. And remember, it's chemistry homework, so that's everything.
相比女孩, 男孩在教育体系里, 有两个结构化的弱点。 首先,他们的大脑发育晚一点。 有关计划、组织和控制冲动的能力 跟前额叶皮层相关, 主要在青春期发展。 但是平均来看, 男孩比女孩晚大概一年。 所以,在大脑发育的时间点上, 男孩和女孩有显著的差异。 社会科学家把这些计划、 组织、规划的能力, 称之为非认知性技能。 我更愿意称之为“化学作业”技能。 你知道,做化学作业需要很多步骤。 你需要在布置作业的课堂上集中精力, 你需要记笔记。 你还要记得你几小时之后 应该做作业。 你还需要真正坐下来做这件事, 而不是更诱人的其他事情。 记住,这是化学作业, 是所有的事情。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Sorry, I know there are some chemists here, I'm sorry.
抱歉,我知道这里 还有一些化学家,我很抱歉。
And then turn it in. That's a lot of steps, right? That's a lot. Getting your homework done requires your impulse control to match what psychologists refer to as sensation seeking. Basically, that urge to go and do something more fun, more exciting. And even in the most difficult years of adolescence, which are also the crucial years for educational success, girls have a reasonable balance between impulse control and sensation seeking. But it's a very different story for adolescent boys. They have higher levels of sensation seeking. And with that less developed prefrontal cortex, they have significantly lower levels of impulse control. Again, on average. Now if you still don't believe me, go into any ninth or 10th grade classroom and ask all the students to open up their backpacks.
然后提交作业。 这有很多步骤,是吗? 太多了。 完成你的作业需要你 的冲动控制能力, 平衡心理学家们所说的感觉寻求, 也就是,去做更有趣 更刺激的事冲动。 即使在青春期最艰难的时段, 往往也正是教育成功最关键的阶段, 女孩们在冲动控制 和感觉寻求之间会有合理的平衡。 但是对青春期的男孩, 这就完全不一样了。 他们有更高的感觉寻求, 前额叶皮层却发育不足。 他们的冲动控制能力明显更差, 平均而言。 如果你还是不相信我, 去任何一个9年级 或者10年级的教室, 让所有的学生打开书包,
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Most, many, at least of the girls, will have pretty carefully organized, nicely labeled binders. And for many, if not most of the boys, it will resemble a small, controlled explosion.
大多数,很多,女孩,有整理整齐的 贴有漂亮标签的活页夹。 而很多男孩,即使不是大多数, 它会像一个小的有控制的爆炸场面。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
It's not that girls are smarter than boys. There's no gender gap in intelligence levels in either direction. It is just that girls develop more of these non-cognitive skills, these "chemistry homework" skills, somewhat earlier than boys do. That's just a fact. But it is a fact that we ignore in education policy.
这并不是说女孩比男孩聪明。 智力水平上 在任何一个方向都没有差异。 只是女孩比男孩更早地, 发展了这些非认知能力, 发展了这些非认知能力, 这些“化学作业“能力, 这是一个事实, 但是这是一个在教育政策中 被忽视的事实。
The second big structural problem that boys face in the classroom is the lack of male teachers. After falling for decades, the share of K-12 teachers who are male in the US is now just 23 percent. And falling. And the lack of male teachers matters for at least three reasons. First, for many children, [they] can be an important male role model, especially if they don't have one at home. And second, male teachers appear to be more sensitive to the specific challenges of boys in the classroom. I can vividly remember my own experience. I can actually still feel what it was like to sit for what felt like hours on end on an incredibly hard plastic chair, and that it was actually a male primary school teacher, Mr. Cole, who gave us more opportunities to move around, made the lessons a little bit more interactive. And the third reason male teachers may matter is there's some evidence that, especially in subjects like English, which is where the boys have fallen so far behind, having a male teacher seems to dispel the idea that reading and writing just aren't for me or for people like me. In a similar way to how having a female teacher has historically helped girls in STEM subjects. Right now, in too many of our schools, our boys feel like square pegs being forced into round holes. And too often our response is to try and fix the boys rather than fix the schools. The problems of boys are turned into problems with boys. If they struggle to sit still or pay attention or apply themselves to a task, they may be diagnosed with some kind of disability. Their problems are thus medicalized and often medicated.
