美国男孩问题与经济困境密不可分

These behavior measures are subjective, of course, based on the views of teachers across the country in very different classrooms. Yet it’s clear that the measures reflect something real, because the behavior differences later translate into academic differences. By high school, even advanced math and science classes now have more girls than boys. At college graduation ceremonies around the country this spring, women in caps and gowns will easily outnumber men.
这些行为评估主要基于全美各地教师对差异明显的学生群体的观察，当然带有主观性。但它们显然在一定程度上反映出了现实情况，因为这些行为差异随后就转化为学业差异。到了高中，就连选修高等数学和科学课的女生现在都比男生多。在今年春天全美各地的毕业典礼上，身穿学位服的女生数量肯定会明显多于男生。

The experts who study the subject disagree on the solutions. Some, like Ms. Buchmann and Mr. DiPrete, point out that boys still do quite well in the best-performing schools. When good grades bring high status, boys respond. To the researchers in this camp, the answer involves improving schools, which will have a disproportionate effect on boys, rather than changing schools to be more attuned to boys’ needs.
研究这个问题的专家对解决方案持不同意见。布赫曼和迪普雷特等人指出，在成绩最好的学校，男孩的表现还是相当不错的。当好成绩带来高地位时，男孩会予以回应。在这个阵营的研究人员看来，解决方案在于改善学校教育（这将对男孩产生更大的影响），而不是改变学校教学来迎合男孩的需要。

Others, like Christina Hoff Sommers, argue that today’s education system fails to acknowledge the profound differences between boys and girls. It asks boys to sit still for hours every day and provides them with few role models in front of the classroom. Just as the dearth of female science professors hampers would-be female science majors in college, the dearth of male fourth-grade teachers creates problems for 10-year-old boys.
其他人，比如克里斯蒂娜·霍夫·索莫斯(Christina Hoff Sommers)，则认为今天的教育体制没有认识到男孩和女孩的深刻差异。它要求男孩每天一动不动地坐上好几个小时，而且几乎没有给他们提供站立在教室前面的行为榜样。正如女科学教授的稀缺妨碍女生报考科学类专业一样，四年级男教师的稀缺也给10岁的男孩带来了一堆问题。

My own sense is that both sides have a point — and that their ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. Experimenting with all kinds of solutions will offer better answers than we now have.
我自己的感觉是，两个阵营各有其道理，他们的想法也并非相互排斥。用各种解决方案来试验，将带来比现在更好的答案。

The problems that stem from gender have become double-edged. The old forms of sexism, while greatly diminished, still constrain women. The job market exacts harsh financial and career penalties on anyone who decides to work part time or take time off, and the workers who do so are overwhelmingly female. That’s a big part of the reason that the top ranks of corporate America, Silicon Valley and the government remain dominated by men.
这些源自性别的问题已经成为一把双刃剑。传统形式的性别歧视虽然大大减少，但依然束缚着女性。就业市场往往会惩罚那些决定兼职工作或休假的雇员，导致他们的收入和职业生涯严重受损，而有此打算的员工以女性居多。这正是美国工商界、硅谷和政府部门的最高层依然由男性主宰的重要原因之一。

But men have their own challenges. As the economy continues to shift away from brawn and toward brains, many men have struggled with the transition.
但男性也面临他们自己的挑战。随着经济模式持续变迁，越来越多的就业机会正在从体力劳动转向脑力劳动，许多男性由此陷于困境。

“Boys are getting the wrong message about what you need to do to be successful,” Ms. Buchmann says. “Traditional gender roles are misguiding boys. In today’s economy, being tough and being strong are not what leads to success.”
“在怎么做才能成功这个问题上，男孩正在获得错误的信息，”布赫曼说。“传统的性别角色正在误导男生。在今天的经济中，坚韧和强壮已不再是获取成功的保证。”

The problem doesn’t simply involve men trying to overcome the demise of a local factory or teenage boys getting into trouble. It involves children so young that most haven’t even learned the word “gender.” Yet their gender is already starting to cast a long shadow over their lives.
这个问题不仅仅涉及那些正在努力克服当地工厂倒闭这一难关的成年男性，或者陷入麻烦的十几岁男孩。它还波及非常年幼的孩子，其中大多数甚至还没有学过“性别”这个单词。不过，这些男孩的性别已经开始给他们的人生投下一道长长的阴影。