School is not about teaching boys to be "men." Kids of both genders need to sit still, pay attention, learn their lessons, do their homework, participate in discussions, and pass tests. Yes, the boys need to read Little House on the Prairie or some such sometimes. And girls need to read The Last of the Mohicans or some such sometimes. That's what education is about.
To teach a child that he doesn't have to read a book because he doesn't want to and would rather read something else is wrong. Kids have to read a variety of materials, to get a broad based education.
Even in college, if you go for an engineering degree, you have to take courses in other areas, to provide a broad based education, learn about something besides just one field. All things in the world are related. You will always learn something from any book.
Besides, studies have shown that boys are favored in school. Turn in a paper with a boy's name and a girl's name, and it's likely to get a higher grade if it has a boy's name on it. Boys are called on in class more often. Boys are more often nurtured and encouraged to show an interest in some field, to prepare for making a career or living.
Girls excel at certain things over boys when they are younger. Everyone knows that girls mature faster in this way. Girl babies usually talk and walk before boy babies.
This changes at puberty, when boys mature a little more, and girls catch on that boys may not like you if you're too smart. Girls also fall behind in science and math, as they face teachers who assume girls won't do well in those subjects, and boys don't like girls who are too smart at science and math.
War on boys? Hogwash. No one in this country has been coddled more and encouraged more and helped more that young boys, esp if they're white. And THAT is what is not good for boys.