In this TIME video, Michelle Rhee’s very controversial tactics are highlighted. She has been getting mixed reviews, everything from being called a witch to being called a savior. Regardless of your opinions of her tactics, she is ensuring that all of her efforts are focused on the success of the students.At first listen, it sounds harsh. Hundreds of employees have been terminated, schools have been shut down, but a closer look shows children are benefitting.
While, I agree with Rhee’s passion for making sure each student can reach their full potential, her strategy could use a little fine tuning. She is, without a doubt, working for a better educations system, but she doesn’t seem to be working with people. Teachers, administration and parents are obviously frustrated with her tactics, closing schools and firing people, leaving schools understaffed (if only if it’s for a short time) – and as far as I can tell, she’s leaving them out of the conversation.
The best way to include them? Focus on the values they all can relate too. A better future, equality, and opportunity. These are all values that people can agree on—and will also agree that certain sacrifices (especially short term) are worth the end goals.
As a DC resident, a closer look shows a situation even worse than TIME portrayed. The core problems behind DC's poorly performing schools are threefold: 1) unhealthy and unsafe neighborhoods for DC's poorest kids, 2) zero freedom and flexibility for individual schools and classrooms to shape curriculum and priorities (it's all centered around uniform scantron tests), and 3) perennial underfunding, exacerbated by the charter scheme.
ReplyDeleteNotice that "bad teachers" didn't make it in the top three. From my experience with DCPS, I wouldn't even put it in the top ten.
Rhee's tenure has been marked by such highlights as keeping the City Council entirely out of the loop, firing excellent-performing administrators and teachers for political reasons, bribing DC teachers to promote her tenure elimination plan, and selling the school buildings she closes for pennies on the dollar to Mayor Fenty's real estate benefactors.
As for charters in general, we've seen studies show that the current wave of charter schools have not been any more successful than public schools - even by their hand-picked standards. So we're paying more but getting the same. http://newstimes.augusta.com/stories/2009/07/12/opi_540472.shtml
Administrators like Rhee and Arne Duncan may have been appointed by Democrats, but we shouldn't for a moment confuse them with being progressive.
Historical figures like John Dewey and present day reformers like Alfie Kohn and Linda Darling-Hammond are who we as progressives should be looking up to. :)
Thank you for the insight, Patrick! It's unfortunate that we don't always hear the whole story.
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