For a long time now girls have been behind boys in schooling, which can be attributed to the misconceptions in the past regarding females limited capacity for learning.  Yet, after all the centuries of girls being left in the dark concerning schooling they have not only caught up to the boys, they have surpassed them.  The article, “The boys at the Back” by Christina Hoff Sommers, talks about how girls now receive better grades than boys and the implications that come with it.  Christina Hoff Summers is a Scholar who studies the relationship between gender, sexuality, and politics.  As an expert in gender, sexuality, and politics, she is very knowledgeable about this topic and can provide accurate information.  Through this article the author argues that the impact of girls outperforming boys has detrimental effects to everyone and that something needs to be done for this issue to be resolved.  

What is at stake if the issue continues is the benefit of a more prosperous and efficient economy.  Without the proper people knowing this is an issue there is nothing that can be done.  Thus, the author is trying to reach teachers, politicians, and many others who can help implement different education regiments that will help improve boys’ grades.  Using this knowledge, the teachers can try better to set aside their biases in grading in the preliminary grades, and help instill the boys with the confidence they need to learn and thrive while achieving better grades.  With lawmakers, aware of this issue they can better put into place guidelines and legislation that will help improve this gap and help put boys in a better potential to succeed.  

The author uses logos throughout the essay to help rationalize her point about boys lagging behind in school being an issue.  She states that “Women now account for roughly 60 percent of associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees and have begun to outpace men in obtaining Ph.D.’s.” (Sommers 304) She also goes on about how boys in preliminary are testing just as well as the girl’s, however receive worse grades than they were expected to.  This is due to the problem of teachers’ implementing behavior into grades.  It well addressed in the essay that there is a critical bias against boys in early grade school.  The author addresses the study that involves 5,800 students through preliminary schooling and shows that boys received worse scores than predicted on their testing scores.  The author goes on to say that race does influence how large the gap is, especially with minorities such as blacks and Latinos.  In a study in Boston Public Schools for every “191 black girls that graduated and went on to attending college only 100 black boys did the same.  For Hispanics, the ratio was 175 girls for every 100 boys and for white 153 girls for every 100 boys.” (Sommers 304)

The author’s use of pathos is also seen throughout the article although not as prevalent as her use of logos.  She argues that just because girls faced discrimination in the past when it came to education, that boys should not be subject to this due to bias.  She says that this does not help anyone and that if boys can achieve to their highest potential that everyone will reap the benefit.  She argues that if anyone is truly a feminist, then the roles shouldn’t be reversed today because girls faced chauvinism in the past, that is not what true feminism strived for.  

The author displays ethos throughout the essay as she subtly implements that this is her area of expertise and that she has an in depth understanding on topics about genders and the shortcomings that are a result.  She talks about her identity as a feminist and what it stands to her in regards to what has happened to her and what she has observed over her years.  She has also stated to have made books about this topic.  She displays her knowledge by providing a plan for the boys to succeed by implementing more “boy-friendly assignments,” as well as more ways for the boys to release their pent-up energy such as recess.  One major adjustment that she mentioned was the need to implement more male teachers who could better guide the boys as well as understand them.  She also goes on to mention about the time she had the opportunity to observe an aviation based high school where “The school’s 2,200 pupils-mostly students of color, from low-income households-have a 95 percent attendance rate and a 90 percent graduation rate, with 80 percent going to college.” (Sommers 306)

 This author cares deeply about this issue and how it relates to everyone including girls even though some of the girls would like to ignore it and state that this is their time to prosper.  The author mentions that the first country to solve the problem will reap many economical rewards.  The author mentions that the United States is behind other countries in fixing this problem.  The first battle the United States needs to address is that there is a problem, and anyone who talks about sometimes gets quieted by people who say it is not an issue.  The reason she is writing this essay is to convince people who believe that this is not an issue worth discussing to believe that this is truly worth discussing.  The author’s only interest for writing this essay is for the betterment of the people and the economy of the United States.  This is a social issue that involves the misappropriation of regulations on schoolboys who are more concerned at the time about superheroes than what they will be when they grow up.  It is increasingly hard to calm a young and energetic boy and to hold him to a standard of a different capability then he is possible is not smart.  When the United States addresses this issue in legislation and helps implement more specialized schooling for boys this issue will be resolved sooner.  

It is up to the teachers, legislators and the people who are responsible for the economy to help benefit the kids so that everyone in the future can benefit.  The author has made it clear to the audience that for this to be possible, everyone must be aware of this issue and the way that she is helping make that possible is by writing an essay about it that will help raise awareness about the issue.
