John Merrow encountered a woman at an event at the Harvard Club who thanked him for exposing Michelle Rhee as a fraud and congratulated him for his “one-man crusade.” Merrow quickly demurred. It was no “one-man crusade,” he said. He pointed out that there was a sizable contingent of highly experienced and much-honored reporters who worked on the story with him.
He added:
“Had we not been in a crowd, I would also have said that fraud was her word, not ours. We documented how Michelle Rhee looked the other way when presented with pretty strong evidence that adults, not students, were responsible for the suspicious erasures. We don’t know why she failed that leadership test, only that she clearly did. Perhaps, as Jack Nicholson thundered in “A Few Good Men,” she couldn’t “handle the truth.” Perhaps she was putting her own career ahead of the interests of children. Does that make her a fraud? That’s your call, not ours.”
He is still waiting for the DC public schools to honor his freedom of information act request for additional documents.
“Meanwhile, down in Atlanta, the criminal justice system is preparing to try Beverly Hall and others for their alleged roles in the cheating scandal in that city.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Fraud: A person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities.”
Yes, Michelle Rhee is a fraud.
The Atlanta criminal case may be falling apart. http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jun/19/das-case-against-aps-educators-collapsing/
Its a word that I have been using to describe her for years. Does “the shoe fit?” Like the proverbial “glass slipper.” Fraud, fraud, fraud.
What is encouraging to me is that there still is a search for TRUTH in all of this manipulation of law, systems, individuals, media, on and on. That the technology of our times is still young enough and still unstructured or controlled enough for the public to have input and a conversation with each other. Such as the existence of this and other Blogs of note. That there are still reporters, such as Mr. Merrow, who do their homework, dig past the slight of hand manipulated by powerful corporations, government, and individuals, which led him and a nation in a contrived and designed system-retooling that may not have the best interests of ALL the people. There are others who know the genesis of the plan, and others who honestly wanted to believe that what they became a party to was for the well being of the country and the future.
Some still do and others so deep into it that they see no way out but to go forward.
BUT IT IS UNRAVELING and may yet have a chance to be redirected without throwing baby out with the bathwater. Who to trust is a real problem but trust we must!!!!
As Mr. Merrow reminds us, there are others who are also suspicious and interested enough to dig for the TRUTH and EXPOSE the story for what it is….a story of our times and a moment where we are sitting on the very edge of change which can make the difference for the future of the country through the grab for control of our children’s minds….saving some and discarding others. Even if some people believe expediency is the right way to take the country forward, they are very wrong and misguided. You don’t sacrifice a child, anyone’s child, to the the idols of technology, the mongers of greed and power, in this country which is founded on a concern for the rights of the individual. We are being tested, measured, and we better measure up when it comes to integrity, honesty, truth, and justice!!! Don’t let this time be a footnote in history but a truly historic time driven through the intelligence and direction of people who represent the ideals of this country of many differences but a like quest for Freedom and individual Dreams.
Mr. Morrow, on this issue i.e.,the fraudulent Ms. Rhee, is rather late to the party and doesn’t deserve as much credit as you’d like to ascribe to him. I’m not quite so impressed. He was a cheerleader for her not very long ago.
You may be right that he, and many others are late to the party. However, Mr. Merrow has an opportunity to revisit or stay with the subject and the travesty. He has taken time and pains to unravel this mess and deceiful manipulation of systems and is trying to unlock and open up the TRUTH before it is too late. Unlike too many in the field of education and others who through denial, lack of investigation and/or a desperate need to either help their budgets or their pockets, for nearly thirty years plus, and refuse to wake up and fight. The Rheeformer is only a player and handmaiden to the enormity of this travesty. However, I understand your concern that too many credible people who were sucked into this gave messages that have aided in the horror.
ronee groff: I share your sentiments. Let’s consider the alternative. Would it be better that he stuck with his initial hero worship, e.g., obeying her command to film her firing a principal in order to make the point to the entire school district that she was fully capable of using her position of authority to be abusive to a subordinate?
So what if John Merrow is unwilling to admit that he played a very large role in creating this exemplar edubully? I for one am glad he’s finally abandoned RheeWorld for Planet Reality. We’re in a very big fight with unscrupulous adversaries. We can use all the legitimate help we can get.
Just my dos centavitos worth…
And thank you once again for your postings.
🙂
Ronee, you’re a more charitable individual than I.
Morrow, as an authoritative journalist on the topic of education, was too quick to praise Rhee. Where was his skepticism? For my money he failed a primary journalistic test at the onset.
It is much more difficult to “undue” the damage after the fact. He may exonerate himself in the end but his credibility has been forever undermined.
I am an ordinary, if an informed English teacher, but like many others I saw Rhee and the movement she championed for what it was from the get-go, fraudulent at best, pernicious at worst.
Yes, she is a fraud, but she is also a racketeer – one who offers “…a service that is fraudulently offered to solve a problem that does not actually exist, will not be affected or would not otherwise exist.” (Wikipedia) – though at the moment it does not appear that she or her sponsors will ever actually face a RICO indictment, unlike Beverly Hall and the other (largely African-American) scapegoats of the reformers privateering.
Michael, you just used Wikipedia as a source to back up an argument.
Please explain: are you contesting the definition? If so, please provide an alternative.
And, while Wikipedia has its limitations, this ain’t a scholarly journal, but a blog.
Or am I missing something else?
Ron, I thought that the way in which Michael Fiorillo used Wkipedia and quoted his source was excellent. Where did you get your lemon video?
I mostly just wanted to poke fun at the sort of people who have conniptions about using Wikipedia as a source. They remind me of Lemongrab from Adventure Time (NPR did a nice segment on the cartoon not long ago that is still available on their website).
I agree with Michael about everything he wrote.
Sorry, my humorous intent was obviously not clear enough.
Let’s just see her charged and prosecuted like a common criminal which she is. There is more than enough evidence. The problem is that D.C. is the only school district with direct input from Congress and they can look bad in this mess. Still, Rhee is a crook. How do you make a mess with $29,145/student? Why, you have to work real hard. After all, she does not even have custody of her own children. What do you have to do for that?
“After all, she does not even have custody of her own children. What do you have to do for that?”
Be a father.
Yes, Ron, you are right.
Based on that reality, imagine how egregious her failings as parent – and we know at a minimum that it includes insulting and humiliating her children in public – must be if the court gave custody to the father.
Michael, I do not know much about this aspect of Rhee — I was under the assumption that she had CHOSEN to “give up” custody of her children (the societal — and, let’s face it, legal — assumption being that the mother ALWAYS gets custody if she wants it unless something is REALLY wrong with her).
Did she actually fight for custody of her children and lose to their father? She’d almost have to have shot up heroin in court and assaulted the judge while claiming that God told her to in order for that to have happened. And even then…
or…marry an accused child molester.