DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, who wrote a great foreword for Why Boys Fail, is the subject of a biography I’m finishing that will be released in late January, The Bee Eater.
The title comes from an incident when she was teaching in Baltimore and struggling to maintain discipline in the classroom. A bee flew through the window, which caused the students to dissolve into complete chaos. Rhee slapped the bee, popped it into her mouth and swallowed. Immediately, the class calmed a bit: she must be crazy, they thought, and therefore worthy of some respect.
I’ll keep blogging on the boys issue, as I have done while researching the book. As I see it, the gender gaps in this country are just starting to get noticed.