A man should be defined as someone who is driven and determined to reach his dream in life. However, many others define a man based his intellect, or his ability, but neither of these things truly encapsulates what it means to be a man. A man without drive can do nothing with his life even if he has the ability. That is why these definitions, and many others, fall short of what it really means to be a man.
One definition that is lackluster is tying masculinity towards intellect. Many people use this definition to undermine the masculinity of men who are not the brightest. What these people imply is that if a man lacks intelligence, then he will fail in life. For example, David Brooks, in his column “Mind over Muscle”, states that more women graduate college from men and because of that women will find it harder to marry a man of equal intellect to her. Brooks suggests this is a terrible outcome; however, Brooks never justifies his
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What is truly a problem is how school and society weaken boys’ and men’s drives. School is especially the culprit as it fails to provide male students a curriculum that interests them. Mark Bauerlein and Sandra Stotsky, in their essay titled Why Johnny Won’t Read, show how school curriculum demotivates male students to read. Although the essay only focuses on men’s lack of reading, it reveals the true issue with schools. Schools attempt to teach as broadly as possible which fails to appeal to many people, especially men. Because of this style of teaching, men begin to lose interest and motivation in school; then, his demotivation in school leads to an apathy in everything else as people begin to criticize the student’s behavior lowering the student’s self-worth. A man without any motivations will have a waste of a life even if the man had the intelligence or had the ability. Motivation and determination are the defining factors of a man. A man who lacks both fails to be a true