"the adults are the problem" as in "the parents are the problem". Either give teachers the power to be the parent during the day or expect less. And when a teacher tell your son/daughter to go home and study, make sure they do! Too many people expect teachers to do this on their own and that's not going to happen. Take responsibility parents. Give up your children if you can't raise them to follow direction in the classroom.
@LittleMissLeared I beg to disagree. I don't want our kids to be "stupid". And they're far from it.
However, if we follow the counterproductive and deceptive policies advocated by Rhee and her funders---none of whom send their own children to public schools---it will, unfortunately only enhance the number of children who fail to reach their potential.
Black and Latino families aren't as stable as your average Asian family . Thats why Rhee can't understand why kids are failing. She doesn't know what it like to study when your getting evitcted ...
@dreamihad As an individual who grew up in a dysfunctional home (substance abusing father and church fanatic mother), I can agree with your statement, to an extent. However, I was lucky enough to attend magnet schools from K-12. The teachers believed in me where my parents had no energy or focus to help me. I am the only person in my immediate family to graduate from high school. I now have a bachelor's degree, and, one day, I'll get a master's. I think ANY good mentor is worthwhile.
@dreamihad If it weren't for the magnet program, I wouldn't have had the same quality of education, the support of good teachers who believed in me, or the same quality of life that I enjoy now. So, to say it's the families' responsibility is only 1/2 true. Quality educators matter, too. They come from focusing on recruiting & rewarding good teachers & getting rid of ones who clearly don't care. There should be no reason to keep those who engage in blatant misconduct.
@dreamihad It's more to it than that. The worst schools may be in inner cities, but the predominately white suburban kids are also lagging behind the kids in other industrialized countries as well. Some of the schools in many rural areas are bad off too.
To all of the imbeciles who most likely sucked in school themselves that are commenting negatively about Michell Rhee, you should take a look at Waiting For Superman, if you can't wrap you head around that then just take a look the fuck around you. You'd have to be blind to not see that the public school system we've had in place for nearly 50 years is making our children exponentially stupider. Year by year they more and more resemble Rocks, devoid of knowledge and dull. Good job.
@daPlumber702 "Waiting for Superman" was propaganda, similar to the "Educational Films" produced in the former USSR. Most people who have looked at it closely can see what a fabrication most of it is.
However, there are some naive types who eat this up with a spoon, mainly because they've been taught to detest anyone who teaches our children. Is that you, possibly?
I find it funny that Michelle Rhee quit after just a few years. She certainly doesn't have the passion or dedication (like that principal she fired) to help kids. Fake, politically motivated lady. Why didn't she stay? I'm glad she quit.
@eric251982 A different mayor was elected, (stupid people are stupid.. like you) for her to stay around with a mayor who before being voted into office promised to fight her every step of the way and reverse what he could of what she had done would have been pretty stupid considering what she's doing now.
@daPlumber702 "daPlumber" appears to be a shill, on the payroll of one of the many billionaires that are funding this "educational reform" movement.
Funny how the private schools they send their kids to are run 180 degrees different from what they advocate for the other 99% of society. Yet, some people are so used to bowing and scraping whenever a rich person speaks...it's pathetic.
@SteveNesich How I wish your crony political system was profitable for anyone but those at the higher levels of it. Sadly I'm only a product of the defunct educational system that you profess so loudly and ignorantly. How about actually learning about what it is you're talking about before spewing feces from your mouth?
Imagine all young generation being motivated with payment for their future careers since they are kids, the funds will be saved in some education program that will generate interest trough the years, only every summer kids can withdraw a couple of hundreds in reward, this will reactivate the economy and keep them focused in get best grades...part of welfare, tax refund, grants, gov funds, etc,.. money that adults trown away will help our kids now so they not need any loan when they mature
Pay salary to the kids since they are kids for all the hard work they are doing in schools and the US will be over educated in the future. If old people got programs that help them even if they didn't work as hard as kids why not create a program to take care of the young generation, based on good grades and giving incentives, a few hundreds every summer to push their interest and activate the economy, the money will come from income tax-parents, welfare, grants, gov...money will grow interest
It's shameful that Oprah allowed herself to get snowed like this. Someone on her staff should have done their homework. It's awful to watch her naively citing these false ideas and total claptrap.
In an interview with Newsweek, Oprah said, " . . . "Say what you will about the American educational system -- it does work.
I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going.
The sense that you need to learn just isn't there. If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school . . ."
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Michelle Rhee is in trouble for cheating. She had to resign. The students' tests had ridiculously high frequency of erasures-to-right-answers on their test. Teachers unions protect us from people like Rhee who have NO TEACHING EXPERIENCE.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Either she was behind it herself, or she is incompetent to have not seen it under her supervision. Either way, she is terrible at her job. Her main purpose is to distract form the obvious problems in schools.....economic inequality. Rich have best schools, poor have worst schools. That's why most of her supporters are rich people from the suburbs.
@DodgerRiley RICH still flunk. Why is that 1st generation ASIANS succeed? They came over here, live in the worst of all neighborhoods, speak no ENGLISH, & not a dime in their pocket, but still succeed without any government help, welfare, or subsidies? They are neglected by the government, because by reverse discrimination; people like you & OBAMA think we are white. Rather than be like the LATINOs or BLACKS, & yell racism, or blame the government like you; ASIANS only need WILL.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Bush is rich, and he went to Harvard. How many blacks and latinos that flunk do you think go to Harvard? Not all 1st generation asians succeed, that is racist view on your point and many do speak English. Many of those successful asians also go to school in rich neighborhoods (even if it means faking residency) which have well funded schools.
@DodgerRiley All 1st generations ASIANS succeed if they work hard. None of the 1st generation spoke any ENGLISH, because they came over here when they were in their late teens to early 20's. The 1st generation Asians especially VIETNAMESE did not even go to HIGH SCHOOL here in the USA. They went to high school in a 3rd world country, & got accepted into the top schools here in the USA in the late 60's & 70's. Blacks do not get into HARVARD because they do not sit on their butts & study.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Another example of repulsive, anti-black hate speech and racism. If you don't think this is racist, why don't you tell us your real name? Are you ashamed to attach your name to this drivel? (I know I would be.)
@DodgerRiley OBAMA as a senator help fund housing & education projects for blacks in the GHETTO of CHICAGO have been an abysmal failure. FREE welfare, foodstamps, free education K-12, & free housing. Now look at the government housing projects in CHICAGO, BILLIONS wasted & what did OBAMA do with all the money? OBAMA & his democratic cronies skim off the top of taxpayer money growing the bureaucracy & give a fraction back to his people, & blame the TEAPARTY when there is nothing left.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Perfect example of a vile, disgusting racist comment. There it is: Exhibit One of a Racist Mind, with lots of slander and character assassination to boot.
@DodgerRiley You are an IDIOT, those ASIANS that go to school in RICH NEIGHBORHOODS its because they are 2nd or 3rd GENERATION. 1st GENERATION means you were not born here in the USA, you were born in VIETNAM or CHINA. Back in the 60's & 70's where VIETNAM & CHINA was a 3rd world country under communists rule. They came to the USA with not a dime in their pocket, NO ENGLISH, & still study hard & graduate from the TOP COLLEGES.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Asians come from many countries other than Vietnam or China. If you go to Cali you will see a LOT of asian gang members involved with crime and drugs. They live in poor communities with similar problems to many poor non-asian families. It is great that there are SOME asians that exceed. There are also SOME blacks and latinos that succeed and go on to top colleges. You shoudln't just make blind assumptions based on race. Step outside of your box.
@DodgerRiley Yeah, they are IDIOTS just like the BLACK & LATINO GANGS. So what is your point? They squandered their opportunity. It goes to show you that no matter what race you are, if u are lazy, even if you are ASIAN, you will not succeed. 95% of all 1st generations succeeded. Compared to the 2nd & 3rd generations were they did not face the hardship & are lazy & want everything for free, hence 2nd & 3rd generations are not as successful as 1st generations. There is no incentive to work hard.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor It's not about laziness. There are plenty of masseuse parlors that have lots of 1st generation Asian Americans. Would you consider them successful? Do you think the person working double shifts at minimum wage pay to feed their family lazy? You are living in a dream world. You are just cherry picking the ones that succeed to fit your twisted, isolated view of the world.
@DodgerRiley Like I said, if you do not have an education & work hard dont expect to succeed in life. If you work double shift to work for your family u are an IDIOT, you should not have kids to begin with, & shift the responsibility towards others. Be responsible, take life into your hands, its not the governments job MORON to feed your kid. Live in the dream world? How about you live in the real world, & live within your means.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Access to abortion clinics and sex education (safe sex oriented) are also part of the economic divide in schools and communities. Living within means is complicated by rising cost of living with decreasing wages. Even for bare essentials. Visit China. Even successful, educated people their are virtual slaves to the cost of their homes.
