Category: Entry 6

In the article “The Boys are Back” , the word noncognitive came upon to my attention when I didn’t understand the word on the line “The scholars attributed this “misalignment” to differences in “noncognitive skills” . Based on dictionary.com the word noncognitive is an adjective meaning to act concerned, but still knowing.

ob·strep·er·ous  (adjective)

Christina Hoff Sommers, “The Boys at the Back

The word “obstreperous” means noisy and difficult to control. This definition is from www. Dictionary.com.  I would like to add this word to my glossary because when I first read the sentence I did not know what that would meant.  After reading the definition, I can say that what that sentence meant was that boys cannot control themselves and cannot stay still.  In addition, this only occurs in a classroom as boys overact more than girls.  Saying that girls are mature then boys most times.

Chauvinism (noun): an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex; also: behavior expressive of such an attitude.

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary (online)

In The Boys at the Back, Christina Hoff Sommers says the following: “I became a feminist in the 1970s because I did not appreciate male chauvinism. I still don’t” (4). In Sommers statement, she implies that the word “chauvinism is more closely associated to a negative connotation. I first thought it meant like some sort of hatred, but the definition helped to understand that it refers more to the status and superiority of a male. Since (most) men believe they are above women, this is the reason Christina became a feminist.

Diana Galvez

When reading “The Boys at the Back” by Christina Hoff Sommers i came across familiar word that I always listen to but didn’t bother to understand it’s background the word “sympathize”. In the article she said “I can sympathize with those who roll their eyes at the relatively recent alarm over boys’ achievement.” With my research I found that according to Webster’s Dictionary the world means “to be in keeping, accord, or harmony” which now gives me a good understanding on how the world holds to have a lot of emotions for someone. It’s truly a good word to use in a conversation.

According to Dictionary.com, the word Meritocratic means “an elite group of people whose progress is based on ability and talent rather than on class privilege or wealth.” Meritocratic is used to describe the nature of womens ability to complete a task and be just as educated as a man could be. For example, according to “The Boys at the Back”, “Universities that had been dominated by affluent white men embraced meritocratic values and diversity of gender, race and class. This meant that men started to realize that women were well educated and allow them to progress in the work field.

The word languish is a verb and the according to Merriam-Webster the definition is ” to be or become feeble, weak, or enervated”. I fond this word in the article “The Boys at the Back” by Christina Hoff Sommers. In this article, she talked about inequality between genders. She used this word to explain that girls have someone’s back in time of struggle, depression, and in education. Their is always someone who support them when they got weak at certain point. We need to do the same thing for boys when they got languished like got weak at some point.

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, indignation is identified as a noun. It means “anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean”. In the article, “The Boys at the Back”, the last paragraph states, “Where was the indignation when men dominated higher education, decade after decade”. The word indignation is used to explain how people don’t give enough credit to men now compared to the past. Instead of looking down on them now, it’s telling us we should have equal credit.

Based on the Merriam-Webster the word “Dysphoria” (noun) means a state of feeling very unhappy, uneasy, or dissatisfied. In “Today’s Masculinity is stifling”, it states, “Too often gender dysphoria is conflated with the simple possibility that kids, when not steered toward one toy or color, will just like what they like, traditional gender expectations not with standing.” This quote means that parents can’t choose for their kid meaning that they have to let them being free in a way that they choose what they want to be, how they want to dress, so they can feel comfortable. Also, this qoute shows that parents have a big influence on boys masculinity.

Meritocratic: An elite group of people whose progress is based on ability and talent rather than on class privilege or wealth (noun)

 

Word of the week is Meritocratic, I first came across this word when reading “The Boys in the Back” which mainly discusses why boys are known to struggle with school more than girls. The word meritocratic was found in the sixth paragraph, which states ” white men embraced meritocratic values and diversity of gender,race, and class” I figured that meritocratic may have something to do with race and social class, which it did. The author wants to tell readers that in the 1970s, that a person was considered an upper class, based on their abilities and talents, instead of their wealth. I now know how to use this word in sentences when needed, and others who did not know what this word meant before can now add it to their vocabulary.

-Nayideh Rene

 

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, proficient is defined as being well advanced in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge. In the reading “The Boys At The Back” by Christina Hoff Sommers, the word appears on the fourth paragraph as stated, “No previous study, to my knowledge, has demonstrated that the well-known gender gap in school grades begins so early and is almost entirely attributable to differences in behavior. The researchers found that teachers rated boys as less proficient even when the boys did just as well as the girls on tests of reading, math and science”. Now knowing what the word means, the author included this research finding to show the reader that teachers see “boys as less proficient even when the boys did just as well as the girls on tests of reading, math and science”, in support of the claim that “teachers of classes as early as kindergarten factor good behavior into grades — and girls, as a rule, comport themselves far better than boys”.