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Education Opinion

New Book, But The Boys Blog Endures

By Richard Whitmire — April 30, 2010 1 min read
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Washingtonian Magazine wrote about it (sorry, no link available) and then This Week In Education.

Anyone who has read Why Boys Fail already knows DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee wrote a meaty, thoughtful foreword for the book. She gets that the gender gaps are important -- as any urban schools head should. Unfortunately, most superintendents are still rooted in the unbending race/poverty NCLB formula. That formula is their universe. Understandable, but that simplistic formula, which ignores gender, will never completely break them out of the racial learning gaps they are charged with eliminating.

Can’t blame them. The U.S. Department of Education is no better. Until the school accountability system recognizes the gender gaps we’re pretty much stuck in neutral. Secretary Duncan should know better ... the best research on this comes out of Chicago.

One thing led to another, and I now have a contract to write a book about Michelle Rhee. Working title: The Bee Eater. (The title is explained in a link in Russo’s blog.)

I’ll persist with the boys blog, however. This issue has legs; it’s just beginning to unfold. As I’ve blogged over and over again, the biggest impact will be the personal side of life -- the marriageable mate dilemma.

The opinions expressed in Why Boys Fail are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.