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‘Boys Initiative’ Event to Call for White House Panel on Males

By Richard Whitmire — April 20, 2011 1 min read
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The briefing (which I will moderate) is on May 17, 10 a.m. to noon.

The focus of the briefing will be a new report on the state of boys and men delivered by higher education consultant Tom Mortenson.

From the Boys Initiative:

In recent years evidence has begun to mount indicating that boys are regressing in the areas of academic achievement, social adjustment, health and well being. Boys' setbacks in these areas will inexorably lead to America's economic decline unless we begin to take steps to acknowledge, arrest and reverse them. Among the data documenting this slide have been those of Thomas Mortenson, whose economic research is frequently used to benchmark the status of men and boys in America. Mr. Mortenson has recently updated his data sets, which dramatically illustrate continuing declines in areas that have an economic impact on America's ability to compete in an increasingly competitive world. Research in other areas buttresses concern about the future of American boys in areas such as social adjustment, health and well being. The purpose of the briefing is to discuss Mr. Mortenson's data and the recent findings of other researchers in the context of efforts being made to address the needs of boys. In addition to those of The Boys Initiative, these efforts range from the work of mothers and boys to engage teachers and administrators at the local level to efforts to engage policymakers on the broad range of issues facing boys.

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.