@DodgerRiley Rising cost is due to OBAMA printing money to bail out the banks. The Chinese government is manipulating its currency. Rather than let the FREE MARKET take it course, IDIOTS like OBAMA & the CHINESE government meddle their affairs in the free system & throw a wrench in it.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Rising cost of living has been going on for decades. It's just that now, its gotten so bad that even families that are middleclass can't even get by. The bank bailout was done in fall of 2008. Obama wasn't even president then.
@DodgerRiley Yes, but you're citing facts and speaking rationally. "UCSDEMakeBelieve" is a bit unhinged. Which is why he uses profanity and ALL CAPS throughout his cowardly and quisling-like rants. Some people despise those who work for a living, unless they're among the very top of the income scale. Everyone else---like teachers---is less than human and unworthy of respect. This guy is a poster boy for that mentality. I hope he gets help. Look what happened to that sad, pathetic Breitbart guy.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor "the free system"? Can you describe this? Or is it some sort of amorphous fantasy you have a vague idea about? Is is like the school in Harry Potter, but more mean-spirited and inhumane?
@UCSDEngineerDoctor These comments are about as vile and putrid as anything I've ever seen on the web. No wonder this man hides his real identity. Just disgusting.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Also, if you're going to write such Goebbels inspired, vile, racist words of hatred, I suggest you at least make an attempt to use the English language properly.
It wouldn't enhance the credibility of your fatuous and reprehensible blather, but it might help educate those who agree with you and help them take the first step to get out of their trailers.
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Well, at least you're coming clean about your real objective. "Educational Reform" my butt; your agenda is to replace well trained and dedicated professionals with "teachers" that cost no more than your average Walmart worker and who can be fired at will, anytime, for any reason.
You just hate the idea of working people joining together to improve their pay and working conditions. Don't you, Mr. "EngineerDoctor"
@SteveNesich Join all you want, do not ask the private sector to pay for it moron. Does WalMart tax the middle class to pay for it workers pensions? Or even pay for child molesters pensions like LA UNIFIED teachers UNION member Mark Berndt who fed 6 year girls/boys his own semen who gets his pensions for life, because the UNIONs want a piece of his payout for their own dues, & the taxpayers are left footing the bill, because the UNIONs do not give a SHIT!
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Obtuse nonsense: WalMart doesn't offer pensions. The Walton family steals the labor of their workforce and further enriches themselves. (Billions aren't enough for that family.) WalMart DOES effectively tax the middle class by encouraging their workers to seek food stamps and Medicaid and free school breakfasts and lunches because of the non-union slave wages they offer.
Mark Berndt? How about Mark Foley? Would it be fair to say he's typical of all conservative politicians?
@SteveNesich Why dont you google Mark Berndt, who decades ago molested 5-6 girls & the teachers UNION & LA UNIFIED sweep it under the rug, so that they can get still get dues from him.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee were married over the weekend in a private ceremony in Tennessee.
The wedding came almost a year to the day after the couple's originally scheduled wedding date. Johnson's office announced Tuesday that the ceremony was held Saturday at Blackberry Farm near Knoxville.
Oh, thanks Oprah for kind words! And I know that Rhee and her corporatist teacher-union busting snake oil salesfolk are the ONLY ones who can truly judge whether a teacher is "good" or bad or somewhere in-between. Oh, and how long did Rhee actually teach in Baltimore?
@marcostar57 It is not how long a teacher have been teaching, but it is about how effective a teacher can teach. How much impact they have on the students base on their track record. If you have a good teaching track record, no one can really argue with you. Again, a track record is not about how long you have been teaching. Rhee has a good track record in students' performance and improvement. And it didn't take her long to realize the problem and find the solution.
@marcostar57 Name calling a stranger says a lot about you. Fyi, I have been through 11 schools in the U.S. and many other schools around the world. You might choke if you know me better.
wow just wow is this what Oprah talking about? this is just BS. Im not taking her seriously anymore. does she know about the private interests that trying privatase the public schools. Basically taking away tax payers money from public schools channeling them into charters school. Charters school take our tax payers money but kick out "difficult" to teach kids, students w disabilities. thank you but no thank you. How about reforming our public schools by funding them efficiently
@dharmaatdawn Those public schools have failed for nearly 50 years STRAIGHT. You need to learn about what you're saying before you say it. You're absolutely bat shit crazy or just plain stupid if you think public schools are a good thing today. You're even more crazy or stupid if you think they haven't been funded efficiently. Their budged jumps by percentage points in the 10s and 20s EVERY YEAR! Fuck! People like you will burn the world down with brainlessness.
Ugh, Bill Gates and Michelle Rhee-- two people pushing for the privatization of our public education systems. They should be ashamed of themselves. Teachers aren't the problem, it's poverty. You can have the best teachers in the classroom, but if a kid is hungry and has an unstable home life, you can bet it's going to be hard to teach them. This corporate agenda of ee reform has to stop.
@teastea1 but its easier to blame everything else the schools, teachers, students. anything that will allow not to look at poverty and its effect in the richest country in the world. its very convinient strategy and it allows you to make more money by privatization. if one continues to underfund something well its gonna fail. thats for they doing to the public schools.cant believe Oprah is pushing this...
It's the administrators, educational consultants, and big publishing companies that are making all the money!
How did schools get to be so top heavy?
Too many chiefs, and not enough Indians!
In the 70's, each classroom had an instructional aide. Now, there are no aides, but plenty of instructional "coaches". People who walk around with a clipboard in one hand and a latte in the other. You could hire a private tutor for each student with
MIchelle Rhee was so dedicated to the DC schools that she put in almost THREE years and quit. Wow. That's true dedication to the children. Oprah is a bitch for this show too.
Yes! Let’s get rid of all those ugly, old, wrinkled, gray-haired, denture-wearing, bifocal-wearing, arthritic, slow-moving teachers that stink like Ben-Gay!
Let’s replace them with pretty, young teachers that can keep up the pace!
Rhee has her own problems she should have to explain. See the blog: Ateacheronteaching.blogspot.com (Grading School Reformers: Michelle Rhee and the Miracle of Rising Test Scores).
PEOPLE PEOPLE - OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IS SO OUT OF PLACE AND SHIT FOR OUR CHILDREN - AT LEAST THERE IS A VOICE OF CONCERN - YOU PEOPLE GOING ON ABOUT HOW FRAUDULENT MICHELLE IS - YOU TRY THE JOB
For those of you who are "Anti-Michelle Rhee" - This is what ALL parents of high needs, urban public school students know... for our poorest of children, good teachers are extremely few and far between. If your experience has only been with schools and school teachers who do not fit this category than you have absolutely NO idea what you are talking about. Inner city public schools are a nightmare with the worst teachers and no way out for these kids. Volunteer in a few and wake up...
You know, in 2009, the average student in Washington, D. C. was present only 88% of the time. Can you imagine the howls from critics if the average teacher missed 21.6 days?
I think Rhee simplifies everything when she says education is all about teachers. See: ateacheronteaching.blogspot.com. Read the post on "Michelle Rhee and the Dumb Judge."
there are teachers that don't deserve to be in the classroom, just as there are students who don't deserve to be in the classroom. It's not PC, but I think mom and dad have to be at least equally responsible, if not more, for their kids' behavior and grades. So if their kid is bad, should we just cancel their parentship? maybe we should! Maybe we should also fire police for them working in a high-crime area? Or firing prison guards for them working with ill-behaved prisoners?
It's time to stop thinking about the US as the leading fingure and always having to reinventing the wheel. Go and haul teachers from other countries like Singapore, China and Finland, and get a diagnostic report from them. Be humble and learn. Otherwise, all those discussions (debates) will only be based on the eloquence of the speakers instead of truth.
As a teacher orginally from Asia, I find the US ten times more difficult to teach. Not the least of which is the respect teachers have here. When what teachers say isn't valued, you have to spend ten times more energy on classroom management before students listen to you. Big waste of time and energy to teach in America. Teachers should be given more power and respect. That's how I see the problems solved. Believe me, the problem doesn't lie in teachers. Instead, it lies in how kids are pampered
@TheRyuya123 Good teachers deserve more power and respect. Not all teachers are good. For my HS chemistry, all we did was sleep in class and eat. This happened within the first two weeks of my 11th grade year. She had tenure. Does she deserve respect? No. However, my Math teacher who prepared me for college level math, deserves more pay and respect than my Chemistry teacher. If a teacher doesn't know how to handle students, they shouldn't be teaching. There are other teachers who can do better.
