captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: russian president vladimir putin said today that his country has pulled back its troops from the border with ukraine. but the white house insisted there's no evidence of such a move. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. also ahead this wednesday, nigeria's capital is on lock down for an economic conference, but the nation, and much of the world, is focused on the fate of nearly 300 abducted girls as the u.s. offers to step in. >> even with the eyes of the world on the growing efforts to get them back, parents remain angry that so much time has already been lost. >> woodruff: plus, boys will be boys. our parenting series continues

with a look at how best to raise sons and what to make of the widening achievement gap with girls. >> woodruff: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

>> united healthcare, online at uhc.com. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: the chair of the federal reserve offered a hopeful assessment of the economy today, coupled with words of warning. speaking at a congressional hearing, janet yellen said things are picking up after a long, hard winter. >> many suggest that rebound in spending and production is

already underway put knowledge the overall economy on track for solid growth growth in the current quarter. when cautionary nortena readings on housing activity a sec tore that has been recovering since 2011 have remained disappointing so far this year and will bear watching. >> ifill: yellen also said the job market remains "far from satisfactory", and told lawmakers the fed has no intention of raising short-term interest rates any time soon. on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gained 117 points to close at 16,518. the nasdaq was down 13 to close at 4,067, as internet stocks fell for a second day. and the s-and-p 500 added 10 points, to finish at 1,878. federal agents stepped up a national crackdown on synthetic drugs today. the drug enforcement administration announced hundreds of search and arrest warrants were served in at least 25 states.

agents seized thousands of packets of drugs known as bath salt, spice and molly, plus hundreds of pounds of chemical ingredients. in thailand, the constitutional court has ordered prime minister yingluck shinawat to leave office. it ruled today she abused her power by transferring a top official to another position, purely for political benefit. yingluck appeared hours after the ruling to assert her innocence. nine of her cabinet ministers were ousted as well. vietnam claimed today that chinese ships have intentionally rammed some of its vessels in the south china sea. officials showed video of one of the ramming incidents. the chinese ships also fired water cannons at vietnamese crews. hanoi said several boats were damaged, and six people were injured. the confrontation came as vietnam is trying to stop china from operating an oil rig, near the paracel islands, in disputed waters.

>> ( translated ): vietnam will have to use all measures stipulated in the un charter to defend its interests. as you know, this is a very sensitive and dangerous issue and we think it threatens peace, stability and maritime safety and security in the south china sea. >> ifill: china insisted the oil rig was in its territorial waters and that drilling there is normal and legal. but in washington, the state department called the chinese actions provocative and dangerous. this was election day for south africans. lines were long at polling stations in the first elections to include young voters born since the end of white minority rule in 1994. 22,000 polling stations were open, with final results expected saturday. the african national congress is expected to win a return to power, despite strong challenges from the opposition. president obama spent some time today in vilonia, arkansas, where a tornado killed 15 people and wrecked hundreds of homes last month. the president got a look at the damage zone, about 30 miles north of little rock.

he said victims need to know they're not alone, and that the government will help them rebuild. still to come on the newshour: russia claims it's pulled its troops away from ukraine's border; a wrap-up of last night's congressional primaries; turmoil in nigeria over the fate of the abducted girls; the challenge of raising sons in the u.s.; plus, the leader of the opposition in war-torn syria. >> woodruff: russian president vladimir putin made some surprise statements today over the crisis in ukraine. this afternoon, he called on pro-russian separatists to postpone their planned secession vote on may 11. announced that he has withdrawn russian military forces from ukraine's border. and even offered conditional support for national elections in late may, which he had previously rejected.

>> ( translated ): i want to underline that the planned presidential elections in kiev are a move in the right direction, but they won't solve anything if all of the citizens of ukraine don't understand how their rights will be guaranteed after these elections are held. >> woodruff: a white house spokesman said this afternoon there is no evidence that russian troops have pulled back, and the u.s. imposed further economic penalties on moscow. to help us walk through what these developments mean, i'm joined by angela stent, director of the center for eurasian, russian and east european studies at georgetown university. she has served in the state department and at the national intelligence council. and stephen cohen, professor emeritus of russian studies and politics at new york university and princeton university. welcome you both back to the program. angela stent, to you first, do you believe that the russians are pulling back their troops from the border? >> i think we don't know that yet. but i still think that the

