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Monday, January 3, 2011

We treat our teachers like they are interchangeable widgets: Rhee

We treat our teachers like they are interchangeable widgets: Rhee

We treat our teachers like they are interchangeable widgets: Rhee

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By IBTimes Staff Reporter | January 3, 2011 2:24 AM EST

Former chancellor of D.C. public schools Michelle Rhee, who created a buzz with the launch of her non-profit advocacy group StudentsFirst in December 2010, feels that one of the ways in which America can effectively battle the crisis that plagues its public education system is by ensuring that every classroom in the country recruits the best teachers. Unfortunately, the current culture and environment is not one which facilitates that, feels Rhee.

REUTERS/
Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools, speaks during "An Educated Workforce" session of the Wall Street Journal CEO Council on "Rebuilding Global Prosperity" in Washington, November 17, 2009. Rhee has now founded her own organization for promoting better education.

Speaking on The Dylan Ratigan Show on NBC last week, Rhee pointed out that it was important to make teaching a profession that high performers wanted to get into. That involved making it more selective, as well as introducing a system of differentiated remuneration that rewarded teachers on the basis of their