@TheRyuya123 On many occasions, Michelle Rhee claimed that she took 90% of her students from the 13th percentile to the 90th percentile or above in less than 2 years!
Isn’t that statistically impossible? “Normal Distribution”? “Bell Curve”?
Why hasn’t anyone interviewed her former students? Or their parents? Or her former principal? Or her former co-workers? Her fellow teachers?
I’m sure they all will have plenty to say about those scores!
@TheRyuya123 I disagree, the reason children in America are like that because we have too many ineffective teachers in America. I have been to 4 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 3 high schools. I have many experiences with bad teachers. Ineffective teachers are the real problem. Children who have experience with too many ineffective teachers led them to misbehave in school. Ineffective teacher cannot have control over classroom and earn respect.
@TheRyuya123 - How many poor urban schools have your taught in? If the answer is zero than your opinion holds no water. Also, not sure what they teach you in Asian teaching colleges, but American teaching colleges use the world's foremost experts on the subject and teach us that the absolute number one determining factor of whether or not a child will succeed is the quality of his or her teacher. Fact. I have led many high needs, urban students to academic/social success. It's the teachers.
@TheRyuya123 You're not entirely wrong, just greatly wrong. Most kids in America want to learn, always have. It's not exactly the teachers either though there are a great number in America that do more to make kids stupid then they ever will to teach, which is a larger contributor to what you're talking about.
@TheRyuya123 When a student see's 5 teachers that are wastes of oxygen they begin to feel there is a good chance they all could be. Not too mention the effect it has on the teachers around the Shit-tastic teachers.
Let me ask you, in Asia when a teacher has low productivity rates what happens? Do they continue to teach for the rest of their lives even though their classes are making a 60% average? In America they do. And THAT is the problem.
I called a flagged school in DC -- Wilson Elementary -- and asked if they would be willing to have their students retested to see if their prior highly suspect test results were real. The lady refused over the phone. I said that's consciousness of guilt and said her school and testing were frauds to get federal money. She did not deny it!! Fact!! Investigate that. DC schools are full of corrupt dummies!!!
Shame on Michelle Rhee for trying to cover up the blatant evidence of fraud on the DC schools competency tests. They had the financial incentive to cheat to get millions in bonuses! The tests had enormous numbers of erasures of wrong to right answers. The parents and teachers said the students were not any smarter, yet the test scores went up dramatically. One father said his black daughter could barely add and subtract but "tested" high in multiplication and division, which she couldn't do!!!
For social empowerment messages, educational quotes and inspiring proverbs, Follow Philadelphia Education Reform Advocate Flood the Drummer on Twitter @floodthedrummer. Check out Flood the Drummer's new video "TRX Cymbal Bells Ring, School Reform is in Session.
Michelle Rhee taught us that the #1 roadblock to better schools is the teacher's union. America has the highest compensated and least effective teachers in the world.
exactly- ur right-Asians raise their kids better (especially the Asain Moms). Everyone forgets Obama is half asian on his mothers side (that's why he's so smart).
@SarahsSeniorYear: Howdy partner! OMG, are you serious???!!! Did you know his father was an outstanding student and before you start, to Western educational standards and that he received an M.A for economics from Harvard University. But please don't let the facts come in between the truth and some good ole racist views! Something else; what education did you have, miss Einstein?
@samantha34ize: And you think come over as smart for making these bold, biased and unsubstantiated statements about minority groups? Not really! A lot of people make very poor choices in life. We could point the finger all day long at them or try and live our own lives as good and honest as possible. And maybe even help those in dire need. I suggest you do the same! Good day!
Somewhere in heaven, there is a special place for inner-city teachers! These hard-working dedicated teachers work with the children of gang-members, prostitutes, drug-addicts, illegal aliens, poverty-stricken families, etc.
Even after they "retire", they volunteer their time in soup kitchens, women's shelters, and adult literacy programs.
As Mother Teresa once said to her critics "No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work".
If you are an elementary teacher and is struggling how to teach basic math in your class.
Go to ... youtube.... channel .... lionking4277.. and watch my videos. It's free!
Most of your students will start solving with you within minutes of your instruction,. Teachers don't lose hope in teaching. It is just a matter of technique and the right method. Surprise yourself with good results. Just follow my simple step by step in teaching basic math. Tell me the results later!
Having see Rhee lecture in person a few times, I can see why people in DC approved of the job she did, but not of her. She deserves a medal for her obvious dedication and efforts...and also a slap across the chops for being a total b***h about it. She is one of the most obnoxiously smug and rude people I have ever seen. For someone who cares so much about education, she could stand a few lessons in bedside manners.
Fire half the teachers in public schools and maybe you might get to the heart of the problem. But first you need to eviscerate the fat in the school hiearchy
@chemosurfer And what kind of approach do you mean...that a bad employee should be fired, and that children should have good teachers, b/c I think thats a pretty good approach.
I'm just stateing time out only works part of the time and fir a rebellious child the ability to have control is crucial to being able to teach a child. That just one factor on a childs upbringing because it's not all for the teachers to be patents and teachers. They are teachers and alot of them are stepping up to parenting these students where there are no teal patenting at home. The learning process begins at home.
It's not only the parents as adults that are the problem it's the whole system of adult that are the problem God gave patents the right to spank a child if that child will not listen. Well we have soo many rebellious children in our society today because they have the upper hand for example " your not the boss of me! I don't have to listen to you! I'll do what the hell I feel like doing! If you lay a hand on me your going to jail" I'm not insisting child abuse but society "c.p.s." will insinuat
Waiting for Superman is bogus--and so is Rhee--in its narrow focus on kids and families who care about education. There are families that DON'T care and they are a much bigger problem than bad teachers. Waiting for Superman focuses on teachers unions as the problem: it doesn't focus on the 140,000 students in NYC schools who missed more than a month of classes in one year. It doesn't focus on Chicago where 300 public school kids were shot or killed last year alone. Rhee is simplistic.
Blaming teachers is akin to blaming dentists for kids' cavities!
Is it the dentist's fault, if you let your kid eats candy all day and never brushes or flosses his/her teeth?
Is it the teachers' fault if the students never study or do their homework?
I think it's time, we started holding parents and students accountable!
Also, there are too many over-paid administrators who do absolutely NOTHING, but walk around with clipboards and lattes, pointing fingers, but never really doing
As school superintendant, Michelle Rhee called community activists
"professional naysayers." Does Oprah share her cynicism about the mothers and fathers of public school children?
Rhee only got the Washington, D.C., superintendant role because a $64.5 million donation to the school system from special interests stipulated it. She had just three years' teaching experience!
Oprah, next time examine your guest's credibility before singing her praises.
My best friend has been a teacher in a very poor performing public school here in CA for 11 years. Yes, he's frustrated and complains frequently about how parents do not contribute to their children's education. But he also acknowledges that he has seen many of the 'older' teachers do a half-ass job and "coast" because they're not afraid of losing their jobs . My tax dollars shouldn't go to teachers like that..
God bless the hard-working, dedicated, and BRAVE teachers who risk their lives daily in order to teach the children of the inner-city!
According to Uniform Crime Report statistics compiled by the FBI, there were 1,437.7 VIOLENT CRIMES per 100,000 people reported in the District of Columbia in 2008.
There were 5,104.6 property crimes per 100,000 reported during the same period.
VIOLENT CRIME was 3 times the national average of 454.5 reported offenses per 100,000 people in 2008.
black culture is the true problem. black kids should not have to have it imposed on them to work hard, not steal and not be a menace to society. this should be built into their culture and come from their parents. black culture glorifies a lack of education, violence, promiscuity, etc. and that's the REAL problem that no one is talking about
Rhee ruined everything. She fired some great teachers and principals and had nobody to replace them with.
And how's she fit to judge who's a great teacher? I saw "Waiting for Superman" and I was NOT convinced. Teachers need the help of the parents to get the kdis to learn. Rhee just wants to sweep the kids under the rug.
@MsJanetWood clearly their interests werent that vested considering the fact that DC schools was the worst performing in America!! i am a young black male college student in DC and I used to volunteer at Bruce Monroe Elementary and ive seen alot!! these younger white people you say that are "just passing through the ghetto" are there to help our kids. instead of waisting time bringing them down why dont you spend more time encouraging young black men and women to teach!!!
@MsJanetWood if the older veteran teachers COST more wouldn't it be more favorable (esp. to the budget) to bring in new teachers with fresh new ideas and new objectives. i'm not saying that the older teachers are bad i'm just saying that the change is good. how are the IMPACT evaluations biased if all the teachers go through the same process? and Rhee also did not remove ALL of the black teachers.
@MsJanetWood Nobody is saying fire teacher's based on age or salary. Rhee and her supporters are saying stop overpaying for bad teachers. If you're good at your job then you should have nothing to worry about, however I see you spamming every video about this woman and you seem very worried.