announcements that president putin made were an important step in the right direction the diffusing the crisis. particularly discouraging and referendum from taking place, next sunday and also given this support for the election on may 21 in kiev. i think the gesture was important, the words were important. i think we have to see whether they really do withdraw their troops. but i think he realizes that the situation was really spiraling out of control in eastern ukraine with increasing violence and casualties jewell steven, do you think they are piling the troops back? >> i have this way of knowing. putin addressed this question. he said if you don't believe it, speaking to the united states, you can check it out you have your space surveillance. there's something more. i haven't seen the russian text that the english translation by the russians, which subjectly reliable uses the past tense. he says, we have withdrawn our

troops. that means we are not doing it now we're going to do it tomorrow we have done it. so someone here is misleading someone. which reminds us, that as we move toward the possibility of war with russia the entire atmosphere is full of so much misinformation we have to sort it out. i do not believe that putin would lie about something this important. >> woodruff: do you think he could be not telling the truth and saying what is not going to happen? >> i mean, he told chancellor merkel that russia was withdrawing troops and no independent verification that it happened. none of us know. i mean it's possible that they will withdraw somewhat, they apparently conducting other exercises but we really don't know. it's possible that he's not telling the truth but i think if again by endorsing the may 25th election by pulling back on the referendum that is supposed to take place on sunday, i think he is signalling

that russia does want to have a say in what happens after this may 25th election. it's willing to talk. >> woodruff: steve company when how do you read these other new declarations whether the troops are moving or not? >> that's why. we have to read the whole statement. it's not very lock. he spoke five or six minutes. he said many important things. first he reiterated the russian position that we, united states, created this crisis along with europe. and that russia is aggrieved. then went on to say, i watched the video, the footage of what happened in odessa on friday. and that is a horrific event and you have to remember the people who live in russia and ukraine in particular, it evokes memories of people burning world war ii not just jews the fact that the nazis in those territories locked people in buildings and burned them to death. i've talked to russian friends in crime i can't and larger russia all horrified by what

they saw. so he said i'm going to take a step to try to stop this. we have withdrawn our troops, pulled them back from ukrainian board. i think we have to assume that's true unless surveillance says he's in the telling the truth. then he clearly wants two things in return. which need fob mentioned. we'll see if he gets them. he wants the united states to tell kie frocks pull its military forces out of eastern ukraine. then he revealed something i didn't know. maybe angela knew it, maybe you folks knew it he said that in a phone call with german chancellor merkel she proposed a roundtable of all the aggrieved parties in ukraine, that's kiev, western ukraine, eastern ukraine. to talk about the future of ukraine. which means a new constitution. and he says that he agrees where that and he where i support that. you have it appears if he's telling the truth, germany, and

russia in favor of this roundtable, not united states as far as i know is silent, in fact when merxel was here, just a few days ago, i don't recall it being part of what they reported they discussed. this putin is telling the truth the united states seems to be dragging its feet, i don't know, but that's the impression. >> woodruff: we need more clarification y. is putin doing this? how do you read -- >> i think part of it is, you know, the threat of -- the sanctions, both chancellor merk,l and president president a ma said there would be suffer sanctions and the europe and the u.s. they latch affect on the russian economy, deterring investors from you this projects, banks, lindhing money. that's one clear reason. also, there is the possibility that after the election, i agree that everyone will sit down but i think the sequencing is

important here. >> woodruff: may 25. >> the issue is, ukraine's future and neutrality is on the table. the ukrainian politicians themselves are willing to discuss this the question of constitutional change deinvolving more power to the region not a federal state in the way that russia wants but giving them mr. autonomy. there is room for bargaining and negotiations but you do have to have everyone at the table. >> woodruff: that's what steve was referring to. do you think sanctions are part of what is driving any possible change in heart or change of thinking on putin's part? >> no. i think angela is wrong on this. i agree where muchçó of whatñi e says butñi notçó that. the sanctions hurt but this issue ofçó ukraine is existenti. everyone involved in policy making see this as essential to russia's future. its future in the longñi term,ñr what happens in ukraine. ifñi it cost a few billion or trillion dollars russia will not back off.

