An article in The Atlantic by a political reporter named Molly Ball claims that Michelle Rhee is “taking over” the Democratic Party.
It curious that Rhee owns the party but was not invited to speak and explain her views. So many speakers ridiculed Mitt Romney because, they said, he likes to fire people. Funny, Rhee likes to fire people too. When she ran the DC schools, she invited a PBS camera crew to watch her fire a principal.
I wrote to the author of this article. You should too. Post a copy here if you do. Her email address is in the article.
This is what I wrote:
Would a Democrat work to promote a for-profit chain?
Would a Democrat work with Republican governors Rick Scott, Chris Christie, and Mitch Daniels?
What part of Rhee’s agenda differs from that of the most rightwing Republicans?
What Democrat would have accepted an honor from the far-right voucher-loving organization American Federation for Children, which simultaneously honored Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker?
Nothing that Rhee advocates has ever succeeded.
Neither charters nor vouchers nor merit pay nor evaluating teachers by test scores has any evidence of improving education.
Diane Ravitch
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Just follow the money ! People like Michele Rhee and Sarah Palin will do ANYTHING for a buck….no core belief system….no morals….no ethics ! They are FOR SALE to the highest bidder.
For sale to the highest bidder? A high priced hooker?
Sound like they are using their popular “Assign your enemy your weakness strategy”
As Rhee does. I suspect her hostility towards teachers stems from her discomfort about her own inadequacy as one.
I never thought of that…but Alan you are so right.
Alan,
Her discomfort comes from being a Teach For America, not a actual qualified teacher. Many enter education thinking they can change the world an find that it is not as easy as they think and then resent being inferior to the properly trained professionals.
Diane,
Check out the article link now. The comment you typed above was entered twice with two different versions for the last paragraph under the name TheSaurus. Did someone copy your comment?
No one should ever take Michelle Rhee seriously:
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2012/09/why-f-does-anyone-listen-to-michelle.html
They keep repeating the same lies about her over and over….it started with Oprah and it never ends. I can’t even stand reading about her anymore. How does this fraud get these people to believe her?
Edward Jay Epstein once wrote an article in the New Yorker about how a news story filled with errors gets repeated again and again and recycled by other writers too lazy to do their own research. It is a version of the Big Lie technique.
Agree. She’s a distraction. Static — white noise. Charter schools & online learning keep the focus off of the exploitation of student data — the real money maker.
Education data can’t be protected. FERPA doesn’t do it.
They wrote it that way. They changed the Regulations to allow maximum disclosure of student data (a commodity) without parental consent. That’s the protected data.
And charter schools were tied in with RttT funds, weren’t they? Congress is giving it’s OK remaining silent. I thought at one time it was ignorance. No, it’s greed. They like campaign donations & they have a affinity for philanthropic driven agendas.
None of this is for the children.
She needs to be taken seriously, because she represents a threatening attitude towards education and educators that has somehow spread, despite the lack of truth and humanity that waits down the reform path. Despite the fact that professional,experienced teachers know better than anyone how to develop learners with all sorts of skills and challenges, they are being directed (victimized) by a bureaucracy of testing and unfunded mandates. That the “good teacher”/”bad teacher” narrative is shored up by this (often faulty) data, and that non-educators and their plans should continually win out over who actually DO the job they can only talk about…and that somehow real teachers end up restrained and criticized? Yeah, I take that seriously.
THANK YOU. Dukakis & Kerry got on their Ivy’d up noble high horses … and lost! Of course, given their backgrounds, they didn’t lose like the millions of know no bodies. Too bad our union “leaders” aren’t either cut from the same cloth, or, aspiring to that same dilettante social class – otherwise they’d be hiring people to figure out the multi-layered messaging, strategy and tactics needed to defeat Raygun-Rhee and the rest of her lying sell outs.
rmm
It is an exaggeration to say Rhee took over the Democratic Party.At the GOP comvention, she was greeted with a standing ovation along side of Jeb Bush at a panel discussion. I do no think that occurred in Charlotte, do you?
Michelle Rhee is clearly a controversial figure but she’s on the same reform wave as such prominent Democrats as Andrew Cuomo, President Obama, Joe Williams (DFER), etc. Her views threaten much from the status quo and therefore are perceived as hostile toward teachers, their unions, and especially public education as we’ve known it.
It’s very easy to argue that she has taken over the Democratic Party on education issues because the party is whole-heartedly trying to implement her plans for the destruction and privatization of public education. Far from rhetorical, the questions you pose to Ms. Ball are quite easy to answer.
