Anecdotally, and on the surface, this is kind of sobering. According to popular media, women now outnumber men in college enrollment, degrees earned and GPA attained. Men on the other hand have higher rates of incarceration and homelessness and earlier morbidity.

From a cursory glance at the sign-in sheet in Guidance & Counseling, young women far outnumber young men in seeking advice, needing guidance or finding optional solutions to problems. From another glance at the number of resumes and personal statements turned in to Guidance, IRHS senior girls outnumber senior boys about 3-to-2. Guess who's probably going to earn the lion's share of coveted private donor and community scholarships? Senior transcripts sent to colleges and universities also tilt in favor of our ambitious young women. IRHS girls' transcripts outnumber young men's by about a 5-to-3 margin. These numbers are roughly in line with national trends.

The ramifications for young men are startling. The cataclysmic shift in opportunities away from young men and toward young women is real and measurable. As a nation we still have yet to fully realize that manufacturing and construction, as well as low and mid-skill jobs have been shrinking from the economic landscape. Apparently, from here on out, the top 40 percent of the employment landscape will mostly be high-skill, high-tech jobs requiring a four-year college degree.

Clouding the picture for young men is the trade-off some young men are forced or choose to make. Young men who choose to work while going to high school sacrifice participation in co-curricular leadership activities their female peers dominate. Students they will have 50+ years to work but only a brief moment to seize educational opportunities during their developmental years. Unfortunately, as traditionally male-dominated vocations become murky, and JTED classes fill only part of the need, young men are going further adrift.

At IRHS, we would like to see more young men step into the educational fray. We need more young men to become career and college ready. They need to re-invent themselves and re-focus their energies on the important tasks of goal-setting and completion.