i think that with -- we've flipped putin in to more service mode that he is spined that we are a couple of spits from civil bar in ukraine. and that if you f ukraine goes in to civil war russian and american are nato troops may be drawn in. that's my reading of the situation, too. i think sanctions are side bar, secondary issue. >> woodruff: why do you disagree? >> because i think that the civil bar, the civil war that already exists in eastern ukraine is partly supported by russia. i don't think russia dictates what the separatists do but russian forces, special forces have obviously been involved there. i think now they are realizing maybe this has gone further and violence has gone further, i don't think we're on the brink of a war between west and rush a. i think there are serious the affect on russian economy is poll marble and goingçó to get much months. >> woodruff: if the rus sians are behind the unrest in the east it doesn't make sense that

they boo be worried about civil war. >> let me make a theatrical statement because we don't have time to debate this. there are russian agents in eastern ukraine. also american agents and polish and got knows what pore. to say that the russians created this unrest in eastern u crab that putin can call it off tomorrow. guys, vacate the buildings, go home, hand over your weapons, that is a fantasy.ñi home, hand over your weapons, that is a fantasy.ñi more over itçó under -- itñ obscures what plays at the bottom of this entire ukrainian crisis that's the conflicts in ukraine. ukrainian had one state in february. it was never one country. and that was where now seeing. we're now seeing two or threeñr ukraines at war withñi each oth. putin doesn't control this, i think maybe, maybe one reason he spoke todayñi is he knows russia can't control the situation either jared we hear you both.

>> woodruff: we thank you. >> ifill: with this midterm election season now in full swing, voters headed to the polls last night in north carolina, indiana, and ohio. and it was a good night for candidates supported by the republican establishment, especially in north carolina, where the field is now set for a showdown that could determine control of the u.s. senate.ñi >> ifill: the speaker of the north carolina state house, thom tillis, gave the republican establishment reason to cheer last night. >> it's not the end of the primary, it's the beginning of our primary mission, which has been the mission all aíolg, and that is to beat kay hagan and to make harry reid irrelevant in >> ifill: party leadersçóñr considered tillis the strongest candidate to unseat democratic incumbent kay hagan in november

and, possibly, help the party take over the senate.ñi their cause was helped when tillis won 46% of the primary vote, more than enough to avoid a runoff with tea party favorite greg brannon and evangelicalñi pastor mark harris. elsewhere in the state, two republican members of congress, walter jones and renee ellmers, turned back primary challenges. ellmers could face former "american idol" star clay aiken in november. aiken led his democratic primary race by fewer than 400 votes. a recount could still be possible. and in ohio, house speaker john boehner took nearly 70% of the primary vote against a tea party opponent in his ohio district. >> ifill: joining me to hash out what it all means is newshour political editor domenicoñi montanaro.çóñiñiñr last night. no. >> no yes. 36 gosh 36 nor incumbents who won across the board last night. that's really the establishment striking back as we talked about

earlier. in ohio, john boehner survived joyce also survived the tea party challenge. democrats are hoping he'd lose to have chance to take over that seat. north carolina, walterç?$iones o is always a target for some republicans,çó he wound up winng his race, a little bit of surprise for some. and renee ellmers who was a target because of her pro-immigration stance, at least her stance to do something on immigration. she enjoyed a challenge from the right, wound up winning thatñi race but still a strong showing from the right against her. >> woodruff: you said the establishment does well, what does that mean? in the case of the north carolina senate race, how is he the establishment? >> tom tillis as the backing of some high profile republicans, jeb bush, but mostly we're talking about the establishment structure within washington, d.c. the people who really pour a lot of money in, who pick a lot of the candidates hope that they're going to be the ones that can be the best people to wind upbeating people like pay hag

parksn who see as very vulnerable really key to republican chances of taking back the senate. >> woodruff: you spay pour a lot of money in to the races from washington or other places, quantify it for me. >> we're talking close to $20 million already at this point. just on television ads. 20,000 ads have been poured in to this race from outside groups. 90% of that money by outside group, is that is key. they saw what happened in 2010 and 2012 they lost potentially five seats capacity have already had mitch mcconnell, senate majority leader don't want the let that happen again. >> woodruff: the turn out was still low. >> turn out isçó low in primari, very difficult. that is one of the biggest challenges because their pillarr vote as african americans, hispanics, least likely to turn up at the polls in mid terms as opposed to older, white, married voters. bout clayçsr aiken, he won "american idol," this is a big step, full extent of his political background rung for

this office. very close. >> he was runner up in "american idol" in 2003. wasn't runner up last night, up only 369 votes. running forñi congressional seat in north carolina. second congressional district he'd take on ellmers. that was one reason why democrats were hoping illumes might be taken out because then they see i pin having more of a chance. this is a right planing seat, mitt romney run with 57%. probably not going to know for sure who wins for probably a week or two because the north carolina board of elections says that there's absentee ballots out still. going to be canvassing tuesday. certainly one to watch. >> woodruff: maybe sing his way in to the final. >> he vowed not to sing at all. maybeñrthatñi helped, i don't k. >> woodruff: damn, thanks so much. i know democrats are on i plenty.ñi >> woodruff: there was more deadly unrest in nigeria today. officials there say hundreds of