第二个大的结构化问题是, 男孩处于一个缺乏男性教师的环境。 在多年持续下降之后, 美国K-12阶段男性教师 的比例是23%。 并在继续下降。 缺乏男性教师是个值得关注的问题, 这至少有三个原因。 首先,对很多孩子来说, 男性教师是一个重要的男性榜样, 特别是,如果他们的家庭里 没有这样的榜样的话。 第二,男性教师会更关注 男生在课堂上遇到的挑战。 我依然记得我自己的经历。 我仍然能切实感受到, 在硬塑料椅子上 连续坐好几个小时的感觉, 而正是一位男性 小学教师,Cole先生, 给我们机会四处走动, 让课程更有互动性。 需要重视男性教师缺乏问题 的第三个原因, 是因为有证据表明, 特别在一些学科比如英语, 男生已经落在后面, 男性教师的存在 会减少那种 “阅读和写作就是不适合我 或者我这样的人”的想法。 就像同样的,女性教师的存在 曾经帮助了女生 在STEM学科的发展。 而现在,在我们的多数学校里, 我们的男生像方形 的钉子被迫塞到圆孔里。 而我们多数的应对方式是, 试图去改变这些男孩, 而不是改变我们的学校。 男孩的问题们变成了问题男孩。 如果他们难以安静坐着 或者集中精力, 或去完成某项任务, 他们可能会变诊断成某种缺陷。 因此,他们的问题 被医疗化并且治疗。
In the US today, 23 percent of school-age boys have been diagnosed with some form of developmental disability. Twice the rate for girls. ADHD, as you might expect, is the most common. But really, when one in four of our boys has a developmental disability, it seems clear to me that it is the system which is disabling rather than the boys who are disabled.
在美国,23%的在校男生 被诊断出某种程度上的发育缺陷。 是女生的两倍。 多动症(ADHD), 正如你所期望的,是最常见的。 但是实际上, 当1/4的男生有发育缺陷, 这对我很清楚,这是系统缺陷 而不是男生的缺陷。
(Applause)
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Now, there's a lot we can do to make the education system work better for boys. Let's start with those two big problems, of later brain development and lack of male teachers. So first, we should start boys in school a year later. And the idea there is to level the playing field, given those differences in the timing of brain development. And actually that's already quite common practice at private schools and in lots of affluent communities, but it's actually not the boys from rich families who will benefit the most from that extra year. It's the boys from lower-income, poorer neighborhoods and families who would most benefit from the gift of extra time for development. And that's why I think this should be a question of public policy.
现在,我们需要做很多事情 让这个教育系统更适应男生。 让我们从两个大的问题开始, 稍稍滞后的大脑发育 和缺乏男性教师。 首先,我们应该让男晚一年上学, 这里的理念, 考虑大脑发育时间的差异 是为了创造公平的教育环境。 而实际上, 在一些私立学校 和富裕社区已经有了一些实践。 但是不仅仅是富裕家庭的男生们 会从这额外的一年中受益。 低收入家庭的男生, 贫困社区和家庭的男生, 会从这个额外的发育时间里获益。 这也是为什么我认为这里 有一个公共政策的问题。
Second, we need to recruit hundreds of thousands more male teachers, especially in subjects like English, where the boys are struggling so much and which is the subject men are least likely to be teaching. And here I think we can draw some really good lessons from the successful movement to get more women and girls interested in STEM subjects. So that means setting clear targets, launching public campaigns and offering financial scholarships to men who want to enter teaching as a profession. Of course, those are changes that will take time. Those are long-term changes. And there are millions of boys and men who are struggling right now. And so if you're a parent or a teacher working with a boy or a young man who's in difficulty right now, my message to you is, first, be careful not to even inadvertently judge him against a female standard or blame him if he's struggling in a system that just might not be working very well for him. Recognize and respect the ways in which he's different. Don't say, "Why can't you be more like your sister?" Try not to even think that. It's very important that we don't treat our boys as if they were malfunctioning girls. And the second message to those people, cousins, parents, neighbors, friends, uncles, coaches, anybody working with a boy or a young man who is struggling right now, is simply, thank you. Thank you. They do need you.
第二,我们需要招募 成百上千的男性教师, 特别是在一些学科,比如英语, 男生们困难重重的科目, 也正是男性教师最不可能教的科目。 这里我想我们可以吸取 一些好的经验, 比如在一些运动中,我们成功地 让更多的女性 和女生对STEM学科感兴趣。 也就是说,确立清晰的目标, 发起公众活动, 为愿意进入教育行业发展的男性 提供财务支持和奖学金。 当然,这些变化需要时间, 这些都是长期的变化。 上百万的男性,正在挣扎。 如果你是正在面临这些问题的 男生的父母或者教师, 我给你的信息是,首先, 格外小心,不要以女生 的标准来评判男生 或者责备他,如果他正在 这个不合适他的系统中挣扎。 认识和尊重他的不同之处。 不要说, “为什么你不能像你姐姐那样?” 想都不要这样想。 重要的是, 我们不要把男生当成功能失调 的女生来对待。 第二条信息是,那些父母、邻居、 朋友、叔叔、教练等等, 跟正在挣扎的男生 或者年轻男性共事的人, 简单来说,谢谢你们。 谢谢你们。 他们需要你们。
Of course, doing more for boys and men doesn't mean doing any less for women and girls. That’s like saying to the parent of a son and daughter: "You're only allowed to care about one of them." And it's the kind of zero-sum thinking that is doing so much damage to our politics and to our culture. We can think two thoughts at once. We can do two things at once.
