Richard Whitmire

Education writer, taking a break. Books: The B.A. Breakthrough, The Founders, On the Rocketship, The Bee Eater, Why Boys Fail, Achievable Dream.

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

The secret to the big improvements in Washington DC schools? Pushing hard on teacher quality and the collaboration/competition between charters and district schools.https://t.co/wsR0VNdmQN

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

And why are boys failing? It's not always the reason you're told. https://t.co/1DDVJhE9a5

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

With fewer men successfully launching into life, fewer women aspire to marriage. Everyone can see where this is leading. https://t.co/xFhlCc5zyU @emilyjashinsky

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

I mean, the crackdown is coming soon, right? @JonMarcusBoston @rotherham @MichaelPetrilli @alexanderrusso @wildavsky

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Any day now, I'm certain we'll see a Trump crackdown on white guys getting a college admission advantage. https://t.co/sj7RWqLK6h

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Good piece on https://t.co/XtdlIosyiR. Will be interesting to see if Galloway gets into the why's -- why we've seen such a dismal trend in male outcomes in recent years.

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Good ed reform opening from @rahmemanuel. https://t.co/S0E63WXHVp. Now he needs to take it to another level by tackling the boy troubles. https://t.co/aYF21fDRCG

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Why elementary schools? My explanation: https://t.co/bnrzOnDNm1

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Lots of talk about helping "lost boys" as young men, mostly from the political right which benefits from their disaffection, but no action I can see to get at the source of the problem in elementary schools. @LisaBritton on the need to act. https://t.co/4d2hNTihFU @aibm_org

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Good piece from @mattklewis on the politics of the boy troubles. https://t.co/vrvXsRvt0j I argue that Dems can jump on this issue by pioneering solutions to the boy problems in school. https://t.co/aYF21fDRCG

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

In the NYT, Jessica Grose is right to say boys crisis not a result of too-few female teachers. In my book research, the schools doing best by boys were run by women. But she misses the true cause -- a boosted literacy instruction that boys can't handle. https://t.co/Mtn8xGyaNO

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

While there's no single fix for the boy troubles, I still maintain that pressuring schools to help boys adjust to the ratcheted-up academic focus in early elementary school grades will help the most. https://t.co/bnrzOnDfwt

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Thoughtful piece on boy troubles by @DavidAFrench. Best insight: If you blame "woke" culture, then why do boys in the most unwoke places suffer the most? https://t.co/CTZmnIS3P8

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

@clairecm does a great job documenting the paucity of male role models for boys. When I searched for schools getting results for boys, the bigger factor was the policy set at the top (We don't let boys slide!). In most cases, those were female leaders. https://t.co/rm1P0t2BWh

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

@ColleenDippel @POTUS @GOP Yes, any Dem pol taking this on would have to go up against the traditional Dem constituencies. So, no Progressive. But Rahm or a Rahm-like candidate would be perfect.

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

A ban on redshirting? Parents of boys aren't to like this. Some parents think redshirting gives their boys an advantage in sports and academics, but more know their sons aren't ready for the beefed up curriculum in the early grades. https://t.co/nMxnKQoAoU

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Here's another way Dems can re-center on education. But better move fast: This is one MAGA is likely to land upon soon. https://t.co/aYF21fDjN8

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Great piece from @matt_barnum in @wsj about some Dem leaders tacking "right" on ed issues. Recalls the Clinton/Obama/Duncan formula. But Progressives will recoil. https://t.co/oAJ1xc1kpc

[Richard Whitmire @richardwhitmir]

Could the suddenly-everywhere "boy troubles" become a surprise political issue for the midterms? That's my prediction. The fun part: Either party could seize it. https://t.co/aYF21fDRCG @richardvreeves @arotherham @MichaelPetrilli