Michelle Rhee on vouchers, social promotion and putting kids first
Michelle Rhee speaks to Georgia lawmakers Thursday. Jason Getz jgetz@ajc.com
Former DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee appealed to both ends of the political spectrum today in her visit to the Georgia Capitol, touting vouchers to provide low-income children with options beyond failing neighborhood schools and a strong federal Department of Education to hold schools accountable.
Rhee’s theme throughout her comments was the need to put students first. “We have been putting the system first for 30 years and look where that has gotten us,” she said.
And her new education organization — created she says to counter the influence of teacher unions, textbook publishers and other special interests focused on adult agendas – is called StudentsFirst.
Her take-no-prisoners style of public school management, which left a wake of ill will in Washington and cost her ex boss, Mayor Adrian Fenty, re-election last year, struck a chord with Georgia lawmakers, many of whom believe that the entrenched education bureaucracy in Georgia has been an obstacle to real reform.
As to her own stormy tenure over DC schools where she says she was known as the “Dragon Lady” and “Teacher Terminator,” Rhee said she believed her tough policies would be accepted “if we just produced actual results…I couldn’t have been more wrong.”
The dysfunctions within public education are not an accident, she said. “There are people who benefit by that dysfunction.”
Rhee recalled her own staff’s dismay when she supported the takeover of low-performing traditional schools under her control by independent charter schools that the district would not control. “My goal is not to protect and preserve the system,” she said. “My goal is to make sure every child gets a great education.”
That’s why, she told House members, she supported Washington’s voucher program. If parents did not win the lottery to enable their child to attend one of Washington’s high-achieving charter schools, Rhee says she didn’t feel it was fair to limit them to a failing public school, a school where she would never send her own two daughters. “Then who I am to deny them a $7,500 voucher to send their child to a great Catholic school,” she said.
Asked about social promotion, Rhee said it was a symptom of a culture too concerned about self-esteem. Showing her Tiger mom stripes, she said, “We have become soft in America.”
In South Korea, from where her family hails, Rhee said the 40 children even in a kindergarten class are ranked academically from first to last, and the No. 1 students are always looking over their shoulders to see if someone is gaining on them. That would never be allowed here, she noted.
Rhee said her two daughters “suck in soccer.” But you would never know it because their rooms are full of ribbons, medals and trophies.. “You would think I was raising the next Mia Hamms,” she said. “We are so busy making children feel good about themselves that we are not spending the time teaching them how to do good.”
(I am updating this blog as the day goes on. Check back for more of Rhee’s visit.)
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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162 comments Add your comment
2 cents
February 11th, 2011
9:18 am
wow, there is one born every minute; ppl have bought into the koolaid, hook, line, and sinker.
I am an educator, I am an expert in education, I have been featured numerous times in newspapers most notably in the AJC so I really know what I’m talking about. How do you like my resume so far?
Here is my platform; I will FIRE all teachers until I can get an increase in test scores just like my students did when I taught. I will accuse all teachers of being lazy, sexual abuse, or anything else I can think of at the moment. I will tape my students mouth shut, cause I can not think of another way to keep them quiet.
Unions are evil; they are of the devil. You must not play foseball.
Do ppl out there really believe this hype.
Some are saying we are the doom sayers; I think the american education system is still the best in the world; you compare our best to their best we win.
teacher&mom
February 11th, 2011
9:38 am
@td…No offense taken.
I’m assuming you are not in the classroom? Please correct me if I am wrong.
I’m not necessarily advocating “more” money. I am advocating the money we are given be spent more wisely and require more teacher input into how it is spent. Folks outside of education probably don’t realize how many strings are attached to funding. I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it again. It is a disgrace that I can purchase test prep materials easier than a decent set of novels or lab supplies.
I also think the general public doesn’t realize how much the education budget was gutted during the Perdue administration. PAGE actually has a great article that breaks down the budget “adjustments” in their Jan/Feb. magazine.
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/0c7f6366#/0c7f6366/1
Maureen Downey
February 11th, 2011
9:38 am
@2 cents, Having seen Michelle Rhee in three settings yesterday, I can vouch for her ability to relate. But nowhere was she more effective than with the 50 parents at the DeKalb charter school. And the reason is that she acknowledges and affirms what these parents have experienced, that their kids were not doing well in public schools and no one seemed to care. (By the way, one of the chief complaints was not that the kids weren’t doing well, but that their kids weren’t doing as well as they could have been. The kids were respectful and quiet and did fine so their parents said they were brushed aside and not challenged and allowed to gaze out the window most of the day.)