1) Absolutely. Since the Clinton Administration, the Democratic Party has demonstrated its moral and intellectual bankruptcy by stealing the Republicans’ clothes on policy issues. It’s why Obamacare came out of the far-right Heritage Foundation and the Democrats have bought into the ideas that merit pay and charter schools are the magic wands of the free-market that are going to fix education; ignore poverty, hunger, abuse et. al., bust up the unions and everything will be alright. This is now party policy, practically speaking.
2) Yes they would; Democrats have shown they have no qualms with capitulating to far-right interests on a wide range of issues. It’s why the Democratic Party base stayed home in 2010 and probably will in 2012 if they see through the deceitful scaremongering in the campaign for the lesser, but more effective evil. The substantive reason why conservatives hate Clinton and Obama is because those presidents have been more effective at selling the conservative agenda under empty working-class advocacy than the GOP could ever hope to be.
3) Since the Democratic Party has largely adopted Rhee’s education agenda, the real question becomes “What part of the Democratic Party’s education agenda differs from the most right-wing Republicans?”
4) Since the Democrats have followed the Republicans in their rightward sprint and begun the abandonment of a public good to private interests, no one really knows where the Democratic Party stands for except maybe being less abusive towards LGBT folks. For nearly 20 years, the Democratic Party program has effectively been to take its cues from GOP rightward drift. Such a complete lack of moral, intellectual or ideological mooring makes its members and functionaries working with and warmly receiving accolades from such far-right organizations is entirely within the realm of possibility. Since Democrat Michelle Rhee does so makes that a reality.
That Michelle Rhee is the person the Democratic Party has chosen as their intellectual heavyweight on education should be a big enough sign they’ve written off public education and declared the organized working-class their enemy.
I hope the battle that the Democratic Party Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel has thrust upon Chicago teachers is a very loud clarion call that the Democratic party has openly declared war on teachers, public education, and the organized working-class.
For the sake of the existential future of everything we hold dear, we should stop supporting a party that is neglectful of teachers and the working-class at the best of times, and openly and eagerly abusive of us the rest of the day; we make no gains for public education, teachers, and the communities we serve by every year voting for nothing more than a smaller pile of dirt on the grave-digger’s shovel…
out of the park comment!
this diary made me feel GREAT about dumping my Atlantic subscription 6 or 8 years ago. I felt that I was paying to know all the sophisticated excuses of the sophisticated sell out dilettante cla$$ – let them get their subsidies from Gates and Walton.
rmm.
If you want to know what the elites are thinking, then you read the Atlantic.
It is also a good place to hear ideas about school reform from people who don’t like public education.
Michelle Rhee has no views. She is a bomb thrower and a side show. If she were so great as a teacher, she would package her classroom strategies, insights, solutions and take her “show” on the road. Better yet, she should write a book on her classroom experiences to share so that teachers won’t lose their seniority or tenure because of incompetence. It would be required reading in every school in America. Ha!
Let’s see…it would consist of eating a bee, losing the parents permission slips on a field trip and abusing children in an attempt to keep them quiet. Done! End of story. The fraud is revealed.
Diane, you wrote [Would a Democrat work to promote a for-profit chain?].
Democrats do work to promote for-profit education entrepreneurs. They call it innovation. They fund it, too.
Democrats allow the use of student data for profit. So do Republicans.
I finally (took me 6 years) figured out why neither the Democrats or the Republicans in Congress & administration & why state lawmakers don’t about care about how children’s personal, sensitive & identifiable information is being used.
People who want to change a policy or trajectory give money to everyone. Common Commerce.
It’s very sad what people do for money.
Too much information about children is being collected in schools & warehoused in state databases that are interagency & interstate operable.
I won’t bore anyone with the details of what is going on — however — it’s not pretty & it’s not in the best interest of children.
It creates jobs. I guess one can say parents need jobs to take care of their children, so where’s the harm?
The harm is invisible until it’s too late.
The US Department of Education warns of potential harm regarding sharing student records, however the US Department of Education isn’t responsible for any/the impending harm.
No one is.
Congress & US ED like FERPA as is.
A lot of money in big data. That includes children’s education records.
Kids don’t have a chance. Those at risk are most at risk.
Sheila, why don’t you write up the data issue?
Why are states collecting it, what will they do with it, what are they collecting?
I will, Diane. I have been trying to figure out the best approach & appreciate your direction. I am now happy. Thank you.