people were killed in a militant attack on a northeastern border town. this come as a team of specialists from the united states heads to the country to help free more than 270 abducted school girls. tz9pfrom rageh ommar of indepent television news. >> reporter: the capitol of nigeria, in a state of lock down, amidst tight security for an economic conference. normally bustling streets left almost empty. but for ordinary nigerians,ñr there is only one issue dominatin ohe headlines and piling pressure on theñiñrñi government. reverenoqron noirmbita fledñi chibok where the girls were kidnapped. he manages to get through on the phone to a father in the town who's daughter is still missing. the father in chibok paints añió harrowing picture of a townñi still living in fear and where people are haunted by what could be happening to the girls.ñr >> he said even the soldiers are running away together with the people. >> reporter: so where are they

sleeping right now? >> they want to sleep in the bush or in mountain hills. >> reporter: men, women, children? >> everybody. that's what he's saying. >> he said he's now -- he's not himself any more. because it is better that he know that she isñr dead. but when theço children are ae in the handsñi everñr people who are -- people not go fog kill or rape. >> reporter: it's to prevent boko haram from doing this that the united states and the uk are now sending specialist military and diplomatic advisors to assist nigeria. time is of the essence and the government here is adamant it is doing everything it can.

>> reporter: it's been three weeks since the girls were abducted from their school. this has become a crisis of international proportion. but even with the eyes of the world on the growing efforts to get them back, parents remain angry that so much time has already been lost. >> woodruff: first lady michelle obama late today tweeted a picture of herself holding up a sign with the hashtag, #bring- back-our-girls jeffrey brown picks up the story here. >> brown: for a closer look at what nigerians make of all this and what assistance the u.s. can offer, i'm joined by jon temin, director of africa programs for the u.s. institute of peace. and heather murdock, who's in abuja covering the story for the christian science monitor. start where you. secretary kerry announced help from the u.s. he said, you're going to see a very, very rapid response. is it clear what that means? what is the expectation there? >> well, there's different

expectations. publicly a lot of people are welcoming the u.s. thinking that if anybody can come save those girls, it is the u.s. there is? concern among security experts wondering if it could possibly escalate the situation and put the girls in harm's way. on the streets and protests most people are very happy that the u.s. is finally agreed to come and help them. >> reporter: this is a very small force, certainly for the moment not military focus but intelligence focused i guess in. >> tell generals focused also skills focused. law enforce. those sorts of things that the nigerians can benefit from. it's important to manage the expectation. because it is a small force there are limits, i think to, what the nigerians are going to accept as well. in the past, they have been weary of accepting too much outside assistance in situations like this. >> reporter: just because of the sensitivity politically pgh (by mr. 123 ) because of the sensitivity, because ever the

seeming infringement on their sovereignty that that might entail and having to look so far away. >> reporter: the question is how much the u.s. can do in this case is fringes on questions like that. >> it hinges on that, it hinges on realistically what can we expect the u.s. outsiders to be able to do in remote part of this very large country. a lot of the intelligence that i think is needed comes from local communities. that's not necessarily where the u.s. or others can be of a sis tans judd heather murdoch, there's been -- >> reporter: 'pack on border town that left -- what is the thinking about inability or reluctance of the and military to do more, to go after the militants? >> well, attacks like this on this village have been going on all year. the first three months almost every day. people are frustrated, people are scared, because what often happens military themselves are

scared. i don't know -- we don't have it for sure but we've heard that that particular village had no people guarding it. they were scared and ran away or military stretched so thin that those soldiers redeployed presumably the find the girls. >> reporter: a violence regularly as you say, on daily. the case with the kidnapping ever the girls clearly ramp ited things up there as will, right? >> yes. the most emotional attack i think the entire boko haram. it's galvanized the public in a way i've never seen. protests all over the country and everyone is getting behind demanding that these girls be found. >> reporter: do you sense that that pressure is having impact on the government? >> i think it very much is. i can imagine why the president would have accepted help from the u.s. if there wasn't so much pressure at home to accept it. >> reporter: jon temin, what has the relationship up to this point between u.s. government

and the government and the military in nigeria? >> generally a friendly one. i think the u.s., like many others, mass encouraging the nigerian government to be more serious, perhaps more forceful in the response to boko haram. there are lot of security concerns associated including potential linkages is other extremist groups further north, elsewhere in africa. but u.s. recognizes the big importance of nigeria on a global scale. this is the largest country in africa by population, now largest country by economy as well. also major oil producer. there is a strong linkage between abuja and washington. >> reporter: if i ask you what the u.s. interests are in this particular case, it's things like that? >> yeah. in the particular case of these girls i think it's a humanitarian interest more than anything else. but in the bigger picture concerns with boko haram there are real security interests at stake.