当然, 为男生和男性做的越多, 并不意味着为女生和女性做的少。 这就像对一个有儿子 和女儿的父母说, “你只能关注其中一个。” 这种零和思维 会损害我们的政治和文化。 我们能同时想到两个方面, 我们也能同时做两件事情。
(Applause)
(鼓掌)
Two thoughts at once, two things at once. That's why Norway, a country that's made huge investments, quite rightly for women and girls, but where boys and men have now fallen behind on many measures, has launched a commission for boys and men. I've talked about education today, but there are many other areas where many boys and men are struggling, including in mental health, including suicide risk. Loneliness and belonging, family life, employment. And I don't think we can afford to get this wrong. If there are real problems in a society, and responsible people don't acknowledge and address them, irresponsible people will exploit them. And that is already happening on this issue, both online and at the ballot box. We cannot leave a vacuum by neglecting this issue. The future cannot be female. Nor, of course, can the future be male. The future has to be for every single one of us, every boy and girl, we have to rise together. Thank you.
同时两个想法,同时两个行动。 这也是为什么挪威 一个为女性 进行了大量投资的国家, 现在男性在很多指标上落后, 为男性成立了一个委员会。 今天我也谈到教育, 但是还有很多领域男性正在挣扎, 包括精神健康,包括自杀风险, 孤单和归属感, 家庭生活,就业。 我认为我们不能犯这样的错误。 如果社会有问题, 而责任而负责任的 人们不认识到它们并解决, 不负责任的人就会利用这些问题。 这个问题已经发生了, 在网上和投票中。 我们不能因为忽视 这个问题而留下真空。 未来不仅仅是女性的。 当然,也不仅仅是男性的。 未来是我们每个人的, 每个男性和女性。 我们需要共同站起来。 谢谢。
(Applause)
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(Applause ends)
(鼓掌结束)
Chris Anderson: Thank you, Richard. I've got a question for you. Come this way. So you gave great advice there for the system as a whole, for teachers, for parents. But suppose you're a 14-year-old boy listening to this talk. What would you say to him?
Chris Anderson: 谢谢你, Richard. 我有一个问题。 这边请。 你给系统这个整体提了一些建议, 对教师,对父母。 但是如果有一个听演讲的14岁的男生, 你会对他说什么?
Richard Reeves: Huh. Well, the first thing I’d say is that if you are struggling at school or in some aspects of your life, that's almost certainly not just your fault. It may be that the system is just not working for you. The second thing I would say is ... We see you. We've got you. We understand, we've got your back. And the third thing I would say is, don't follow the people who say that the reason you're struggling is because women are flourishing. Or because of feminism. Or because of changes in society. That we somehow have to, in order to lift boys up, we have to somehow push women and girls back down again. Don't fall for that. Understand that we get that you're struggling, but don't turn this into zero-sum. Don't turn to some of the darker corners of the internet where unfortunately, that is the message many of our boys are getting. But the first part that's really important, that whole conversation that we had about belonging, the wonderful difference in belonging, if our boys don't feel that they belong, that we've got them, that we see them, they're going to be much more vulnerable to those voices. So don't listen to those voices, but we need them to listen to us instead.
Richard Reeves: 哈。 首先,我要说如果 你在学校真的很痛苦, 或者在生活的其他方面, 这大部分都不是你的错。 这是这个系统不适合你。 我要说的第二点是, 我们看到你, 我们都理解你。 我们理解你,并且我们会支持你。 我要说的第三点是,不要跟随那些 把你的痛苦归 因于女性蓬勃发展的人, 归因于女性主义的人, 或者归因于社会变化的人。 这就好像我们, 为了托举男生, 就得打压女生一样。 不要上当。 你知道我们理解你的挣扎, 但是不要把这个变成0和游戏。 不要转向一些互联网上阴暗的角落, 而不幸的是, 这恰恰是很多男生得到的信息。 但首先,非常重要的是, 我们关于归属感的整个对话, 在归属方面的差异, 如果我们的男生 感受不到他们的归属感 感受不到我们理解他们, 我们能看到他们, 他们会更容易被这些声音伤害。 所以不要听那些声音, 我们需要他们听听我们的声音。
CA: Thank you so much.
CA: 非常感谢!
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