Shelia, Just an FYI…You probably know that Leonie Haimson – @leoniehaimson has written about this issue extensively on several occasions. She might be a good person to connect with. The FERPA issue and the resulting db with Rupert’s control and fingerprints all over is a marketers delight.
Fox in the Schoolhouse: Rupert Murdoch Wants to Teach Your Kids!
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/rupert-murdoch-news-corp-wireless-generation-education
Murdoch-Owned Wireless Generation’s Contract Should Be Scratched, Teachers’
Union Leaders Write
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/05/murdoch-wireless-generation-contract-teachers-union_n_919325.html
Sheila, in Seattle there has been some investigation along these lines. Children’s and family’s information should be protected with the utmost care. http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/06/16/should-the-school-district-be-allowed-to-give-our-kids%e2%80%99-phone-numbers-addresses-and-photos-to-every-tom-dick-and-pollster/
Thanks for the link, Guest. Very useful information.
Here is my response to the article:
As a rule I disagree with Rhee, believing her to work to privatize public education. Rhee wrote on 9/5/12 in a HuffPost article “Our schools can’t fix all of
society’s problems, but what happens in classrooms everyday [sic] can make a
huge difference in the life outcomes of all children.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…
She further says schools and educators must be supported, there need to be
strong pre-k programs, and that children need to have safe places to do
homework/get extra help after school. I cannot help but agree with her.
HOWEVER, I do not feel that giving more power to bad
administrators is the answer; neither is Race to the Top the answer – these powerful high stakes tests are just an abuse of teachers and students. Educational
reform by those such as Gates (Bill & Melinda), Duncan, and Rhee is NOT
right. Charter for profit schools are not the answer.
Reformers from the top are going about reform all wrong. Teachers need to be able to teach individual children. Teachers know there is no “silver bullet.” It will take hard work on their part and the students’ part. Teachers, working with parents and administrators (and schools of education), should be the ones leading public education reform. This is actually happening in some places, such as Colorado (see http://www.thecbe.org/).
Neither teachers nor students need to be afraid of what happens if they do not measure up on standardized tests. Don’t get me wrong: I do believe in standards and holding both teachers and children accountable, but standardized tests, Value Added Measures, Teach for America, the Common Core State Standards, and so forth are NOT the way to reform education. Public education is a very complex thing and we need to treat it as such, not look for “silver bullets.”
It is scary to me that the Republicans and Democrats are close on education – neither party truly cares about public education.
The “How Michelle Rhee…” article will make double posts – I typed my response first, then signed in, and ended up with a double post. SIGH. I could not delete either.
I think that we have to put things in perspective. We can change the direction that things are going by working together and educating people about the real facts. Michelle has her story to tell while we all have our cumulative experiences and knowledge to share. She has one voice and we have many voices. So we have an advantage if we use our voices constructively and do not take no for an answer. In my opinion, if Romney were elected president, our voices would be not be as effective because of his connections with the Charter Schools and his desire to privatize schools.
My response
http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2012/09/the-atlantics-love-fest-for-rhee.html
Here is the email I sent to Ms. Ball about her article.
Ms. Ball,
I don’t know what’s happened to this country when we think changing a highly successful public school system into a for-profit privatized one would serve our democratic ideals. Michelle Rhee is NOT spouting liberal ideas. It is all scare tactics. NAEP scores are constantly increasing and are at their highest point ever. Did she mention that? Not until you hit 50% and higher levels of poverty in our schools do you see the US scoring anywhere but highly in international testing. Did she mention that? Has she disaggragated the data? Everyone gets educated in the US; not so in China and many other countries.
These people are not reformers. To reform means to make changes to improve. Sending our tax money to charters and cyber-charters where there is ZERO accountability for the money and where the least experienced teachers (i.e., TFA “teachers”) are the norm and children with disabilities either aren’t serviced or just aren’t allowed in and where CEOs and administrators of the education companies are making millions of dollars isn’t reform. It sounds more like a robber-baron mentality to me.
And when did liberals start bashing unions? Unions make the middle class possible. Where there are unions, people have stable jobs and can create stable homes. When children come from stable homes and communities, they do well in school. Remember the Labor Movement? They gave us the weekend. Should we go back to a two-class society?
Michelle Rhee and her “reformers” will send us back in time. Do we want to educate our populace or just train them for jobs that will make money for the owners and elite?