>> reporter: how much is the outside pressure, you were talking about what's happening, the appreciate irrelevant inside the country. but pressure from outside attention from the world, how much is that affecting the situation there? >> i think it's affecting the situation a lot. i believe that the pressure from inside nigeria is part of the reason why there's been so much attention paid by the international community. because prior to this, they didn't draw a lot of attention within nigeria. people are talking really loud, activists are going out of their way to make sure that this stays in the news as long as it can. that is part of the reason why it's in the news internationally and the nigerian government is feeling the pressure from outside as well as in. >> reporter: what more are they being asked to do in terms of militarily send more people in to these areas, what dash do you see that kind of action happening yet? >> they say they are doing everything they can. part of the problem here is that

they won't give us details about what they're doing. they say that they can't give details for security concerns which is legitimate. a lot of people want to know more. there is also word from the area that a lot of these areas, military can't even get in to. which leads people the believe that maybe some of these areas aren't even controlled by the government, they're controlled by the militants. >> reporter: do you join, tim, have a concerns from people here that the government and military could in fact do more but they just simply are not? >> perhaps. but i think one of the really important points here is that they can't just be military response to the boko haram insurgency. so much is driven by poverty, lack of jobs, plaque of opportunity in northern nigeria. the message from here and lot of the world that there has to be economic program to accompany some of the military responses and just military response is potentially counter productive. a rather heavy handed response, that could be driving people

even closer to boko haram. j finally, what is the thinking there now about the whereabouts, safety of these girls? >> well, the president says the girls are safe. people are skeptical to say the least. and people have reported that the girls have been separated, some of them might be over the border in cameroon or chad. generally believed to be in the area of the forest which is considered one of the most dangerous parts of the country if not the most dangerous part of the country. >> reporter: anything to add ton that? >> i think we now need to look across some of the border, there are three countries nearby, chad, cameroon and niger. some of the girls may have crossed some of those borders that's where intelligence sharing and cooperation between nigeria and those countries is particularly important. >> reporter: here in washington, heather murdoch, thank you very much. >> thank you.

>> ifill: next, the latest in our series "parenting now". last night, we focused on concerns about raising girls and the ways our culture shapes their identity. tonight, we turn to questions about that challenges raising boys. >> ifill: in the classroom, it has long been a given that girls perform better than boys, but that academic achievement gap has now widened beyond elementary school level, to high school and college, where experts are increasingly concerned that boys are falling behind. when it comes to test scores, girls have essentially closed the math gap that with boys. but boys have not closed the reading gap with girls. reading scores show girls seven points ahead in fourth grade, a difference that grows to ten points by eighth grade, and remains there through high

school. boys also lag when it comes to grade point averages, and in every state, they drop out of school at a slightly higher rate. by the time they get to college, 57% of all bachelor's degrees are now being awarded to women. for boys who are poor and of color, the situation can be profoundly worse. black boys in public schools score almost 30 points lower on reading and math than white boys by fourth grade. they account for one-fifth of all school expulsions. and dropout rates for latino and african-american boys are substantially worse. t'roya jackson, who dropped out of high school in washington dc, is raising a two-year-old son. she says she realizes that education must be a higher priority for her child. >> i'm very concerned for him in this day and age especially being an african-american male and things are just crazy.

>> ifill: statistics are only part of the story. educators, psychologists and child welfare experts are also concerned about the messages that boys get about masculinity. >> stop with the tears, don't cry. >> ifill: that's the focus of an upcoming documentary called "the mask you live in." its trailer was a viral hit. >> in good times, guys are really close to each other. but when things get a little bit worse, you're on your own. from middle school, i had four really close friends. but once i kind of went into high school, i struggled finding people i could talk to because i feel like i'm not supposed to get help. >> ifill: as government- sponsored programs like the white house initiative "my brother's keeper" begins to shed a light on what is happening to boys, parents are on the hunt for solutions. >> ifill: so do these issues make it harder for parents to raise boys? for that and more i am joined by michael thompson, author of "it's a boy!" and "raising cain." he is a psychologist specializing in the emotional health of boys. christina hoff sommers, author

of "the war against boys: how misguided feminism is harming our young men." she is a resident scholar at the american enterprise institute. and ashanti branch, vice principal at montera middle school in california and founder of the ever forward club, an after school program that helps minority boys succeed academically. world that street ruled by mennier we worried about boys? >> well, it may beñr ruled by mn but boys are not in charge in school. they're falling seriously behind grills where no end in sight. >> ifill: why do you think that is? >> it turns out that brokenñi families have just a far worse effect on young man's educational prospects, we're now learning that. secondly, our schools have become very accommodating to girls, almost places been i think, michael thompson said, the girls are the gold standard and boys are treated as defective males.

