Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Once More, Fast and Loose with the Truth
By Joshua Pechthalt
"When will the Teflon wear off?" is a question many have asked about Michelle Rhee, self-proclaimed public school advocate, but in practice, tip of the spear for the school privatization industry.
According to the L.A. Times last month, Rhee's claim that her children attend public school proved "misleading" at best. This is consistent with her challenged relationship with telling the truth in general. Overseeing a staff of 120 on a lavish budget funded by anti-public education billionaires and their foundations, Rhee talks like a progressive but walks like a disciple of Ayn Rand and free market competition.
Her constant references to being a "radical" and co-opting the language of the civil rights movement belie a fundamental disdain for millions of families and children struggling to survive, and suffering from a marketplace gamed to punish poor and working class families while rewarding those with wealth. And she wants to move its rules into the classroom.
While superintendent of the Washington D.C. school district she was trumpeted far and