Is her mythology supported by gossamer pillars? Yes, but is her message relevant to many, many parents?
Yes.
Maureen
B. Killebrew
February 11th, 2011
9:45 am
Maureen,
Millions of people have the extraordinary ability to “relate.”
This does not mean that whatever they say should be given a platform as if it is gospel–especially if what they espouse is misinformed, incorrect, falsified, and dangerous.
CharterStarter
February 11th, 2011
9:53 am
I observe that only Maureen, me and a handful of others (parents) had anything nice to say about Ms. Rhee. There is a lot of spleen venting by educators, which I understand and is a symptom of a completely broken and mostly dysfunctional system. The bedrock of that system is caring, competent teachers – the very people from whom we are hearing! I would think that teachers would support a reform effort that:
1. gives teachers a real voice (that’s what charters do, especially if the teachers help create the charter).
2. rewards the best teachers with additional compensation.
These points seem to me to be core values in Rhee’s reform platform, and in Gates, Broad, et al.
For my part, in every charter I help start, I do what I can to set teachers free to teach!
CharterStarter
February 11th, 2011
9:55 am
The trick is to link the expectation of parents, which is admittedly a very high bar (as it should be) with the performance of teachers. I think a system which recognizes and values parents and teachers – but not one over the other – is going to help our children succeed at the highest level possible.
Maureen Downey
February 11th, 2011
9:55 am
@B, I don’t think millions of people have the ability to relate and the ability to articulate the problem as well as Rhee. She is a very smart, personable and driven. She sees herself as a problem solver. And considering that she saw a problem with teacher recruitment and created the well respected New Teacher Project as a very young woman testifies to her ability to not only respond to a cause, but to rally thousands of other people.
As to the complaint here that her goal is self-promotion, I disagree. There is little glamour in a 15-hour day talking to local state lawmakers, editorial writers and parents with no time for meals. I think she is a crusader and believes strongly in her cause. Doesn’t mean she’s right. But I think this is a mission for her, not a means to simply get her name out there.
Maureen
MikeyD
February 11th, 2011
10:00 am
@Maureen:
Do you not think she was doing a little self-promotion when she allegedly fudged some info about her “miraculous” rise in test scores when she was taping students, I mean teaching students?
Public Education Advocate
February 11th, 2011
10:05 am
@teacher&mom: Thanks for your excellent comments. The problems facing education in Georgia and the U.S. are complex. Those problems are not now — nor have they ever been — amenable to one easy or formulaic answer, whether it be charter schools, vouchers, “more funding,” standardized testing or teacher accountability. Nor is anyone served by blaming and vilifying individuals or groups (including teachers, administrators, parents, charter school proponents, etc.), who have committed great amounts of time, effort, and skill (if not their entire careers) to improving children’s educational outcomes.
Great teaching matters. Parenting matters. Poverty matters. Community matters. School leadership matters. Curriculum matters. Resources and school funding matter. Each of these factors, and many others, impact the educational achievement of our children, but none alone is an explanation for why many children are not adequately educated. The fact that the problems are complex is why there is no excuse for our pretending that some simple “magic bullet” will cure everything that ails us or pretending that all we have to do is to rid the educational system of some imaginary “evil villains” who care nothing about children and are dedicated solely to their own selfish goals.
AJinCobb
February 11th, 2011
10:08 am
@Public Education Advocate,
Yes!
atlmom
February 11th, 2011
10:11 am
@teacher and mom: YES! You are SO correct. I mean, WHY OH WHY do we have to send tax dollars to the feds, then BEG them (well, only *some* schools are even eligible to beg them!) – for money!?!?!? It’s absurd. And it costs SO MUCH money to funnel all that through the feds. If we just kept it here, there would be so many fewer administrative costs. It makes sure that the schools are dependent on the federal govt. It’s gross, and treats the school like a child.
Have the Dept of Ed ( a VERY SMALL ONE) ONLY for creating standards, that local schools can use or not. Don’t have them in the business of deciding which schools are worthy of their money. It’s gross.
Maureen Downey
February 11th, 2011
10:18 am
@MikeyD, I can tell you that yesterday she was very restrained in describing her own success with students, saying only that she got them “where they were supposed to be.”