This is really common sense, the changes Rhee is suggesting would simply hold teacher's to the same standards as every other professional in the country. Show up and work hard and you'll be rewarded.
@jbatlas24 For Rhee and her cronies it's all about teachers, and holding them accountable (good in theory) for all achievement in the classroom. If any person has taught, as I have, they know teachers DO NOT control numerous factors that effect students' performance. I can't be held accountable for those things beyond my control, nor should test scores be the main means of determing my effectiveness as a teacher. Teachers, parents, administration, & students should ALL be held accountable.
Get'em Michelle! Yeap, anti-Christian bigots don't like women who believe in discipline for schools and aren't influenced by liberal agendas or labor union bosses. That's why you guys will never be bigger than God. And yeah I don't give a flip if gay google and youtube never rate my comments on youtube with +10 thumbs up. I love being the underdog 'cause when Jesus comes back Ima turn into a champ.....hahahaha!
@adagatiya That is not a very good analogy. How can you compare a child with a wall? Unless, you've actually been in a classroom, you will NEVER, EVER understand.
"Be wary of people with simple solutions to complex problems."
Scapegoating teachers is not cool. Not cool at all.
@adagatiya Do you think a POLICE OFFICER working in Oakland, Compton, Watts, or East L.A. has the SAME LEVEL of STRESS and PRESSURE, as cop in Beverly Hills?
Do you think WALKING along RODEO DRIVE is EQUAL to WALKING ALONG 54TH AND CRENSHAW?
A policeman friend of mine went to his wife's Back-to-School-Night. Imagine his surprise when he realized he had PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED half of the parents in attendance!
TIP FOR NEW TEACHERS IN THE INNER-CITY: "DUCK, those aren't FIRECRACKERS!"
@MsJanetWood Of course there is more pressure and stress in high crime inner cities but that does not mean the police don't have to do the job they applied for and are getting paid for.
I have great respect for the police. They do a job that I sure wouldn't want.
I think teachers that give their best to inspire and educate their students deserve our praise and every penny of their pay. But if you can't/won't do the job, step aside and let someone in who can/will. Our kids are owed that much.
I'm still waiting for the REALITY SHOW starring Michelle Rhee! I want to see her attempt to teach Remedial Math to a group of junior high school kids! Different ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds! 5 periods X 35 students per class! 5 days a week!
A panel of Educational Experts would critique her teaching each week!
@MsJanetWood Not sure where you are going with this but if Michelle Rhee attempted to teach remedial math in a junior high with 35 students per class, 5 classes a day, 5 days a week and failed, well then she should be fired as a teacher. Letting a unproductive teacher continue to teach obviously doesn't solve the problem. I stand by what I said. If you can't/won't then get out of the way for someone who can/will.
@adagatiya I agree, Michelle Rhee was fired because she would not bow ,to the teacher unions,and she demanded results,she fired over a 1000 good for nothing teachers,this scared the shit out of the teachers union's power structure and she was fired because of it,i'am sure she got a big pay off for leaving quietly,this proves schools in american ghettos won't change,these so called educators will keep eating off these poor childeren,poltics over america's kids,thumbs up.
"the adults are the problem" as in "the parents are the problem". Either give teachers the power to be the parent during the day or expect less. And when a teacher tell your son/daughter to go home and study, make sure they do! Too many people expect teachers to do this on their own and that's not going to happen. Take responsibility parents. Give up your children if you can't raise them to follow direction in the classroom.
conmoto 15 hours ago
Screw it all. Just let all the kids stay stupid. We can always hire skilled foreigners to fill jobs.
LittleMissLeared 1 week ago
@LittleMissLeared I beg to disagree. I don't want our kids to be "stupid". And they're far from it.
However, if we follow the counterproductive and deceptive policies advocated by Rhee and her funders---none of whom send their own children to public schools---it will, unfortunately only enhance the number of children who fail to reach their potential.
SteveNesich 4 days ago
Black and Latino families aren't as stable as your average Asian family . Thats why Rhee can't understand why kids are failing. She doesn't know what it like to study when your getting evitcted ...
dreamihad 1 month ago
@dreamihad As an individual who grew up in a dysfunctional home (substance abusing father and church fanatic mother), I can agree with your statement, to an extent. However, I was lucky enough to attend magnet schools from K-12. The teachers believed in me where my parents had no energy or focus to help me. I am the only person in my immediate family to graduate from high school. I now have a bachelor's degree, and, one day, I'll get a master's. I think ANY good mentor is worthwhile.
metalfemme131313 1 month ago
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metalfemme131313 1 month ago
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@dreamihad If it weren't for the magnet program, I wouldn't have had the same quality of education, the support of good teachers who believed in me, or the same quality of life that I enjoy now. So, to say it's the families' responsibility is only 1/2 true. Quality educators matter, too. They come from focusing on recruiting & rewarding good teachers & getting rid of ones who clearly don't care. There should be no reason to keep those who engage in blatant misconduct.
metalfemme131313 1 month ago
@dreamihad It's more to it than that. The worst schools may be in inner cities, but the predominately white suburban kids are also lagging behind the kids in other industrialized countries as well. Some of the schools in many rural areas are bad off too.
josephc28 1 month ago
To all of the imbeciles who most likely sucked in school themselves that are commenting negatively about Michell Rhee, you should take a look at Waiting For Superman, if you can't wrap you head around that then just take a look the fuck around you. You'd have to be blind to not see that the public school system we've had in place for nearly 50 years is making our children exponentially stupider. Year by year they more and more resemble Rocks, devoid of knowledge and dull. Good job.
daPlumber702 2 months ago
@daPlumber702 "Waiting for Superman" was propaganda, similar to the "Educational Films" produced in the former USSR. Most people who have looked at it closely can see what a fabrication most of it is.
However, there are some naive types who eat this up with a spoon, mainly because they've been taught to detest anyone who teaches our children. Is that you, possibly?
SteveNesich 1 month ago
I find it funny that Michelle Rhee quit after just a few years. She certainly doesn't have the passion or dedication (like that principal she fired) to help kids. Fake, politically motivated lady. Why didn't she stay? I'm glad she quit.
eric251982 3 months ago 2
@eric251982 A different mayor was elected, (stupid people are stupid.. like you) for her to stay around with a mayor who before being voted into office promised to fight her every step of the way and reverse what he could of what she had done would have been pretty stupid considering what she's doing now.
Why DO you hate children so much?
daPlumber702 2 months ago
@daPlumber702 "daPlumber" appears to be a shill, on the payroll of one of the many billionaires that are funding this "educational reform" movement.
Funny how the private schools they send their kids to are run 180 degrees different from what they advocate for the other 99% of society. Yet, some people are so used to bowing and scraping whenever a rich person speaks...it's pathetic.
SteveNesich 1 month ago
@SteveNesich How I wish your crony political system was profitable for anyone but those at the higher levels of it. Sadly I'm only a product of the defunct educational system that you profess so loudly and ignorantly. How about actually learning about what it is you're talking about before spewing feces from your mouth?
daPlumber702 1 month ago
Good information and great opportunity to understand classroom management. Prem Kumar
marisaprem 3 months ago
Imagine all young generation being motivated with payment for their future careers since they are kids, the funds will be saved in some education program that will generate interest trough the years, only every summer kids can withdraw a couple of hundreds in reward, this will reactivate the economy and keep them focused in get best grades...part of welfare, tax refund, grants, gov funds, etc,.. money that adults trown away will help our kids now so they not need any loan when they mature
firu864 3 months ago
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Pay salary to the kids since they are kids for all the hard work they are doing in schools and the US will be over educated in the future. If old people got programs that help them even if they didn't work as hard as kids why not create a program to take care of the young generation, based on good grades and giving incentives, a few hundreds every summer to push their interest and activate the economy, the money will come from income tax-parents, welfare, grants, gov...money will grow interest
firu864 3 months ago
It's shameful that Oprah allowed herself to get snowed like this. Someone on her staff should have done their homework. It's awful to watch her naively citing these false ideas and total claptrap.
SteveNesich 4 months ago
"Don't get angry we're not talking about you."
Wait..... what's that sound...... the floor is rumbling
oh... fuck... they heard us
Good job michelle making cuts under the guise of no child left behind. You even had the so called queen of the progressive left fooled.
catbuffalo 4 months ago 2
In an interview with Newsweek, Oprah said, " . . . "Say what you will about the American educational system -- it does work.
I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going.
The sense that you need to learn just isn't there. If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school . . ."
Schools are a reflection of their communities!
MsJanetWood 4 months ago
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megsmallwood 4 months ago
Michelle Rhee's rash decisions just cost DC schools, $7.5 million dollars!