we have to meet boys half way. acknowledge that boys and girls are different, they have somewhat different needs and i think we're doing very good job meeting the needs of girls and boys have been left behind. >> ifill: michael thompson, let me ask you, gold standard comment, is it true that girls are the gold standard and this so what are the obstacles that are being placed in the way of boys? >> look, my school age, three-quarters of boys are more physically active and more impulsive than any girls in the class. very hard for teachers not to wish that the boys were a little bit more like girls when they could sit longer, especially when teachersçó areñi underñr pe to produce results and high stakes testing. the inclination make more seat boys byñiñi taking recess away, they don't let them move and then all of a sudden, we have an epidemic of adhd with boys who are feeling like school is jail and that they're constantly in trouble. >> ifill: çóñi ashanti brancha

realtime check, you are dealing with boys every day, you're in the classroom, have been more than a decade how much of this issue is academic how much of it is emotional or the same thing? >> >> i worked high school teaching math for ten years, i realize that there was something happening. iñi neverçó really knew why menm to have such a challenge with the spatial issue. with the sittidgñ still and focusing. but i realize i went through a training called, boys and girls learn differently f. there i learned how the brain differences are happening between boys an girls helped me become clear highway that worked. cïg the work after school program and doing the mentoring that isñi a different type ofçó style. weñ2halways do funnies. fun to get all the energy out, then we can spit down and talk about things. as a mathñi teacher very differt interests. rye now the middle school, boys are getting in trouble a lot more often.

they are having more challenge with focusing and disturbing others and bothering each other. lot more challenges for them. >> ifill: i'm curious whether part of this street that boys are among each other for being too cool for school. for not being that invested or thinking much rewarded academic achievements. >> you know, when i started the program it was to that reason. i had smart boys in my class what were failingñi y. are you i failingñi my class. like i'm here for you to be successful. they said, well, walk can around with the big heavy backpack that's not cool. if you are going to be cool youó got to act certain ways you can't be too smart. we began toñi try to figure out strategies to be able to in the only be successful but also feel like they were being cool to who they were trying to impress, mostñi times, the girls. >> ifill: christine hoff som

mess, your article, you have said, feminism is to plame. what do you think? >> that was a mitt of misunderstanding i said misguided feminist policies have harmed. i didn't mean to impugn feminism i think people thought. >> ifill: what did you mean? >> what i did mean that there -- women's groups organized and they rallied around girls, in areas where girls genuinely needed help. math, science, a lot of what they did was very good. at the same time they carried a message that, boys aren't in trouble, they are fine. they weren't fine. boys were neglected it was a misguided application of feminism. not feminism itself. misguided. the idea that sometimes some women's groups that gave the idea that, there are with teams. men's teams and women's team we have to root nd)j theçóçó women. i think that they're all in this together. >> ifill: who was doing theçó negligenting, was it being done in the classroom, at home?

>> i think it was --çó certain groups, americanñi association f university women, why want to impugn them they did a lot to help girls. they sort of covered up the problems of boys. i think when they first discovered how salient gender is in education, we did good job addressing the girls' issues and neglected the boys. >> ifill: michael thompson, let's talk about that. this series is about parenting. i do wonder what parents' role is in this -- >> parents tell me all the time that they hadn't understood how hard it was for boys in school until they had a boy. moms are telling me this. a boy feels that school is set against them, and by second or third grade they have taken their soul out of school. the thing that their father comes to watch. and they think, i can be a boy and man outside of school but school is going to pin me down and make me feel bad. i had an educator tell me, boys in a thousand years would never have invented school.