The problem with her statements about her students’ performance on tests — unmasked recently by a teacher blogger G.F. Brandenburg, a retired D.C. math teacher — is that her principal and co-teacher also endorsed the claims of success. I find her own story about taping her kids’ mouths bizarre and would love to know more about that. I heard the snippet of her speech to young teachers where she relayed that first-year horror story, but wondered if she was exaggerating for their benefit.
Maureen
By the way, I tried putting in a link to Brandenburg but got an error message this morning. Here is the URL. It might work later today:
http://gfbrandenburg.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/the-rhee-miracle-examined-again-by-cohort/
atlmom
February 11th, 2011
10:41 am
Honestly, she was only there a couple of years, correct? The DC system, from what I understand, is even worse than Atlanta’s, if that’s possible. How could anyone turn it around in two years? That’s a crazy idea.
But if we keep doing what we’ve been doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’ve got.
Maureen Downey
February 11th, 2011
10:45 am
@atlmom, I talked to a national education expert about her tenure and he made the same point: She was there too short a time to make real change, but there were signs of improvement that were promising under her reign. And those positive signs were the first in many years in the district.
Maureen
Tonya C.
February 11th, 2011
10:51 am
atlmom:
You and the other parents here are NOT getting what teachers here are saying:
If we keep doing what we’re doing, we ARE going to keep getting what we got. They are saying that what we are doing IS WRONG and that changes need to be made. But no one is asking the soldiers how to win the war! Heck, they are even bypassing the generals at this point.
Public Education Advocate says it right: there is no one size fits all approach. Unfortunately, teachers are in a bind because lately that is what is desired, catering to the middle-of-the-road. The smartest students aren’t getting challenged, and the lowest not being served. But the way that educators, you would think that the majority are the next worse thing than the devil himself. Did you see what one teacher wrote about contacting legislators for a meeting or even a phone conversation, and the lack of response received? That is indicative of the attitudes of so many in the Gold Dome about public education. One-way conversations with no taste or desire to hear other alternatives from those that JUST MIGHT have an idea of what they are talking about.
atlmom
February 11th, 2011
11:03 am
@Tonya: I hear ya! That’s what I’m saying, too. Get rid of most of the administrators, and let teachers teach. It’s a crying shame. You hire someone to be in the classroom – to teach the kids. Then you don’t let them teach!
Because of oversight committees, ethics committees more and more committees to oversee and whatever.
It’s crazy. And half the administration does NOTHING. The administration SAYS they are student facing, to inflate the numbers of administrators who have child contact. When in fact, they don’t. And the teachers get more and more annoyed. I definitely hear you!
The point is, getting something from ‘on high’ (the federal govt or the state) isn’t working. For those districts that want it, great, but many want to just be LEFT ALONE to teach the students how it works for them.
Echo
February 11th, 2011
11:28 am
For those who still don’t get it…
If all you desire is for students to score well in some multiple choice standardized test, I will teach the kids how to take a multiple choice standardized test.
If you want to put all levels of students, from the brightest of the bright to the ones who can barely function in society in one classroom, I will teach to get the lowest ones as close to “average” as I can. Everyone else will have to hope I get a minute of time between telling kids to stop hitting each other or stealing each other’s materials to actually give the functioning students help or feedback. After all it is the OVERALL scores you will be looking at…those already at the top will still be there at the end.
If administration insists that I attend meetings and collect invalid & useless data for them to stick in a notebook somewhere, I will. But I won’t have any time to grade papers, provide feedback, plan decent lessons, look for good supplemental materials or set up activities that will work for my students. There are only so many hours in the day…and I’m being required to use them to keep the county office folks happy.
A “word wall”, color coded standards, EQ’s (essential questions) and all the other things posted on my classroom walls required by administration are only important to administrators. The students couldn’t care less and usually don’t pay any attention to those things. Students do like colorful posters depicting concepts we are talking about, concept maps with pictures, models, photos taken by me (and several by students) as examples of things I teach.
If you think Michelle Rhee and other like her are the answer, then you don’t really understand the question.
atlmom
February 11th, 2011
11:47 am
@echo: you sound like you have it about right. One of my biggest peeves is that they don’t take the kids with the worst behaviors out of the school. If you are disrupting classes every minute of the time you are in school – you should not be there. There should be a school for those kids. If you can disrupt class, and not really have any punishment for it, and it’s the only way you have any control of your life, why wouldn’t you do it? Sounds like fun, right?
