A professor has suggested that boys should start school one or two years later than girls, which has heated up debate on tolerance and discrimination in the education system。
Students wait in line for a group activity in a primary school in Fuzhou, Fujian province, in August. Liu Tao / for China Daily
Wu Bihu, a professor from the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences of Peking University, suggested on his micro blog at the end of September that girls should start school at 6 to 7 years old, but boys could start at 7 to 8.
Wu believes boys and girls differ in their stages of mental development。
All 6-year-old Chinese children are required to start school, though in some areas with poor conditions the starting age can be 7.
"The Chinese education system needs to improve and allow various education and evaluation methods," Wu wrote。
His questioning of the standard has been echoed by many parents。
Wang Mian, the mother of an 11-year-old boy in Beijing, believes that the starting age of school should be based on individual factors, rather than gender。
"Some boys are doing great, too," she said。
"I have to admit that girls do better than boys at a certain age," Wang said。
At her son's school, "girls are stars at school, providing better performance on all aspects, including language development and even logic," Wang added。
"I don't think boys are not as good as girls, they just need more time, and as parents we can wait patiently."
Wang also said that schools are aware of the differences and can be more patient with boys。
However, she said, if boys start school later, they will also finish college and enter society two years later。
Weng Ziyun, a primary school teacher in Jiangsu province, didn't agree with the idea of intentionally separating boys and girls。
"I don't notice a big difference among boys and girls in my class. They are all very active. Girls are more attentive, following guidance and more helpful with teachers, but boys are fast thinkers and respond quickly," Weng said, adding that different characteristics of boys and girls will better help them grow up together。
Weng is also worried that the separation will make boys doubt themselves。
"Children are very sensitive. They will ask why they have to be separate, and why girls can go to school early. Boys may wonder if they are not as good as girls," Weng said。
Guo Xiamei, a psychological researcher at Ohio State University in the United States, said girls are generally more mentally and socially developed than boys at an early age。
"In the US, children don't normally have the dilemma because they can choose to go to school at 5, or start at 8. But most parents still will follow the old rule, and start at 6," she said, adding her belief that it is good to open a tolerant dialogue。
She also said some research shows girls doing better on academic performance at all levels in the US, not only in primary schools。
Feng Shiliang, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, proposed in March 2011 to adjust the age of starting school, and suggested there be more flexibility。
近日，北京大学教授吴必虎在微博上发表观点，建议“错龄入学”，男孩比女孩晚入学。此微博被迅速转发，引发社会热议。
“错龄入学”观点引关注
“鉴于男女儿童智力发育速度不同，男童普遍晚于女童两年左右，同性学童之间也有智力发育差异，建议女童可在6－7岁入学，男童可在7－8岁入学。”这是北京大学城市与环境学院教授吴必虎9月24日在微博中的建议。
网友“Canndy雪”说：“支持，我就想让儿子晚一年入学。女性成熟早于男性，这个是科学。”
16岁就高中毕业的网友“洛阳神小龟”说：“不赞成，根据自己读书的经历，当时班里边年龄小的孩子，无论男女普遍比年龄大的孩子成绩要好很多。”
网友“SherriSong”说：“这个建议还是有道理的，不过也有一些早熟的男孩适合早上学，其实家长(微博)可以把关，如果孩子还不适合上学，可以晚一年呀。”
9月27日，吴必虎在自己的微博上进一步解释：“错龄入学的本质是遵循教育规律，让家长可在5－8岁之间自由选择孩子入学年龄。”
同日，“亲子大讲堂”官方微博发起投票“北大教授吴必虎建议男童在7－8岁入学，你同意吗？”目前已有140人投票，选择“强烈同意”的占21.75%；选择“有一定道理，可以考虑”的占27.8%；选择“放开年龄段，6－8岁自由选择”的占比例最多，达42.6%；选择“强烈不同意”的只有5人，占4.3%。
男孩是否需要“特殊照顾”？
吴必虎告诉记者，“错龄入学”的出发点是：由于智力发育较女生晚，一部分男生学习跟不上，在小学阶段不受老师重视，心理压力大。
记者采访了北京市康乐里小学的学生，对于在校的受重视程度，男生和女生没有表现出明显差别。三年级女生邢家家说，学习好的有男生也有女生，老师也没有表现出来更喜欢男生或者女生。一年级男生尤棋说，自己更喜欢上数学和音乐课，这两科的老师也经常表扬他。
在记者和尤棋的母亲聊天期间，他不时地跑来跑去，并且试图在学校的铁栏杆上弄出声响。相比之下，女孩可能会按照老师的要求做，并获得奖励，而男孩可能显得更淘气和具有个性。女生的这种优势一般能够保持到大学，不少女生在现有的应试教育体制下，能够主动适应，取得好成绩。
吴必虎告诉记者，北京大学城市与环境学院是个工科学院，几年前还是男生居多。现在，吴必虎教授带的20个在读硕士、博士中，只有3名男生。
“大学里这种情况占六七成，不是我们不想招男生。笔试、面试都是女生好，男生竞争不过啊。”吴必虎说。
评价标准需要多元化
近年来关于招生性别的讨论一直很热。今年8月，多所高等院校按照性别划招生录取分数线，女生分数线明显高于男生，引起广泛社会关注。4名女生甚至在广州文塔下剃成光头，抗议男女招生的不公平。
吴必虎认为，男女智力发育存在“时间差”，现行的成绩评价体系也更有利于女生。男生因为竞争不过女生，可能会失去进一步教育的机会。应该探讨用什么办法避免其发展成严重的社会问题。
而媒体人王垚烽则指出，当前社会应当关注的真正问题仍旧是“女性平权”，而不是所谓“男孩危机”。他说，各种针对女性就业、升职的隐形歧视依旧无处不在。正是出于对这种“不公平”的天然反射，女性才不得不通过学历上的“绝对优势”换取相对“平等”的就业机会，这反过来又进一步拉大了男女学生间的成绩差距。
中国教育研究院研究员储朝晖认为，“错龄入学”或者适当放宽7周岁入学的硬性要求，对尊重受教育者个性化发展来说是有益的。此外，还应该探讨建立多元评价体系，更好地服务于人性的发展。
储朝晖说，现在教育评价体系的问题在于，能得到好评价的，都是听话、服从管教的，这有很大的危险性。从幼儿园一直到大学，几乎都用同一个标准来评价学生。他建议，允许办学主体多元化，让不同的办学者，创立不同的价值标准和评价体系，适应个性化学生发展的需求。此外，还应该探讨高考(微博)制度改革，赋予高校更多自主权。