That was the question I was asked by a reporter from the Tampa Bay Times.
It seemed that his last story on that topic had a list of names such as Michelle Rhee, John White, and Joel Klein.
Someone suggested he contact me, and this is what I told him.
Read the story as it presents an interesting contrast to the list of names approach.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Excellent! Yes, if they want real reform, then they have to go another direction. Rhee or Klein? You have to be kidding me.
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CT wouldn’t mind getting rid of Vallas.
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I am sure he will declare success and be leaving on his own soon, before the majority have come to realize what he has done here, only to do it again elsewhere. Smash and grab…
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Rather than suggesting names, you suggested a change in philosophy. So true, without it really doesn’t matter who is in charge.
As far as the guessing game of names. Neither Rhee nor Klein need the headaches. Both are raking in millions. I’m available though.
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Same thoughts…Rhee is having too much fun raking in the dough and bashing teachers. She doesn’t want the responsiblity of being accountable herself. It is better to surround yourself with dilettantes who hang on your every word and who never question you. Rhee doesn’t want to be in a position where she is challenged by thousands and thousands of teachers.
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I actually think that Bill Gates might like this job. He could try his bracelets on the kids, and use Florida as a kind of laboratory for reform. Florida always scores near the bottom with testing anyway, so what the hell. It is all the fault of the unions…oh I forgot, they don’t have unions, sorry. It may be something to do with the heat and optimal temperature for brain function. The kids could wear special helmets that would reduce the temperature of their heads to 72 degrees. He could lower the teaching requirements and start pulling people off the street to come in and try to raise test scores. “Hey you with the surfboard!” “Have you ever thought about being a teacher for two years?” “Put down that board and come with me.” Something like that. The rich people (the people who count/the job creators) already send their kids to private schools, so he wouldn’t get any pesky lawsuits. It sounds like a plan. Maybe he could bring Rhee in with him to fire them after two years. He could bring them in off the street, and Rhee could shout “no excuses for poverty” and fire them. I have some e-mails to write.
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First of all I want to say that I just started reading your blog and I love it. You take so many of the thoughts I have in my head and put them eloquently into words. I teach elementary school outside Las Vegas for the Clark County School District. Another district obsessed with the wrong kind of reform. I have to congratulate the Tampa Bay newspaper for actually seeking out another view point. I’d be shocked if our local papers ever did that. They are totally spoon fed by the school district and constantly bash teachers. The head of the district’s communication office and the reporter who writes the stories are Facebook friends. It doesn’t get any more corrupt and unbiased than that!
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It is great that they took the suggestion of one of their readers and interviewed you.
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Governor Scott will make the choice — and he needs to understand that a CEO who looks at moving his company to Florida could and should not move to Florida unless the new Commissioner is ready to focus on improving the quality and the atmosphere in public schools. I have attended 4 board meetings this year and not one minute has been spent on how to improve the quality and the atmosphere within the schools. Raising the standards only works if one is ready to invest in both the quality of the results and creating an atmosphere where students want to learn and teachers want to teach. For students with disabilities, who I represent, raising the standards without investing in the schools will have a negative impact. We know we will get a conservative — so let’s get one who recognizes that making public schools work should beone of his or her top priorities
If we want the change you describe, we will need to elect a new governor who has the passion to invest in public schools as one of their top three priorities
This is where Elections Matter!!!
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I think RI Commissioner Deborah Gist would be very happy there in her friend Jeb Bush’s territory – and then maybe we still could salvage something from the destruction she has wrought here.
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Oh silly me, just saw that she said she is “not a candidate.” Hopefully it’s because she found another job somewhere else…
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Why is Gist not available? TAxpayers paid for her PhD. Yhere is nothing left in RI for her…..
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