Take those kids out, let the other kids learn. Simple.
And, you are SO right. I don’t need tests (and weeks and weeks of preparation for them!) to tell me where the good schools are. It’s so obvious to everyone, why do we need the testing?
B. Killebrew
February 11th, 2011
11:55 am
@Maureen:
Which national education expert?
atlmom
February 11th, 2011
12:00 pm
@maureen: and if the ‘establishment’ was unhappy with her, then I have to assume that she was doing something right.
Maureen Downey
February 11th, 2011
12:19 pm
@B, I talked to a researcher on vouchers who is a friend of Rhee’s. (I was talking to him about vouchers and her name came up.)
He thinks she did a good job but that she left far too soon to make any definitive statements about whether she turned around the system, only that she set it in the right direction. He also said the system was a jobs bank for many generations of families and that Rhee took a lot of heat for her firings of folks who felt entitled to jobs since their families had worked for the DC schools for years.
Maureen
Dr NO
February 11th, 2011
12:22 pm
When it some to a solution remember this slogan and chant it often.
“RHEE IS THE KEY, RHEE IS THE KEY”
Ed Johnson
February 11th, 2011
12:42 pm
Beverly Hall rode into town claiming three solid years of school reform would turn APS around. Didn’t happen, couldn’t have happened so she begged off from that by hiring an “education consultant” to say it would take 12-15 years. Didn’t happen, can’t happen. So Rhee needed to stay how many years in DC?
B. Killebrew
February 11th, 2011
12:59 pm
Researcher on vouchers.
Friend of Rhee.
What Goes Around Comes Around
February 11th, 2011
1:31 pm
I agree totally with Ms. Rhee – “The dysfunctions within public education are not an accident, she said. “There are people who benefit by that dysfunction.”
That is evident at APS. They are administrators, book publishers, people who sell school reform programs, principals, board members and even school supporters. PTA presidents have all benefited from the dysfunctions within APS and the students have suffered because of it.
Ms. Rhee knows of what she speaks.
Echo
February 11th, 2011
1:50 pm
No one disagrees with the statement about school dysfunction and who is benefiting from that dysfunction. It seems odd that the only people Rhee went after were the ones not really benefiting…the teachers. The folks at the board office and in the front offices of schools are the ones creating many of the problems while also declaring they have the solutions. Their solution is simply to remove the people who would stop them or expose them, many of those people are teachers. Easy (and MUCH cheaper) to replace a veteran teacher with a freshly minted one out of college…those new ones are a LOT easier to threaten, manipulate or “mold”. All they have to do is simply and consistently spout off that “veteran teachers are resistant to change and are happy with the way things are” to get the ignorant masses to assist in the removal of those “bad teachers”.
atlmom
February 11th, 2011
2:06 pm
@echo: and one gets to pay them much less, too.
I personally think the issue is too many administrators with too many ‘answers.’ I mean, someone in the legislature last week actually said something like: oh, we need an oversight committee and an ethics committee to oversee these school boards. Okay, so ANOTHER layer of administration? REALLY?
I cannot get my head around that.
I have kids in elem school, but have been working with some people at the high school level. AND WOW. it doesn’t seem like too many of them have any idea what happens in a classroom.
MikeyD
February 11th, 2011
2:13 pm
I’d like to know why most of Rhee’s venom is directed at teachers. You want people who put students first? How about those of us who actually work WITH the students? It’s easier than ever to bash educators right now. Heck, our state government has been doing it for a decade now. But at the end of the day, WE are still the ones giving everything we have to these kids. And yet, Michelle Rhee and those like her seem to enjoy poor mouthing teachers at every opportunity. (And our legislators seem to enjoy giving her many opportunities to do so!) Where is her outrage that HALF of the federal funds “won” in rttt will stay at the state level and never have an impact on classroom learning? Where is her outrage that the DOE ballooned in size over the past decade? Where is her outrage at the bloat that is swelling in central offices and standing in the way of effective teachers being able to do their jobs? I guess when you’re part of that education beaurocracy it’s harder to speak against it. So Rhee just continues to bash teachers. Not very original, but I guess it’s good for making money and getting your name in the papers, huh?