MsJanetWood 5 months ago
Michelle Rhee should be praised. The teachers UNION should be abolished.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 5 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Michelle Rhee is in trouble for cheating. She had to resign. The students' tests had ridiculously high frequency of erasures-to-right-answers on their test. Teachers unions protect us from people like Rhee who have NO TEACHING EXPERIENCE.
DodgerRiley 5 months ago
@DodgerRiley The only person that was cheating was BEVERLY HALL & the teachers UNION.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 5 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Either she was behind it herself, or she is incompetent to have not seen it under her supervision. Either way, she is terrible at her job. Her main purpose is to distract form the obvious problems in schools.....economic inequality. Rich have best schools, poor have worst schools. That's why most of her supporters are rich people from the suburbs.
DodgerRiley 5 months ago
@DodgerRiley RICH still flunk. Why is that 1st generation ASIANS succeed? They came over here, live in the worst of all neighborhoods, speak no ENGLISH, & not a dime in their pocket, but still succeed without any government help, welfare, or subsidies? They are neglected by the government, because by reverse discrimination; people like you & OBAMA think we are white. Rather than be like the LATINOs or BLACKS, & yell racism, or blame the government like you; ASIANS only need WILL.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 5 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Bush is rich, and he went to Harvard. How many blacks and latinos that flunk do you think go to Harvard? Not all 1st generation asians succeed, that is racist view on your point and many do speak English. Many of those successful asians also go to school in rich neighborhoods (even if it means faking residency) which have well funded schools.
DodgerRiley 5 months ago
@DodgerRiley All 1st generations ASIANS succeed if they work hard. None of the 1st generation spoke any ENGLISH, because they came over here when they were in their late teens to early 20's. The 1st generation Asians especially VIETNAMESE did not even go to HIGH SCHOOL here in the USA. They went to high school in a 3rd world country, & got accepted into the top schools here in the USA in the late 60's & 70's. Blacks do not get into HARVARD because they do not sit on their butts & study.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 5 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Another example of repulsive, anti-black hate speech and racism. If you don't think this is racist, why don't you tell us your real name? Are you ashamed to attach your name to this drivel? (I know I would be.)
SteveNesich 4 days ago
@DodgerRiley OBAMA as a senator help fund housing & education projects for blacks in the GHETTO of CHICAGO have been an abysmal failure. FREE welfare, foodstamps, free education K-12, & free housing. Now look at the government housing projects in CHICAGO, BILLIONS wasted & what did OBAMA do with all the money? OBAMA & his democratic cronies skim off the top of taxpayer money growing the bureaucracy & give a fraction back to his people, & blame the TEAPARTY when there is nothing left.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 5 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor And, your racist remarks are clear too. Why don't you stop hiding behind your Internet identity and tell us who you are, racist?
SteveNesich 1 month ago
@SteveNesich What racists remarks are those? Please quote me.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 1 month ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Perfect example of a vile, disgusting racist comment. There it is: Exhibit One of a Racist Mind, with lots of slander and character assassination to boot.
SteveNesich 4 days ago
@DodgerRiley You are an IDIOT, those ASIANS that go to school in RICH NEIGHBORHOODS its because they are 2nd or 3rd GENERATION. 1st GENERATION means you were not born here in the USA, you were born in VIETNAM or CHINA. Back in the 60's & 70's where VIETNAM & CHINA was a 3rd world country under communists rule. They came to the USA with not a dime in their pocket, NO ENGLISH, & still study hard & graduate from the TOP COLLEGES.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 5 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Asians come from many countries other than Vietnam or China. If you go to Cali you will see a LOT of asian gang members involved with crime and drugs. They live in poor communities with similar problems to many poor non-asian families. It is great that there are SOME asians that exceed. There are also SOME blacks and latinos that succeed and go on to top colleges. You shoudln't just make blind assumptions based on race. Step outside of your box.
DodgerRiley 4 months ago
@DodgerRiley Yeah, they are IDIOTS just like the BLACK & LATINO GANGS. So what is your point? They squandered their opportunity. It goes to show you that no matter what race you are, if u are lazy, even if you are ASIAN, you will not succeed. 95% of all 1st generations succeeded. Compared to the 2nd & 3rd generations were they did not face the hardship & are lazy & want everything for free, hence 2nd & 3rd generations are not as successful as 1st generations. There is no incentive to work hard.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 4 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor It's not about laziness. There are plenty of masseuse parlors that have lots of 1st generation Asian Americans. Would you consider them successful? Do you think the person working double shifts at minimum wage pay to feed their family lazy? You are living in a dream world. You are just cherry picking the ones that succeed to fit your twisted, isolated view of the world.
DodgerRiley 4 months ago
@DodgerRiley Like I said, if you do not have an education & work hard dont expect to succeed in life. If you work double shift to work for your family u are an IDIOT, you should not have kids to begin with, & shift the responsibility towards others. Be responsible, take life into your hands, its not the governments job MORON to feed your kid. Live in the dream world? How about you live in the real world, & live within your means.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 4 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Access to abortion clinics and sex education (safe sex oriented) are also part of the economic divide in schools and communities. Living within means is complicated by rising cost of living with decreasing wages. Even for bare essentials. Visit China. Even successful, educated people their are virtual slaves to the cost of their homes.
DodgerRiley 4 months ago
@DodgerRiley Rising cost is due to OBAMA printing money to bail out the banks. The Chinese government is manipulating its currency. Rather than let the FREE MARKET take it course, IDIOTS like OBAMA & the CHINESE government meddle their affairs in the free system & throw a wrench in it.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 4 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Rising cost of living has been going on for decades. It's just that now, its gotten so bad that even families that are middleclass can't even get by. The bank bailout was done in fall of 2008. Obama wasn't even president then.
DodgerRiley 4 months ago
@DodgerRiley Yes, but you're citing facts and speaking rationally. "UCSDEMakeBelieve" is a bit unhinged. Which is why he uses profanity and ALL CAPS throughout his cowardly and quisling-like rants. Some people despise those who work for a living, unless they're among the very top of the income scale. Everyone else---like teachers---is less than human and unworthy of respect. This guy is a poster boy for that mentality. I hope he gets help. Look what happened to that sad, pathetic Breitbart guy.
SteveNesich 4 days ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor "the free system"? Can you describe this? Or is it some sort of amorphous fantasy you have a vague idea about? Is is like the school in Harry Potter, but more mean-spirited and inhumane?
SteveNesich 4 days ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor These comments are about as vile and putrid as anything I've ever seen on the web. No wonder this man hides his real identity. Just disgusting.
SteveNesich 4 days ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Also, if you're going to write such Goebbels inspired, vile, racist words of hatred, I suggest you at least make an attempt to use the English language properly.
It wouldn't enhance the credibility of your fatuous and reprehensible blather, but it might help educate those who agree with you and help them take the first step to get out of their trailers.
SteveNesich 4 days ago
@DodgerRiley
How many people from any ethnicity who flunk out of high school go to Harvard?
eric251982 3 months ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Well, at least you're coming clean about your real objective. "Educational Reform" my butt; your agenda is to replace well trained and dedicated professionals with "teachers" that cost no more than your average Walmart worker and who can be fired at will, anytime, for any reason.
You just hate the idea of working people joining together to improve their pay and working conditions. Don't you, Mr. "EngineerDoctor"
SteveNesich 1 month ago
@SteveNesich Join all you want, do not ask the private sector to pay for it moron. Does WalMart tax the middle class to pay for it workers pensions? Or even pay for child molesters pensions like LA UNIFIED teachers UNION member Mark Berndt who fed 6 year girls/boys his own semen who gets his pensions for life, because the UNIONs want a piece of his payout for their own dues, & the taxpayers are left footing the bill, because the UNIONs do not give a SHIT!
UCSDEngineerDoctor 1 month ago
@UCSDEngineerDoctor Obtuse nonsense: WalMart doesn't offer pensions. The Walton family steals the labor of their workforce and further enriches themselves. (Billions aren't enough for that family.) WalMart DOES effectively tax the middle class by encouraging their workers to seek food stamps and Medicaid and free school breakfasts and lunches because of the non-union slave wages they offer.
Mark Berndt? How about Mark Foley? Would it be fair to say he's typical of all conservative politicians?
SteveNesich 4 days ago
@SteveNesich Why dont you google Mark Berndt, who decades ago molested 5-6 girls & the teachers UNION & LA UNIFIED sweep it under the rug, so that they can get still get dues from him.
UCSDEngineerDoctor 4 days ago
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee were married over the weekend in a private ceremony in Tennessee.