but what goes on in the subject matter is always interesting to them. we have to find a way to use time work, movement, competition, a public product. we have the get boys up and energized. there are too many teachers who worship the quiet solo learn are. who puts a nice border around the paper and hands it in and wants to please the teach every. boys are often pleasing themselves, that is pleasing their group. and if you can get boys to work as a team if you canñi get themo compete. they are more energized. and they will do better academically. people say boys dent like to write. but they will write a screen play and film it and show it. they will do that with great enthusiasm. >> ifill: tea shanty is that your experience as well? >> yeah, absolutely. i think what's happening in a lot of the classrooms that students are -- young men are fidgeting and moving and making noise becauseñr their desk is

crickety there for the teacher is feeling like, why are you disturbing the rest of the class? their bodies just don't want to sit still. i think that one of the challenges that teachers say, be still, their brain is staying, i need to move. that's a hard battle right there. as an educator i'm in meeting longer than an hour i need toe move. for students, forçó the young os re moving,ts, forçó the young os developing very fast their bodies are ready for a lotñr of energy and to be sedentary is driving them up the wall. which is creating challenge with the teachers and they come to my office i'm like, what happened. i fell out of my seat, right? it's like, all these things are helping with them things that we got to find way of supporting them in the way they learn. >> ifill: how much of this is exacerbated, christina, by the growth of single parent families? by absence of fathers. >> excellent study by think tank, third way, it's conservative and liberal researchers coming together to find solutions. what they found was that in a

family with a single mom, for some reason the girl is inspired. the mother is her role model. boys love their moms but the mom is not the role model he turns away and withdraw. what happenss we have larger growing number of boys who are alienated from education, they don't have male role models, to emulate they go with their peer, is that is just another dimension of the problem. >> ifill: michael thompson, i am a single mother or married mother trying to raise a boy, what are the tips you give to try to get around some of these pitfalls?çó >> first you have to trust boy development. boy development is slower than girl development. girls are heads, especially, in early add lessness. boys are staying longer toe catch up. if you can ignite their enthusiasm and their passion, they will do work for you if you constantly discipline them, suspend them, expel them.

we have a lot of evidence that zero tolerance policies are very heavily on boys they didn't help. we have to get more teachers who are good with boys and that can be women but it would be help physical we had more men in school. it would be help physical we had more programs for fathers to come in to school. but we also have to teach people that boy development, their activity and the kind of stories this they love. adventure and science fix and super poise that they love are not dangerous, not leading to violence. there are too many people who think that everything boys seem to love is dangerous. >> ifill: michael thompson, chris teen that hoff sommer, ashanti branch, thank you all very much for interesting conversation. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> ifill: there's more from michael thompson online, he and author marie rocker-jones put together ten tips for helping

boys achieve their academic potential. >> woodruff: finally, to the civil war in syria, as the human toll keeps mounting there, the president of syria's main political opposition group comes to washington with a plea. chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner has the story. >> warner: as syria's civil war enters it's fourth year, with more than 150,000 dead and nearly 10 million displaced, the balance seems to be tipping in favor of bashar al-assad's forces. rebels began withdrawing from the old city of homs today, after a year under siege. and syrian president assad, who met today with children scarred by the war, has set presidential elections for early june. rebels still control swaths of northern and eastern syria, but they are splintered, often some of the strongest are extremists with ties to al qaeda

but recently some mod pratt rebel units have been filmed using heavy anti-tank weapons. the chief moderate political force opposing assad, the syrian opposition council ,composed chiefly of exiles is headed by ahmad jarba. monday, the state department announced it was granting the s.o.c. enhanced diplomatic status here. >> the coalition has built an inclusive and moderate institution that has demonstrated its commitment to serving the interests and needs of the syrian people, rejected extremism, and worked to advance a negotiated political transition in syria >> warner: the u.s. also announced $27 million more in non-lethal aid for s.o.c. initiatives inside syria. jarba is in the u.s. for his first official visit, i spoke to him this morning.

president jarba, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> rebel fighters are leaving homes which was a center of the revolt against assad early on. u.s. officials are saying things are trending in the wrong direction in sear california are you losing ground on the battlefield? >> the capital of the serial revolution, the people are real heroes they have paid the bill for freedom. holmes has been under siege for more than year and half. no food or water or medicine was allowed inside. the siege became lethal. we want civilians and fighters to get out safely so their lives could be saved. this battle and this war has sometimes advances and sometimes retreats. sometimes we might lose ground but our people, syrian people, are determined to win at the end and gain back the ground that we are losing. >> what about your battle on the other front against more extremist rebel groups are you

losing ground there as well? >> the answer is, no. originally this land was liberated by our sons from the assad forces then i.s.i.s. came over and took over these areas. in december last year, we started war against the i.s.i.s. battle still ongoing. we were able to take four major prove i continues. the war against i.s.i.s. continuing and we are winning in that war. >> reporter: the united states and the west have been saying for three years now they want to support the moderate syrian opposition. what has their assistance amounted to intangible terms? >> united states is a main ally to the moderate opposition and the coalition with the score group of friends of syria that helped on humanitarian level with a plot of aid being provided by the united states. medicine, food, healthcare, education. we are looking forward to more cooperation and enhancement of the united states' aid.