3 Rs
February 11th, 2011
2:14 pm
APS needs to move heaven and earth to recruit Ms. Rhee as its next super. She might be able to rescue that foundering system. The only ones who would oppose her are the teachers union and the parents who expect their idiot ghetto children to get automatic social promotion.
MikeyD
February 11th, 2011
2:28 pm
@3 Rs:
I’d love to know what this mysterious “teachers union” is that intelligent folks like you keep talking about….
atlmom
February 11th, 2011
3:27 pm
Rhee is not looking for a job at all, so well, even if they wanted her, she doesn’t want to do it.
WHAT IS
February 11th, 2011
4:09 pm
SHE SELLING?
New Blood Needed
February 11th, 2011
4:52 pm
atlmom,
Keep emailing the APS Board. Willis would clean house and allow for some real changes. I have emailed them, myself.
TFT
February 11th, 2011
5:04 pm
Vouchers are the best way to factionalize a population. Most private schools are parochial, so vouchers will allow the religious to take public money and use it to educate their kids in religion. That’s just one constitutional problem supposedly fixed by allowing religious institutions to “earmark” public money for non-religious education. Right.
It’s funny that voucher proponents are usually Republicans who hate earmarks–unless they benefit.
ScienceTeacher671
February 11th, 2011
7:40 pm
While we’re talking about people who profit from dysfunction – has anyone yet figured out who at the state level is related to someone at Pearson?
ScienceTeacher671
February 11th, 2011
7:45 pm
@Tony – I’m pretty sure we can turn lead into gold now, but it’s not easy, and it costs more than the finished product is worth.
And before someone claims that I’m saying our children aren’t worth it – no, I’m not. But some of the people here complaining about paying school taxes, and some of the people who have been cutting the education budget for years, might be.
(Lots of waste at the state & county level, though.)
FBT
February 11th, 2011
11:23 pm
Parents must have a storng, unified voice before our lawmakers. The teacher’s organizaitons have lobbyists who know how to play the game. Why don’t parents? I believe the day is dawing on true, grassroot, parent led school reform. If we raise a collective voice loud enough and for long enough, we will be heard and we can change our schools.
ScienceTeacher671
February 12th, 2011
6:15 am
FBT, what would you change? What do you think the schools need?
I’ll start – I think better discipline would help. One or two misbehaving students can disrupt the learning environment for the other 25-35 students, and that’s not fair or just.
I think we ought to stop expecting all our children to learn at the same speed just because they’re the same age. Let the ones who can move ahead do so, and provide extra time and assistance for the students who need it. Promote based on mastery, not seat time.
I think there should be different options at the high school level, based on skills and motivation. College is good, but vocational training should also be valued and available.
I think we should spend less time on test review and more time teaching. I think if we’re going to give all these tests, they ought to mean something. Students ought to be on grade level to score “proficient” on the CRCT. Students ought to be above grade level to “exceed” on the CRCT. Students who don’t even get 70% of the answers correct ought not to “exceed” on the EOCT. And so on.
factseeker
February 12th, 2011
7:20 am
If she is in favour of vouchers for kids to attend better performing schools/private schools than the one’s they are assigned to, then where is the plan to fix the under performing schools??? Oh thats right, there is none…they will continue as usual to function as permanent fixtures to continue the vicious cycle of failures. But in the meantime we tax payers will pay for select few to go somewhere else. What a dumb idea for those who don’t have the wherewithal to fix real problems. Another modern day shortcut that does not add nor has any real significant value.
What a great reformer.
FBT
February 12th, 2011
9:40 am
@ScienceTeacher671-YES! And a serious revision of the GPS. I have never seen anything with more lack of focus. A shift to a mastery based classical approach would be a great direction to head.
deblegs
February 12th, 2011
9:42 am
Her idea’s are pay back from Washington, after we sent them Kathy Cox! Oh by the way, lately in Georgia “children first” means more useless paperwork.
Ann
February 12th, 2011
12:59 pm
It is not so much a question as to whether Michelle Rhee is “the answer” to school problems or not. The point is, by coming here, she sparked dialogue about the issues and spurred people into thinking more about them. That is the value.
