More on the boy crisis in schools..

It would be nice if Stephen Harper could say a few words about the crisis facing boys in the classroom.

Six days after graduating from Milton High School, Mickarl Thomas tragically died in a single-car accident. Affectionately known as Mikey, he was the co-captain of his Boston-area football team and the only black male in his honors classes.

Growing up in a family with two sisters and no father, Mikey had a strong need to hang out with other African-American guys. It's that old thing about men needing to learn about masculinity from other men.

As chance would have it, a few years later his mother Carole, now a successful consultant, was hired by the school to do a diversity assessment. Her report acknowledged the sudden death of her son and then pointedly noted, "The ultimate question is finding a way to encourage black males to succeed academically in a way that does not demean the ethnic trust and respect they so desperately need."

But it turns out the problem of male achievement at Milton H.S. is not limited to minorities.

Last month Doug Anglin, a white 17-year-old senior at the school, filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education. His allegation: Milton High discriminates against boys.

At his school, girls outnumber boys 2 to 1 on the honor roll, and about 60% of Advanced Placement students are female. Only 36% of teachers are men. And in one class, students are expected to fancy up their notebooks with glitter and feathers.