>> reporter: you have been urging a lot more in the way of military assistance to the rebel fighters, are you disappointed in president obama and the policy he's pursued on syria? >> of this, my first official visit we're looking forward the getting support in all aspects including military. united states has a big interest in saving syrian people and the region. syria is important geopolitically after three years of war i think that additional support from the united states will be a key factor in opening a window for resolution. >> reporter: street that what you plan to tell president obama if and when you meet him and his make tall security team that you'd like to see the u.s. provide more weapons, more training, more sophisticated weapons to the moderate rebel fighters on the ground? >> yes. for sure. we are going to talk to our friends in transparency, frankly, we're going to ask for additional support. i think that the situation now

is suitable for additional support in that particular area. >> reporter: president obama ten days ago in manila defended his policy. he said critics are saying i should have bombed to get rid of chemical weapons, we're getting rid without bombing. the american public has no taste for more wars and military engagements, what do you say to that? >> when the united states threatened to strike the regime, the regime quicly agreed to deliver and hand over the chemical weapons. this guy, the assad gang, doesn't know anything other than the language of force. the united states and president obama had not threatened with force assad would not have handed over his chemical weapons. but i want to be clear on something, we don't want our friends in america to enter any war in syria. we don't want your american sons to come and fight in syria like iraq and afghanistan. we just want the weapons to

defend ourselves. the assad regime is drag and dropping barrel bombs on civilians, killing hundreds of people every day we dent have any weapons to confront them. again, we don't want the united states to send its sons or its war planes to fight in syria just want prepare ons to defend ourselves. >> reporter: obama administration secretary kerry putting great stock in these geneva peace talks between the two sides. and they failed. is that track essentially dead? >> geneva failed because of the regime's noncooperation. maybe you can say that it is dead. especially after assad announced overs go fog hold presidential election to top the skulls of the syrian dead. j where is the chance for a political resolution here? or isn't there one? >> i believe, yes. for sure. there is a political solution. we have to find a political solution. if the pressure on the ground is

not there, assad will not cooperate rate for political solution. >> reporter: meanwhile, humanitarian disaster goes on, you have 200 people on average dying every day. if you step back and look at this region, 15 year civil war, iraq you can argue redescending to what is a ten-year civil war. is that what may lie ahead for syria? >> the syrians took to the streets for freedom to build the lureistic state. now, the only solution should start by assad family stepping down from ruling syria. >> reporter: they're unwilling to do that. >> syria is abused country. christian, muslims, jews, living together for thousands of years. our friends had not brought down war would not be dragged for all these years.

i am not afraid their's more. and stay and support us and real pressure to accept the political solution. i can confirm now when assad goes, 85% syria's problems will be over. >> reporter: thank you, president jarba. >> thank you. >> woodruff: again, the major developments of the day. the chair of the federal reserve, janet yellen, told congress the u.s. economy is on track for solid growth this quarter, but the job market is still far from satisfactory. russian president vladimir putin called for separatists in eastern ukraine to postpone a planned secession vote. he also said russian forces have pulled back from the border, but n.a.t.o. and the white house disputed that claim. and in nigeria, police reported islamist militants killed at least 125 people in a remote

village early today. the attackers were from the same group that's abducted more than 270 girls. >> ifill: on the newshour online right now, the earth is losing more than 10,000 species every year, but also endangered are the scientists who name and catalog new ones. read about what is causing this shortage of taxonomists, on our science page. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. >> woodruff: yesterday's report on raising girls in a princess dominated world sparked a lot of comments from viewers like you. one visitor said: >> woodruff: another wrote:

>> ifill: but there were a number of others, one of you wrote us. >> ifill: and here's another... >> ifill: if you'd like to see more comments, or write your own, visit our website or facebook page, or tweet us back, @newshour. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on thursday, our parenting series continues with the cost of kids. paul solman reports on the high price of child care. i'm judy woodruff >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill, we'll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good

night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> when i was pregnant, i got more advice than i knew what to do with. what i needed was information i could trust, on how to take care of me and my baby. united healthcare has a simple program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get care and guidance they can use before and after the baby is born. simple is what i need right now. >> that's health in numbers, united healthcare >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century.

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