Answer:
This excerpt could be an answer to the question: "What does it mean to be equal to a boy, according to Stanton?"
Explanation:
Indeed, the narrator is talking about how she has been wondering how to best integrate among boys ("I pondered the problem of boyhood") by being as good as them in certain fields, like Greek and horseriding. Besides, she states explictly that to be learned and courageous is "the chief thing to be done in order to equal boys," which is the answer she found to her hours of thinking about this question.
 
        
                    
             
        
        
        
Answer:
As Curley's wife implies, these three men are social outcasts.  They remain behind when the other ranch hands travel into town for drink and women.  Candy, Crooks, and Lennie are all crippled: Candy lost a hand in an accident with some machinery, Crooks has an injured back, and Lennie is "slow" mentally.  These physical and/or mental challenges have caused them to be placed on the periphery of the social order.  They do not easily fit in with the others and are able to bond, albeit for only a brief time, when they are all in Crooks' room in Section 4.
Explanation:
 
        
             
        
        
        
I hate to say it, but your editorial is going to sound very school newspaperish if you use 1st person.