ABC News: Can Boys Really Not Sit Still in School?

"In the complaint that he lodged with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, Doug Anglin, 17, claimed that girls faced fewer restrictions from teachers at Milton High School in Milton, Mass., and that boys were more likely to be punished.
'The system is designed to the disadvantage of males,' Anglin told The Boston Globe. 'From the elementary level, they establish a philosophy that if you sit down, follow orders and listen to what they say, you'll do well and get good grades. Men naturally rebel against this.'
The complaint comes at a time when boys' struggles in school are getting close examination. According to a 2005 report by the Educational Equity Center of the Academy for Educational Development in Washington D.C., boys around the country are increasingly falling behind girls academically, and are more likely to get suspended. And experts told ABC News that Anglin's assessment has merit and describes what prevails in most American classrooms.
'I think he's got it basically right, although I don't believe the system was set up purposely to hurt boys,' said William Pollack, director of the Centers for Men and Young Men at McLean Hospital of Harvard Medical School. "...more