Ramblings About Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee
Just finished watching Jon Stewart’s interview with Michelle Rhee. She mostly focused on specific policies she highlights in her new book — teacher evaluation, “accountability,” school closings, etc. — that many of us progressive educators can agree are anti-student as well as anti-teacher. But beyond all of that, there are two things I haven’t heard much discussion about that I’d like to bring up about Rhee and the premise from which she functions.
1. Michelle Rhee wasn’t an effective teacher, by her own definition of the word.
So, I just wikipedia’ed her (I know, not the most reliable, but I did check the sources) and it turns out that in her first year of teaching, her students’ test scores — as meaningless as those may be — diminished significantly. Then, in her second two years, she looped with the same students and had a co-teacher, and her students’ scores increased. So… if what Michelle Rhee needed to be a successful teacher by her standards (aka – your
1. Michelle Rhee wasn’t an effective teacher, by her own definition of the word.
So, I just wikipedia’ed her (I know, not the most reliable, but I did check the sources) and it turns out that in her first year of teaching, her students’ test scores — as meaningless as those may be — diminished significantly. Then, in her second two years, she looped with the same students and had a co-teacher, and her students’ scores increased. So… if what Michelle Rhee needed to be a successful teacher by her standards (aka – your