Boys are falling behind educationally by almost every educational measure. 

They're fives times more likely to be expelled from preschool, two times more likely to be held back in kindergarten and 22 percent of boys hover below average in basic reading aptitude.  It's not just the early years, either—2.5 million more young women are in college than men.

Peg Tyre, author of The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on our Sons, their Problems at School and What Parents and Educators Must Do, shared these alarming statistics Wednesday night at John Jay Middle School, sponsored by the middle school PTO.  About 50 parents were on hand to learn about the national gap that exists between girls and boys in educational achievement and advancement. 

Tyre said as an education journalist, she was slow to recognize recognize that our changing culture was leaving more boys behind.  But after looking at national data on boys and achievement, she found boys were disengaging from school. 

Emerging on the national stage in 2006 with a cover story for Newsweek entitled, "Boy Crisis," Tyre received a mountain of responses from across the country about differences between sons and daughters.  "My own daughter is at Duke and my son is going to a community college—that's a common lament," she said.

Not so long ago, it was girls that were lagging, said Tyre.  Title IX, enacted in 1972, prohibited gender discrimination in schools, and so began a trend of making schools less friendly to boys, according to her research. 

Tyre found that most reading curricula are based on narrative fiction that turns off boys.  "It might be hard to reconcile little princess books with the latest Star Wars story," she said.  "But I found one classroom in which the boys considered reading a 'girly thing,' because the teacher was expressing her love of reading in the feminine form that appealed to her. 

Tyre also counseled parents and schools not to overreact to boys playing out violent fantasies.  "Whipping out a thumb and forefinger to play guns is not grounds for punishment—it's perfectly normal for boys to fantasize around violence because they are often acting out ideas around valor and catching the bad guys, she said.

And that may have ramifications in the classroom, too.  Teachers tell kids to write what they feel, said Tyre, and and when the howitzers come out in prose, a call home usually follows.

So how can teachers cater more to boys in the classroom?  In her book, Tyre suggests including boy friendly books (Star Wars and Captain Underpants are fine), and writing teachers who understand the way boys write and think.  And, she noted to the Katonah Lewisboro parents in the room, more time to move around.

"There has been a dwindling down of recess time and shortening of lunch periods.   "Boys, especially the active types, are often showered with comments to slow down and sit still," she said.  "What's the impact of that negative attention day after day?" she asked. 

The lack of exercise and socializing time is actually making it harder for boys to learn, she said. 

One middle school parent in the audience mother thanked the author for letting her know that the violence that comes out of her son's pen isn't so out of the ordinary.  Other parents wondered about the impact of violent video games.

Tyre said that she had similar concerns as a mother of teenage sons who played them. "Events such as Columbine gave rise to a zero-tolerance policy on violence.  But video games can be a useful outlet for kids acting out fantasies," she answered.

For real change to take place—change that will help young boys get back on track—we need everyone to be a part of the solution, said Tyre.