Yes, I am a teacher and I have seen what happens when students are turned into data points and when learning is only evidenced when it shows on a standardized test. Our children deserve more than that. Cities, towns, municipalities counties, states, and the federal government need to understand that you can’t do education on the cheap. It takes money, it takes time, and it takes care. Teachers know what to do. Just let them do it. They are the experts. Why doesn’t anyone ask us what we think? It’s mandate after mandate.
Shame on the media for not figuring this out. I thought you were smarter than that.
She is just going to tell you that your issues are with Rhee not her…she is just reporting politics.
Molly’s response to my email:
Hi Christa, thanks for the feedback. My intent with the story was not to mediate yet another round of the education-reform debate, or the ongoing controversy over Michelle Rhee, but to illustrate the political inroads she and her ideas have made, while noting, as you do, that they remain quite controversial.
Best,
Molly
I’m hoping to get a response from Molly regarding my query. I’m glad she responded to you. I also hope she responds to Diane’s.
Her response to me:
Hi Linda, thanks for the feedback. My intent with the story was not to mediate yet another round of the education-reform debate, or the ongoing controversy over Michelle Rhee, but to illustrate the political inroads she and her ideas have made, while noting, as you do, that they remain quite controversial. It sounds like your argument is with Rhee and the politicians who have embraced her, not with me.
Best,
Molly
I responded to her reply:
The last thing we need is another fluff piece about the fraud, Michelle Rhee. She has only made inroads with the wealthy eduvultures because she leads them to the promise land as they salivate at the opportunity to profit off the education of the poor and middle class.
Their children would never attend the lowly public schools in our country. Gates, Bloomberg, Broad, Walton, etc. must find it sport to experiment on other peoples’ children. Rhee is just their media whore.
Why no investigative piece on her many failures or her endless hypocrisies?
Yes, I heard that last night on a PAA webinar related to Won’t back down. It is tied to Ellen Degeneres and her affiliaiton with JC Penney. The cast will be appearing on her show soon. So an organization that has 300 million in surplus, gets donations from corporations and millions from the federal government is also considered in need of charitable donations. They also received money from the Teachers Rock concert in LA. With all the poor, hungry and homeless children in our country, you would think
Wendy Kopp would be embarrassed to take this money.
Below is my correspondence with Ms. Ball:
Mark Friedman markfriedman1@gmail.com
10:17 PM (2 minutes ago)
Molly,
Thanks for the response. While I hear you on your intent, in practice you seemed to have done all three based on the responses to the article from fellow teachers, parents, and education activists.
On Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 8:40 PM, Ball, Molly wrote:
Hi Mark, thanks for the feedback. My intent with the story was not to mediate yet another round of the education-reform debate, or the ongoing controversy over Michelle Rhee, but to illustrate the political inroads she and her ideas have made, while noting, as you do, that they remain quite controversial.
Best,
Molly
From: Mark Friedman [markfriedman1@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2012 7:58 PM
To: Ball, Molly
Subject: Suggestions on Michelle Rhee piece
Ms Ball,
I’m writing as a teacher and community organizer to express disappointment in your recent piece, “How Michelle Rhee Taking Over the Democratic Party”. Indeed, there has been shifts in the Democratic Party in a rightward direction on education issues to embrace some of Rhee’s signature politics (privatization, corporatization of public education). This has not been a productive shift, in my view. I do believe in and I have fought for community-driven ground-up democratic reforms in education (often referred by political activists as “real” reform as opposed to top-down corporate, privatization-friendly reforms). This struggle from the level of the grassroots communities I’ve stood with for years is an organizing effort that neither Rhee, nor corporate mainstream Democrats (or obviously Republicans) are anything but adversaries towards as conditions currently stand. Grassroots democracy, expressed through parent and community control (NOT parent triggers) and ideally, partnered with social justice/social movement unionism is what I see as a more promising direction in education. To read more on some of the details of policy and organizing efforts I’ve collaboratively built you can check out the following projects/organizations I’ve worked on:
http://www.reclaimingreform.org
http://failingschools.wordpress.com/
http://communityeducationtaskforce.rocus.org/
Sincerely,
Mark Friedman
Rochester City School District Teacher
Community Education Task Force Leadership
10:21 PM
This is sad for the Atlantic, but the publisher describes himself as a “neocon guy” and this is the result of “neocon guys thinking.
I guess “journalists” no longer challenge comments or fact check. I believe The New Yorker is the only magazine that religiously check the facts anymore. Too bad The Atlantic doesn’t.
Anyway, this line caught my eye.