The wedding came almost a year to the day after the couple's originally scheduled wedding date. Johnson's office announced Tuesday that the ceremony was held Saturday at Blackberry Farm near Knoxville.
matterh1 6 months ago
Oh, thanks Oprah for kind words! And I know that Rhee and her corporatist teacher-union busting snake oil salesfolk are the ONLY ones who can truly judge whether a teacher is "good" or bad or somewhere in-between. Oh, and how long did Rhee actually teach in Baltimore?
marcostar57 6 months ago
@marcostar57 It is not how long a teacher have been teaching, but it is about how effective a teacher can teach. How much impact they have on the students base on their track record. If you have a good teaching track record, no one can really argue with you. Again, a track record is not about how long you have been teaching. Rhee has a good track record in students' performance and improvement. And it didn't take her long to realize the problem and find the solution.
daggerros 6 months ago
@daggerros I stand my comments -- I have been a teacher. You just parrot talking points.
marcostar57 6 months ago
@marcostar57 Name calling a stranger says a lot about you. Fyi, I have been through 11 schools in the U.S. and many other schools around the world. You might choke if you know me better.
daggerros 6 months ago
wow just wow is this what Oprah talking about? this is just BS. Im not taking her seriously anymore. does she know about the private interests that trying privatase the public schools. Basically taking away tax payers money from public schools channeling them into charters school. Charters school take our tax payers money but kick out "difficult" to teach kids, students w disabilities. thank you but no thank you. How about reforming our public schools by funding them efficiently
dharmaatdawn 6 months ago
@dharmaatdawn Those public schools have failed for nearly 50 years STRAIGHT. You need to learn about what you're saying before you say it. You're absolutely bat shit crazy or just plain stupid if you think public schools are a good thing today. You're even more crazy or stupid if you think they haven't been funded efficiently. Their budged jumps by percentage points in the 10s and 20s EVERY YEAR! Fuck! People like you will burn the world down with brainlessness.
daPlumber702 2 months ago
Ugh, Bill Gates and Michelle Rhee-- two people pushing for the privatization of our public education systems. They should be ashamed of themselves. Teachers aren't the problem, it's poverty. You can have the best teachers in the classroom, but if a kid is hungry and has an unstable home life, you can bet it's going to be hard to teach them. This corporate agenda of ee reform has to stop.
teastea1 6 months ago
@teastea1 but its easier to blame everything else the schools, teachers, students. anything that will allow not to look at poverty and its effect in the richest country in the world. its very convinient strategy and it allows you to make more money by privatization. if one continues to underfund something well its gonna fail. thats for they doing to the public schools.cant believe Oprah is pushing this...
dharmaatdawn 6 months ago
Teachers are not the ones making the big bucks!
It's the administrators, educational consultants, and big publishing companies that are making all the money!
How did schools get to be so top heavy?
Too many chiefs, and not enough Indians!
In the 70's, each classroom had an instructional aide. Now, there are no aides, but plenty of instructional "coaches". People who walk around with a clipboard in one hand and a latte in the other. You could hire a private tutor for each student with
MsJanetWood 6 months ago
MIchelle Rhee was so dedicated to the DC schools that she put in almost THREE years and quit. Wow. That's true dedication to the children. Oprah is a bitch for this show too.
eric251982 7 months ago
Yes! Let’s get rid of all those ugly, old, wrinkled, gray-haired, denture-wearing, bifocal-wearing, arthritic, slow-moving teachers that stink like Ben-Gay!
Let’s replace them with pretty, young teachers that can keep up the pace!
What a great idea?
MsJanetWood 7 months ago
@MsJanetWood
I agree! And let's start more charter schools who pay teachers less. give them less benefits, and invite a lower class of teachers.
eric251982 7 months ago
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Rhee has her own problems she should have to explain. See the blog: Ateacheronteaching.blogspot.com (Grading School Reformers: Michelle Rhee and the Miracle of Rising Test Scores).
viall4diabetes 8 months ago
PEOPLE PEOPLE - OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IS SO OUT OF PLACE AND SHIT FOR OUR CHILDREN - AT LEAST THERE IS A VOICE OF CONCERN - YOU PEOPLE GOING ON ABOUT HOW FRAUDULENT MICHELLE IS - YOU TRY THE JOB
FreneticKey 8 months ago
@FreneticKey
I have tried the job, and I keep trying everyday, and I think I'm pretty good at it. Are you a teacher?
eric251982 7 months ago
@eric251982 I am not a teacher - i am a student studying Commerce Economics -
FreneticKey 7 months ago
For those of you who are "Anti-Michelle Rhee" - This is what ALL parents of high needs, urban public school students know... for our poorest of children, good teachers are extremely few and far between. If your experience has only been with schools and school teachers who do not fit this category than you have absolutely NO idea what you are talking about. Inner city public schools are a nightmare with the worst teachers and no way out for these kids. Volunteer in a few and wake up...
ferrclan 8 months ago
Go Michelle!
hoiiooiiooiiooiiooii 8 months ago
Oprah, You bought the conservative line. Beating up on teachers.
juliegrimme 9 months ago
@juliegrimme - Check your facts....President Obama supports Michelle Rhee. Volunteer in a few urban, high needs schools. You WILL change your tune.
ferrclan 8 months ago
@juliegrimme we need more unions. i agree
shotsky94 6 months ago
You know, in 2009, the average student in Washington, D. C. was present only 88% of the time. Can you imagine the howls from critics if the average teacher missed 21.6 days?
viall4diabetes 9 months ago
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I think Rhee simplifies everything when she says education is all about teachers. See: ateacheronteaching.blogspot.com. Read the post on "Michelle Rhee and the Dumb Judge."
viall4diabetes 9 months ago
<3
daggerros 9 months ago
Khan Academy! I rather sign up for private school or home school than send my kids to substandard public schools!
thearaban 10 months ago
Also, if she was so successful, why did she quit? Why didn't she stay in the classroom? Why did she go straight into administration?
She never even bothered to get her teaching credential! She never got her administrative credential either!
How does she get all those jobs with no credentials?
Seriously, I want to know!
MsJanetWood 10 months ago
there are teachers that don't deserve to be in the classroom, just as there are students who don't deserve to be in the classroom. It's not PC, but I think mom and dad have to be at least equally responsible, if not more, for their kids' behavior and grades. So if their kid is bad, should we just cancel their parentship? maybe we should! Maybe we should also fire police for them working in a high-crime area? Or firing prison guards for them working with ill-behaved prisoners?
TheRyuya123 10 months ago
It's time to stop thinking about the US as the leading fingure and always having to reinventing the wheel. Go and haul teachers from other countries like Singapore, China and Finland, and get a diagnostic report from them. Be humble and learn. Otherwise, all those discussions (debates) will only be based on the eloquence of the speakers instead of truth.
TheRyuya123 11 months ago
As a teacher orginally from Asia, I find the US ten times more difficult to teach. Not the least of which is the respect teachers have here. When what teachers say isn't valued, you have to spend ten times more energy on classroom management before students listen to you. Big waste of time and energy to teach in America. Teachers should be given more power and respect. That's how I see the problems solved. Believe me, the problem doesn't lie in teachers. Instead, it lies in how kids are pampered
TheRyuya123 11 months ago 17
@TheRyuya123 Good teachers deserve more power and respect. Not all teachers are good. For my HS chemistry, all we did was sleep in class and eat. This happened within the first two weeks of my 11th grade year. She had tenure. Does she deserve respect? No. However, my Math teacher who prepared me for college level math, deserves more pay and respect than my Chemistry teacher. If a teacher doesn't know how to handle students, they shouldn't be teaching. There are other teachers who can do better.
fitnesschaser01 10 months ago
@TheRyuya123 On many occasions, Michelle Rhee claimed that she took 90% of her students from the 13th percentile to the 90th percentile or above in less than 2 years!
Isn’t that statistically impossible? “Normal Distribution”? “Bell Curve”?
Why hasn’t anyone interviewed her former students? Or their parents? Or her former principal? Or her former co-workers? Her fellow teachers?
I’m sure they all will have plenty to say about those scores!
Where's the proof of her academic success?
MsJanetWood 10 months ago
@TheRyuya123 I disagree, the reason children in America are like that because we have too many ineffective teachers in America. I have been to 4 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 3 high schools. I have many experiences with bad teachers. Ineffective teachers are the real problem. Children who have experience with too many ineffective teachers led them to misbehave in school. Ineffective teacher cannot have control over classroom and earn respect.
daggerros 9 months ago
@TheRyuya123 - How many poor urban schools have your taught in? If the answer is zero than your opinion holds no water. Also, not sure what they teach you in Asian teaching colleges, but American teaching colleges use the world's foremost experts on the subject and teach us that the absolute number one determining factor of whether or not a child will succeed is the quality of his or her teacher. Fact. I have led many high needs, urban students to academic/social success. It's the teachers.
ferrclan 8 months ago
@TheRyuya123 You're not entirely wrong, just greatly wrong. Most kids in America want to learn, always have. It's not exactly the teachers either though there are a great number in America that do more to make kids stupid then they ever will to teach, which is a larger contributor to what you're talking about.
daPlumber702 2 months ago
@TheRyuya123 When a student see's 5 teachers that are wastes of oxygen they begin to feel there is a good chance they all could be. Not too mention the effect it has on the teachers around the Shit-tastic teachers.
