Honor Code David Brooks Summary

In society, there are different ways that a male or female should present themselves and what is normal for them could be weird to others. In “Honor Code” by David Brooks, he explains what it is like for a boy to be in school and the ways it is the school's fault for their learning troubles. Deborah Tannen’s, “His Politeness Is Her Powerlessness,” persuades her readers to see that women are viewed as powerless, while men are the powerful ones when it comes to things like communicating. Inferences can be made after reading these articles about whether these authors wrote because of personal experiences or just what they have seen. Also from personal experience, many people most likely see things that follow or go against gender norms. Although male and female norms are different, the way they are looked at may be similar. Between the articles by Tannen and Brooks, they are about different genders, but the point trying to be made by both is similar. Brooks talks about males struggling in school and how the school does nothing to help. Brooks argues that, “The education system has become culturally cohesive,
Brooks goes against females to focus on males, while Tannen goes against males to focus on females. Brooks claims that, “Some of the decline in male performance may be genetic. The information age rewards people who mature early… Girls may, on average, do better at these things” (Brooks 11). On the other hand, Tannen admits that, “Whether women or men are direct or indirect differs; what remains constant is that the women’s style is negatively evaluated- seen as lower in status than the men’s” (Tannen 9). Brooks is suggesting that females mature faster than males, which is why they progress more than males. Tannen is suggesting, on a different note, that women are looked at different because of the way they speak, whether it be direct or