“It’s funny,” she tells me, “I’m not just a Democrat — I feel like I’m a pretty lefty Democrat, and it is somewhat disappointing when I hear some people saying, ‘She’s not a real Democrat.'”
Now, I’m not that old. But I do know lefty Democrats. They were the older kids in my neighborhood who drove cars, went to school, went to college, protested, carried signs and were tear-gassed for their efforts, and were very worried about being drafted and sent to Vietnam. Michelle Rhee- I know leftists and you’re no leftist. Unless of course, your so far left on a continuum you end up on the right.
I’m not a doctor, so this is my armchair diagnosis. She’s not a democrat and certainly not a “lefty”. Most likely, she’s a sociopath and not a very charming one at that. She needs help. I hope that she gets it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy
Profile of a Sociopath.:
http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html
Never underestimate the power or ambition of Michelle Rhee. In America, meteoric “superstars” like Michelle Rhee are always anointed by the rich and powerful. Nothing else explains the unlikely story of a 3 year teacher landing the top educator’s job in Washington DC who then opened a “grass-roots” movement that within 2 months of opening had the ear of Arne Duncan, multiple state Governors,and carte blanche in many states to write the boiler-plate legislation that eliminates LIFO, tenure and collective bargaining for teachers. She single handedly manipulated the collective consciousness of America to believe in her unfounded claims, unproven solutions and in the process has whipped the populace into a lynch mob against all things education. Her goals are clear – be the lap dog of the oligarchy, spill blood, discredit and dismantle public education and get rich in the process. Her standing ovation with Jeb Bush is foretelling – her ultimate end game is to be rewarded for being the bulwark of the Oligarchy by being appointed the next Secretary of Education under Romney.
You forgot Brian Sandoval!!! 🙂
Rhee represents mainstream elite opinion, and insofar as the Dems are dominated by Wall-Street rather than Main-Street attitudes about education, Michelle Rhee will be a very comfortable fit for the elite Dems who walk in the halls of power.
The only long-term solution is to do what the GOP did, and to work on the local level of the Party, and make sure that candidates are not given a pass because they’re politically correct on abortion and gay rights. The real test for any true progressive Dem candidate should be where he or she stands on tax equity, energy issues, and education reform.
Dear Ms. Ball,
I’m not sure why and how you could even place Michelle Rhee anywhere near the Democratic party. I’ve heard other journalists and commentators commit this same mistake. Chris Matthews of MSNBC recently called her the most liberal school reformer of our time. His colleague Ed Schultz called him out on this and corrected the record. The problem, I think, is that few in the public understand the dynamics of education. Politicians certainly do not understand education reform. Rhee is a pro-market, anti-union, reformer. That is by the very definition, Republican and right wing. Rhee may call herself whatever she likes, but it doesn’t mean she represents any Democratic ideal. The media somehow assumes that someone is what they call themselves and that your political party is sure proof of your actions. “Waiting for Superman” is a good example; the film may have been made by left wing filmmakers, but I don’t think the filmmakers realize how much they really have in common with conservatives. There are far too many Democrats in office who are not being Democratic when it comes to education, and there are many conservatives who are quite liberal on education. This is where names and labels get us into trouble. You reported that Rhee calls herself a “very lefty” Democrat and this shows just how little she has studied education history and policy. Very left or liberal in education means no standardized test scores, new innovative approaches, and actual improvements in public education. Closing schools and firing staff is about the only thing Rhee has accomplished in her short career that was stooped short when she resigned ahead of being replaced after she cost a very Democratic and popular mayor his re-election bid. It’s about time we put some real educators in political office and stop giving attention to self-interested political hacks.
Bill Lawrence
Doctor of Education candidate
So what do we do? We need to build schools that are completely anti-school reform. Big Picture Schools seem to me a great example of thinking out of the box in education. Create schools that don’t test, that the rich would send their children to, that treat teachers as curious constant learners and human beings…I don’t know…I am just sick of the talk and want to actually do something!
Any article about Michelle Rhee published by the Atlantic Media Company should disclose Rhee’s extremely close ties to AMC’s CEO and owner, and his wife (David and Katherine Bradley).
The Bradleys hosted Rhee at their Massachusetts Heights home three times between January 2008 and March 2009, and it is extremely likely that there were additional times after that.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/36893/fund-and-games
It was also Katherine Bradley who, in 2010, ponied up the $100,000 fee for Anita Dunn’s PR to help improve the image of the intensely disliked Michelle Rhee.
