Michelle Rhee
Anyone who has talked D.C. current events with me lately is well aware I’m intrigued by D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Just Google her; clearly, there’s much to love, hate and scratch your head about when it comes to this woman.
Since last year’s fateful Time cover, I find myself reading just about everything anyone has to say about her; this piece is particularly good. And then there is today’s Washington Post editorial. Can I getta Amen?
You know my favorite phrase: if you aren’t pissing someone off, you’re not really doing anything. Not a problem for Ms. Rhee and — even though I don’t always agree with her and often question her PR strategy — I admire that.
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Well, if pissing people off is what makes you admire someone, you’re going to love reading about the student protests agains Michelle Rhee.
Yep – when you get 100′s of high school students to march to your office and then on to city hall, you must be doing something right!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/05/AR2009100501426.html
Firing competent teachers and award-winning counselors also pisses people off. read all about it:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2009/10/honored_in_february_sacked_in.html#comments
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/07/AR2009100701196.html
Soon superintendents all over America will be copying her tactics.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for taking the time to comment; as I’m sure you read in my post, I don’t always agree with her actions. Certainly, the way fired D.C. teachers were escorted out of the classroom by police officers was a poor — and scaring — choice.
I don’t think that pissing someone off means, as you said, “you must be doing something right,” it simply means you are doing something.
In the majority of cases — especially where leadership is concerned — I prefer action over inertia.
Margie
.-= Margie´s last blog ..Thirty-something and it feels so good =-.
Just because a leader is doing something, doesn’t mean they’re doing something right or good. The choice you give is false. No one in D.C., especially not the teachers, is doing nothing. They are all doing something every single day – teaching for example.
What is Michelle Rhee doing? Firing effective, qualified teachers and counselors? Give me inertia any day.
sfteacher
Really, Everyone one wants to b-tch and complain. I commend Ms. Rhee for doing something in a environment where poor schools and mediocrity was the norm. I totally agree some of the implementation was less than ideal, but something in this case is better than going with the flow
There is a reason why she was photographed with a broom. Only witches carry brooms. No joke intended.
ok, she may not have the most tactful approach, but continuing to do nothing is worse! She and the next will still have to make tough decisions and terminate unqualified teachers. Speaking as a teacher in the Metro Area, I would hate to send my child to a school that has teachers sleeping, reading the paper and tending to their own personal affairs while my baby is suppose to be learning.
Don’t get anyone that would excuse, condone or allow such a travesty to happen for YEARS!!!!!! Wow you people don’t care about the future.
Do the DC public school parents who are against Ms. Rhee realize their kids attend the worst schools in the country? Yes, worse than Detroit. I’ll bet their graduation rates less than 50%, those that attend college probably attend historically black colleges and probably lead the country in Enbolics profiency (I’ve seen news accounts how students butcher the English language, how sad). Didn’t the reforms put forth by Ms.Rhee lead to the Race to the Top federal grant to the system? DC, you are the nation’s laughing stock. Losers!
PS, I don’t give a crap if you have high unemployment. You bring these ills upon yourselves.
I’m glad she’s gone. She sounds like one of the worst managers I’ve ever heard of. Clearly DC schools needed changing, but in an important, challenging role, you need someone with some finesse (i.e. emotional intelligence). She seems to be grossly lacking in this area – and if she didn’t have it then she needed a ‘chief of staff’ of sorts who could step into that gap. I haven’t been following absolutely every article out there about her, but it she would make a good case study on what not to do as a manager – I hope to see such a write up soon!
As a future educator, I love her.
I am so sick and tired of our elected officials saying that they are going to accomplish something and fail to do so, every single year. Rhee is right when she stated that that children in this country receive an education that we should be embarrassed by, it’s absolutely disgusting and heartbreaking. She is making actions towards a better educational system while everyone else stands around waiting for the go ahead to do everything. Sure she might be a little aggressive but shouldn’t we be overly aggressive when it comes to our children’s education?
Oh and one more thing.
If teachers were doing their jobs correctly and actually giving a damn about their students and their future Rhee wouldn’t have to fire so many unqualified “professionals”.