Let me ask you, in Asia when a teacher has low productivity rates what happens? Do they continue to teach for the rest of their lives even though their classes are making a 60% average? In America they do. And THAT is the problem.
daPlumber702 2 months ago
@TheRyuya123, as a parent, I couldn't care less about collective "teachers rights".
If you're a good teacher - I'll respect you.
Michelle's track record speaks for itself, she turned around the worst performing school district in the US.
What's the public system track record elsewhere? It gets worse every year.
LibertyDownUnder 1 month ago 2
So, starve the teachers to save the students. Sounds like a workable plan. Good luck, America.
crumbinator 11 months ago
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@crumbinator kill the dc teachers union Ignorant lazy scumbag slackers
biggerturtle 10 months ago
I called a flagged school in DC -- Wilson Elementary -- and asked if they would be willing to have their students retested to see if their prior highly suspect test results were real. The lady refused over the phone. I said that's consciousness of guilt and said her school and testing were frauds to get federal money. She did not deny it!! Fact!! Investigate that. DC schools are full of corrupt dummies!!!
DexterHaven49 11 months ago
Shame on Michelle Rhee for trying to cover up the blatant evidence of fraud on the DC schools competency tests. They had the financial incentive to cheat to get millions in bonuses! The tests had enormous numbers of erasures of wrong to right answers. The parents and teachers said the students were not any smarter, yet the test scores went up dramatically. One father said his black daughter could barely add and subtract but "tested" high in multiplication and division, which she couldn't do!!!
DexterHaven49 11 months ago
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For social empowerment messages, educational quotes and inspiring proverbs, Follow Philadelphia Education Reform Advocate Flood the Drummer on Twitter @floodthedrummer. Check out Flood the Drummer's new video "TRX Cymbal Bells Ring, School Reform is in Session.
FloodTheDrummer 11 months ago
Everybody remembers the greatest teacher they had and you all remember the teacher that just put in his/her time
shadowcaster56 1 year ago
Foolish, foolish Oprah giving these carpetbaggers a stage.
NiobeJones 1 year ago
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Michelle Rhee taught us that the #1 roadblock to better schools is the teacher's union. America has the highest compensated and least effective teachers in the world.
wannabetvchef 1 year ago 6
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wannabetvchef 1 year ago
u no y asian are smart they by ther kids math book instaed of 300$ nike shoes unlike most other stupid minority group
samantha34ize 1 year ago
exactly- ur right-Asians raise their kids better (especially the Asain Moms). Everyone forgets Obama is half asian on his mothers side (that's why he's so smart).
SarahsSeniorYear 1 year ago
@SarahsSeniorYear: Howdy partner! OMG, are you serious???!!! Did you know his father was an outstanding student and before you start, to Western educational standards and that he received an M.A for economics from Harvard University. But please don't let the facts come in between the truth and some good ole racist views! Something else; what education did you have, miss Einstein?
Cookiec1973 7 months ago
@samantha34ize ... wow, sombody is literate >.>
93Roche 11 months ago
@samantha34ize: And you think come over as smart for making these bold, biased and unsubstantiated statements about minority groups? Not really! A lot of people make very poor choices in life. We could point the finger all day long at them or try and live our own lives as good and honest as possible. And maybe even help those in dire need. I suggest you do the same! Good day!
Cookiec1973 7 months ago
Somewhere in heaven, there is a special place for inner-city teachers! These hard-working dedicated teachers work with the children of gang-members, prostitutes, drug-addicts, illegal aliens, poverty-stricken families, etc.
Even after they "retire", they volunteer their time in soup kitchens, women's shelters, and adult literacy programs.
As Mother Teresa once said to her critics "No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work".
God Bless You!
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
Michelle Rhee is a saint, simple as can be. The teachers unions need a reality check on life!
Dmart38 1 year ago
Hold parents accountable too
BayAreaBud81 1 year ago
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In foreign countries, there is no SOCIAL PROMOTION. If a student fails, he must repeat the entire year . . . AGAIN!
In America, it is literally impossible to "flunk" a student!
A teacher must attend a "special retention meeting", where she must present her case to a panel of experts.
Even, if the team agrees to retain the student, the parents can still veto their decision!
That is how you end up with junior high kids that don't know their time tables and read at a 2nd grade level!
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
If you are an elementary teacher and is struggling how to teach basic math in your class.
Go to ... youtube.... channel .... lionking4277.. and watch my videos. It's free!
Most of your students will start solving with you within minutes of your instruction,. Teachers don't lose hope in teaching. It is just a matter of technique and the right method. Surprise yourself with good results. Just follow my simple step by step in teaching basic math. Tell me the results later!
Thank you John J.,
lionking4277 1 year ago
Having see Rhee lecture in person a few times, I can see why people in DC approved of the job she did, but not of her. She deserves a medal for her obvious dedication and efforts...and also a slap across the chops for being a total b***h about it. She is one of the most obnoxiously smug and rude people I have ever seen. For someone who cares so much about education, she could stand a few lessons in bedside manners.
dkupke 1 year ago
Fire half the teachers in public schools and maybe you might get to the heart of the problem. But first you need to eviscerate the fat in the school hiearchy
ArmandoG2013 1 year ago
Michelle Rhee claims that she took 90% of her students from the 13th percentile to the 90th percentile or above in less than 2 years!
Isn’t that statistically impossible? “Normal Distribution”? “Bell Curve”?
Why hasn’t anyone interviewed her former students? Or their parents? Or her former principal? Or her former co-workers? Her fellow teachers?
I’m sure they all will have plenty to say about those scores!
Where's the proof of her academic success?
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
socialism is the ultimate form of evil. anyone with even slightly socialist beliefs do not deserve to life
lvll138inrs 1 year ago
Michelle Rhee is a horrible thugess. Teachers are being scapegoated for the problems we as a society face.
MeritisDE 1 year ago
What kind of strict parental upbringing did this lady have growing up to have this kind of approach to her academics
chemosurfer 1 year ago
@chemosurfer And what kind of approach do you mean...that a bad employee should be fired, and that children should have good teachers, b/c I think thats a pretty good approach.
tulsablahblah 1 year ago
I'm just stateing time out only works part of the time and fir a rebellious child the ability to have control is crucial to being able to teach a child. That just one factor on a childs upbringing because it's not all for the teachers to be patents and teachers. They are teachers and alot of them are stepping up to parenting these students where there are no teal patenting at home. The learning process begins at home.
chemosurfer 1 year ago
It's not only the parents as adults that are the problem it's the whole system of adult that are the problem God gave patents the right to spank a child if that child will not listen. Well we have soo many rebellious children in our society today because they have the upper hand for example " your not the boss of me! I don't have to listen to you! I'll do what the hell I feel like doing! If you lay a hand on me your going to jail" I'm not insisting child abuse but society "c.p.s." will insinuat
chemosurfer 1 year ago
Waiting for Superman is bogus--and so is Rhee--in its narrow focus on kids and families who care about education. There are families that DON'T care and they are a much bigger problem than bad teachers. Waiting for Superman focuses on teachers unions as the problem: it doesn't focus on the 140,000 students in NYC schools who missed more than a month of classes in one year. It doesn't focus on Chicago where 300 public school kids were shot or killed last year alone. Rhee is simplistic.
viall4diabetes 1 year ago
Blaming teachers is akin to blaming dentists for kids' cavities!
Is it the dentist's fault, if you let your kid eats candy all day and never brushes or flosses his/her teeth?
Is it the teachers' fault if the students never study or do their homework?
I think it's time, we started holding parents and students accountable!
Also, there are too many over-paid administrators who do absolutely NOTHING, but walk around with clipboards and lattes, pointing fingers, but never really doing
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
VISIT YOUR CHILD'S CLASSROOM
juggler100 1 year ago
Rhee 2012!
Nobama0000 1 year ago
As school superintendant, Michelle Rhee called community activists
"professional naysayers." Does Oprah share her cynicism about the mothers and fathers of public school children?
Rhee only got the Washington, D.C., superintendant role because a $64.5 million donation to the school system from special interests stipulated it. She had just three years' teaching experience!