It seems that Ms Ball is responding to emails with a generic auto response. Sad it really doesn’t answer the questions raised. Sloppy journalism. Pathetic non-disclosure. Hope this doesn’t go into her clip file unless it’s for a charter or related organization.
I am one of the thousands of stunned teachers, and life long Democrats that was amazed by the actions taken by the current Democratic leadership in the war against teachers. I was one of the teachers that was fired, then rehired at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island. Without warning, bad evaluation, or cold reasoning I was made the pillar and brunt of national jokes and political finger wagging. The greatest hurt came when this president, on national news, commended the “bravery” of the superintendent when she fired the entire staff of the high school. Without knowledge or background on the extreme level of poverty, crime, or lack of funding Obama called me a bad teacher. This is the direction of the war against teachers. Along with Arne Duncan and of course the teachings of Rhee I have seen first hand the devastation caused by amateur educational reformers. Replacement Teaching Fellows from 60 day certificate factories have lasted as little as 24 hours, some I find crying in the bathroom. Promised money disappears into administrative accounts, and the blame for kids that can’t see the light of day for the crushing poverty they live in rests with teachers. So, for the first time since I walked the blocks for McGovern I will not vote for ta Democratic president.
When it comes to education “reform,” there is only one party – the Republicrats, and they are only beholden to the uber-rich who lust over the Federal Education Budget.
“Would a Democrat work to promote a for-profit chain?
Would a Democrat work with Republican governors Rick Scott, Chris Christie, and Mitch Daniels?
What part of Rhee’s agenda differs from that of the most rightwing Republicans?
What Democrat would have accepted an honor from the far-right voucher-loving organization American Federation for Children, which simultaneously honored Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker?
Nothing that Rhee advocates has ever succeeded.
Neither charters nor vouchers nor merit pay nor evaluating teachers by test scores has any evidence of improving education.”
Here. I’m passing on Diane Ravitch’s words. You should know your song well before you start speaking it. It is clear you haven’t a clue as to what’s happening in education in general, and specifically about the dismantling of public education by right-wing backed big money and corporate interests whose bottom line requires a complete privatization of public education in America, and globally (GERM) for profits, and only profits. And, yes, fools like Arne Duncan are in agreement. This is a bipartisan effort to enrich their political positions by supporting corporatizing public education (and being, no doubt, well recompensed for their efforts).
You need to get a grip and do your research instead of feigning intelligence. Get the whole story. Or, maybe you’re on the team with the destruction of public education in America. One look at Rhee’s record should convince you that she has accomplished nothing.
Kuhio Kane
It’s Sunday. I am suffering from Polynesian Paralysis right now, so I simply took the easy road and re-sent what you wrote, Dr. Ravitch. It’s clear this columnist, owned by a neocon employer, is now attempting to go backwards on what she said, or at least propose that she was just putting Rhee out there without any attempt to claim agreement. I don’t buy it. Ball is reiterating the elitists’ view, for sure.
Valerie Strauss of WaPo reprinted the post and added some additional information. Comments are worth reading.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/is-michelle-rhee-taking-over-the-democratic-party/2012/09/09/24e56538-fa98-11e1-8252-5f89566a35ac_blog.html#comments
Read here…50 Shades of Rhee:
http://edushyster.com/?p=736
As a 30+year member of the Democratic Party and a mother of four children ages 20 – 7 who are being (or have been) educated in NY State public schools, I tip my hat to Michelle Rhee and everything she tried to do. Fully half of the teachers who teach my children are not fit to teach my children. They do not have a high level of natural intellgence, are educated in name only, and clearly have no idea what is going on in the world outside their own front door. My children and their friends have contempt for them — and who can blame them? Do you know that in two years my son has never had anything he has ever written in his english classes, marked up and returned to him.He is in Honors English and usually gets a 95-98 as a grade — and last year I realized that he couldn’t write a grammtically correct paper. Now I pay for a tutor based in Florida to work with him (and his younger brother) through email and Skype ($40/hour).
Do you want to pick up that cost for me?
Tenure must be abolished. Tenured, unionized teachers have failed to maintain professional standards. Tenure has only protected the mediocre, the lazy and the untalented. My children deserve better. BTW – I am married to a college professor and he shouldn’t have tenure either — it is a total racket. Michelle Rhee? Bring her on!! Save our kids’ future!
Mediocrity is not a Democratic Party value. Very few of our Democratic Party leaders send their own kids to public schools – so that should tell you something. (Can you name one?)