Michelle Rhee in DC: Episode 2 - Pt 1

The second in our year-long series following D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee as she confronts "a bloated and unresponsive" education bureaucracy.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• learning
• matters
• john
• merrow
• pbs
• michelle
• rhee
• school
• reform
• education
• washington
• d.c.
• fenty
• teachers
• students

[stephyellow]

hmmm i hope she does good.....

[retsep81]

@itsjustme2919 You haven't heard about teachers making $140K because the unions refused to vote on merit based pay.

[relamreliob]

4:43 "You can address the needs of the souls of these kids in the classroom through the power that we have as educators. You can't teach in a vacuum. You got to meet them where they are. You got to take that into account. But you can never ever ever let that be an excuse for the kids not achieving at the highest levels"

[rowdy8888]

she says .. im terminating your principalship, now. I Love it. You just got cut! & out with these "has beens, that never was." The hanger on mentality in public education is unreal.

[marcostar57]

@ghomsid Yep, Rhee and her cohorts push a simplistic solution. They foolishly think 'progress' can be achieved through sheer will -- and all progress is measureable through test scores. Having taught in the inner-city, I know of the problems and how teachers lack support. Being realistic is the KEY!

[marcostar57]

@retsep81 Huh $140K WTF?! Stop drinking the Faux Noise anti-teacher kool-aid you dumshit!

[ghomsid]

Michelle Rhee was at the top and putting a lot of pressure and stress on principals and in turn principals putting a ton of pressure on teachers. I absolutely agree with everything Rhee says and believe that's what it should be, but unfortunately, things are not that way. What these principals and teachers need is a support system to help them to be more successful.

PS: Rhee, most of us are ANGRY about the achievement gap, but we need to be REALISTIC in our work as educators in closing the gap

[ghomsid]

I want to see Michelle Rhee as the principal of Anacostia High School...

What i ask myself is what support did Rhee offer to this hardworking principal? obviously, she was struggling, but you can tell that she has a heart at the right place. I mean she is walking into classrooms making sure that students are engaged and actively involved in the learning process. We say a lot of times that all students can learn and achieve at their highest levels, but we really need to be REALISTIC!

[retsep81]

@itsjustme2919 They made room in the budget for this, but it was the union that refused to allow a vote on it. Part of the deal was that the teachers would need to give up tenure, so part of the money would have come from firing the bad teachers.

Tenure is so college professors have some protection if they say controversial things or for them to be able to do research, there is absolutely no reason elementary or high school teachers need tenure.

[itsjustme2919]

@retsep81 they make promises but where does the money come from? school districts are strained with teachers making 50k a year.

[itsjustme2919]

@retsep81 But how come I haven't heard these teachers that have made 140 grand talking about how great it is? I haven't heard of teachers making 140 grand.