Oprah, next time examine your guest's credibility before singing her praises.
jimlaregina 1 year ago
My best friend has been a teacher in a very poor performing public school here in CA for 11 years. Yes, he's frustrated and complains frequently about how parents do not contribute to their children's education. But he also acknowledges that he has seen many of the 'older' teachers do a half-ass job and "coast" because they're not afraid of losing their jobs . My tax dollars shouldn't go to teachers like that..
tchookiechickt 1 year ago
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God bless the hard-working, dedicated, and BRAVE teachers who risk their lives daily in order to teach the children of the inner-city!
According to Uniform Crime Report statistics compiled by the FBI, there were 1,437.7 VIOLENT CRIMES per 100,000 people reported in the District of Columbia in 2008.
There were 5,104.6 property crimes per 100,000 reported during the same period.
VIOLENT CRIME was 3 times the national average of 454.5 reported offenses per 100,000 people in 2008.
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
it's about time
StephStance 1 year ago
Hooray for michelle rhee get those kids in charter schools and then shove them in trade school at 14. Gingrich 2012 work shall set you free!
catbuffalo 1 year ago
Michelle Rhee has rearry nice regs
southsydney 1 year ago
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black culture is the true problem. black kids should not have to have it imposed on them to work hard, not steal and not be a menace to society. this should be built into their culture and come from their parents. black culture glorifies a lack of education, violence, promiscuity, etc. and that's the REAL problem that no one is talking about
theherdmentality 1 year ago
What is more effective?
An over-paid "evaluator" walking around with a clipboard and a latte, criticizing teachers and tearing them down!
Or . . . a part-time teacher's assistant who tutors problem students?
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
Who's at fault?
How about the parents? What about teen pregnancy?
Rhee ruined everything. She fired some great teachers and principals and had nobody to replace them with.
And how's she fit to judge who's a great teacher? I saw "Waiting for Superman" and I was NOT convinced. Teachers need the help of the parents to get the kdis to learn. Rhee just wants to sweep the kids under the rug.
MondoBeno 1 year ago
The majority of the teachers fired were OLDER, BLACK WOMEN who had a vested interest in the community.
She replaced them with YOUNGER, WHITE people who were just passing through the ghetto.
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
@MsJanetWood I'd love to see more into her teacher reform efforts. Do you know of any objective sources on her track record?
ns0710 1 year ago
@MsJanetWood She's engaged to a BLACK man...
pOo0pie123 1 year ago
@MsJanetWood clearly their interests werent that vested considering the fact that DC schools was the worst performing in America!! i am a young black male college student in DC and I used to volunteer at Bruce Monroe Elementary and ive seen alot!! these younger white people you say that are "just passing through the ghetto" are there to help our kids. instead of waisting time bringing them down why dont you spend more time encouraging young black men and women to teach!!!
trinidad718 1 year ago
@trinidad718 Older veteran teachers COST more than new inexperienced teachers with no credentials.
The IMPACT evaluations are BIASED and lead to FAVORITISM!
Mean-spirited and UNFAIR!
BLATANT DISCRIMINATION and OUTRIGHT RACISM and AGEISM!
In America, this is against THE LAW!
(Correction to your spelling typo: "wasting" )
MsJanetWood 1 year ago 2
@MsJanetWood if the older veteran teachers COST more wouldn't it be more favorable (esp. to the budget) to bring in new teachers with fresh new ideas and new objectives. i'm not saying that the older teachers are bad i'm just saying that the change is good. how are the IMPACT evaluations biased if all the teachers go through the same process? and Rhee also did not remove ALL of the black teachers.
trinidad718 1 year ago
@MsJanetWood Nobody is saying fire teacher's based on age or salary. Rhee and her supporters are saying stop overpaying for bad teachers. If you're good at your job then you should have nothing to worry about, however I see you spamming every video about this woman and you seem very worried.
This is really common sense, the changes Rhee is suggesting would simply hold teacher's to the same standards as every other professional in the country. Show up and work hard and you'll be rewarded.
jbatlas24 1 year ago 18
@jbatlas24
Are you a teacher?
eric251982 7 months ago
@jbatlas24 For Rhee and her cronies it's all about teachers, and holding them accountable (good in theory) for all achievement in the classroom. If any person has taught, as I have, they know teachers DO NOT control numerous factors that effect students' performance. I can't be held accountable for those things beyond my control, nor should test scores be the main means of determing my effectiveness as a teacher. Teachers, parents, administration, & students should ALL be held accountable.
marcostar57 6 months ago
Get'em Michelle! Yeap, anti-Christian bigots don't like women who believe in discipline for schools and aren't influenced by liberal agendas or labor union bosses. That's why you guys will never be bigger than God. And yeah I don't give a flip if gay google and youtube never rate my comments on youtube with +10 thumbs up. I love being the underdog 'cause when Jesus comes back Ima turn into a champ.....hahahaha!
mrjames84 1 year ago
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The Test Scores went up in reading and math as of mid September.
dltmdwnfkdldjs 1 year ago
@adagatiya That is not a very good analogy. How can you compare a child with a wall? Unless, you've actually been in a classroom, you will NEVER, EVER understand.
"Be wary of people with simple solutions to complex problems."
Scapegoating teachers is not cool. Not cool at all.
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
@adagatiya Do you think a POLICE OFFICER working in Oakland, Compton, Watts, or East L.A. has the SAME LEVEL of STRESS and PRESSURE, as cop in Beverly Hills?
Do you think WALKING along RODEO DRIVE is EQUAL to WALKING ALONG 54TH AND CRENSHAW?
A policeman friend of mine went to his wife's Back-to-School-Night. Imagine his surprise when he realized he had PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED half of the parents in attendance!
TIP FOR NEW TEACHERS IN THE INNER-CITY: "DUCK, those aren't FIRECRACKERS!"
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
@MsJanetWood Of course there is more pressure and stress in high crime inner cities but that does not mean the police don't have to do the job they applied for and are getting paid for.
I have great respect for the police. They do a job that I sure wouldn't want.
I think teachers that give their best to inspire and educate their students deserve our praise and every penny of their pay. But if you can't/won't do the job, step aside and let someone in who can/will. Our kids are owed that much.
adagatiya 1 year ago
@adagatiya Arm-chair quarterback? Back-seat driver?
I'm still waiting for the REALITY SHOW starring Michelle Rhee! I want to see her attempt to teach Remedial Math to a group of junior high school kids! Different ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds! 5 periods X 35 students per class! 5 days a week!
A panel of Educational Experts would critique her teaching each week!
It would be a hit T.V. show! I would watch it!
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
@MsJanetWood Not sure where you are going with this but if Michelle Rhee attempted to teach remedial math in a junior high with 35 students per class, 5 classes a day, 5 days a week and failed, well then she should be fired as a teacher. Letting a unproductive teacher continue to teach obviously doesn't solve the problem. I stand by what I said. If you can't/won't then get out of the way for someone who can/will.
adagatiya 1 year ago
@adagatiya Hmmm . . . So, she's qualified to evaluate teachers, but she's not qualified to teach? Interesting!
No one is going to want to teach remedial courses or English as a Second Language courses, for fear of being labeled a "bad" teacher.
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
@MsJanetWood If you see a wall thats about to fall over do you say nothing because you aren't a contractor qualified t fix it?
Stop making excuses.
The fact of the matter is that a child goes through school once. We need to get it right the first time.
adagatiya 1 year ago
Would you BLAME the POLICE OFFICER working in a HIGH CRIME AREA?
Would you BLAME the DOCTOR working in a hospital with a lot of SICK people?
Would you BLAME the LAWYER working with a lot of CRIMINALS?
Would you BLAME the BORDER PATROL AGENTS for all the ILLEGAL ALIENS that are crossing the border?
Would you BLAME the SOCIAL WORKER with a lot of WELFARE CASES?
NO? Why not?
Because there are other FACTORS beyond their control! STOP BLAMING THE TEACHERS!
DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
MsJanetWood 1 year ago
@MsJanetWood A cop who sees a crime and ignores it?
A doctor that doesn't wash his hands between patients?
A lawyer that advises criminals how to get away with his next crime?
Border patrol agents that think illegals run fast and they don't feel like chasing them?
A social worker that helps welfare cases to stay on welfare cause its easier than working?
You better believe i BLAME them!
There are factors out of their control but they ARE blamed for not controlling the ones they can.
adagatiya 1 year ago
@adagatiya I agree, Michelle Rhee was fired because she would not bow ,to the teacher unions,and she demanded results,she fired over a 1000 good for nothing teachers,this scared the shit out of the teachers union's power structure and she was fired because of it,i'am sure she got a big pay off for leaving quietly,this proves schools in american ghettos won't change,these so called educators will keep eating off these poor childeren,poltics over america's kids,thumbs up.
regionfree1 1 year ago