In the political and academic environments we are in, it is quite difficult for anyone to come in to a “system”, make a few changes and see results in a few short years. Look at how difficult it is for U.S. presidents to institute any meaningful change. Changes are often water-downed to what is acceptable to “all groups” and we don’t get the impact we should get. I would love to see a school system really go “out on a limb”. Bring together important stakeholders and innovators ( a variety of reform authors, speakers, unique school leaders), teachers, parents, students, politicians, administrators, and design together the “ideal” school system they would envision. Plan it, then find a way to implement it. Then, give it at least 10 years to measure results.
@FBT, you are right, that parent led, grassroots reform is growing and will demand change. Either that or we will continue to see more and more families abandon the system for homeschooling.
@teacher&mom, You make a lot of good points regarding reform ideas. You state that “while public education is not perfect, it has managed to educate a large number of Noble Prize winners, scientists, doctors, nurses, educators, artists, musicians, computer whizzes, astronauts, researchers, entrepreneurs, etc. Not so sure the last 30 years have been a complete disaster given the advances in computer technology, medical research, and the list could go on.” Sure, some achievers come through the ranks of public schools, but if you review history, the time of great invention and innovation in the United States was long ago. 200 years ago, there were many more patents filed then there are today. Most computer innovators and CEO’s of major computer companies (and other types of corporations) dropped out of college early (often after 1 semester) or skipped college altogether. It was the 1960’s, over 40 years ago, when man walked on the moon. Anything compared to that feat in recent decades? Anything like the invention of airplanes or the automobile. You can find examples of things here and there, but, if we were truly educating well, we should have had, by now, many, more leaps in medicine and other fields. Progress has been quite slow in that regard.
I believe the day is dawing on true, grassroot, parent led school reform. If we raise a collective voice loud enough and for long enough, we will be heard and we can change our schools.
Ann
February 12th, 2011
1:03 pm
My last paragraph above is @FBT’s quote. I intended to acknowledge that I agreed with that, but when I pasted it in, I forgot to include the reference. From FBT “I believe the day is dawning on true, grassroot, parent led school reform. If we raise a collective voice loud enough and for long enough, we will be heard and we can change our schools.”
ScienceTeacher671
February 12th, 2011
1:30 pm
Ann, 40 years ago we didn’t have personal computers or the internet. We didn’t have cell phones or iPods, and 8 track tapes were state-of-the art in music reproduction. We didn’t have microwave ovens or DVR capabilities.
35 years ago, exploratory surgery discovered my uncle’s fatal lung cancer. They didn’t have CAT scans or MRIs to diagnose the tumors without surgery, and I don’t recall laser surgery, laparoscopic surgery, or ultrasound diagnosis being options at the time. DNA analysis was not being used either.
I’m sure you can think of a few other examples of how life has progressed in the past 40 years.
SSTeacher
February 12th, 2011
2:19 pm
While Rhee was “taking no prisoners” (meaning kill all those who oppose), the Washington Post had this to say of her on February 10, 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/10/AR2011021007240.html?hpid=sec-education
teacher&mom
February 12th, 2011
2:20 pm
@Ann… ditto to what ST671 said….& according to your analysis, we are slipping back into the dark ages. Somehow I think the space shuttle, the international space station, the Mars Exploration landing mission, the Hubble telescope, were each in their own right a major achievement.
Parent involvement is important. I agree that a true, parent lead reform movement is a good thing. Just be careful of which reform movement you join. Rhee has the ability to sell her ideas as “the silver bullet” for education and people find themselves nodding their heads without realizing what her brand of reform actually looks like at the classroom level. Research further and you’ll find what she offers, along with Arne Duncan, is NCLB on steroids.
teacher&mom
February 12th, 2011
2:38 pm
Here’s some good news…..
http://www.empoweredga.org/Articles/ga-ap-11th.html
Patrick Crabtree
February 12th, 2011
2:49 pm
Let’s get to the meat of it. She says she “puts children first” and “…No. 1 students are always looking over their shoulders to see if someone is gaining on them” but, she fails to say in her “Korea” that students who do NOT rank in the top cannot go on to higher education. The ‘failures’ are sent to trade schools to be low paid unskilled workers. DO YOU REALLY WANT THAT FOR OUR CHILDREN? The founding fathers clearly understood classism in England and wanted to make sure we did not have it here. Warts and all, follow the constitution and keep PUBLIC in education. We all have choices. You want different? You have a choice, pay for it. By the way, do REAL research and you will find OVERALL (not isolated cases) these ‘other schools’ do not fair any better and in many cases do not do as well. CUT THROUGH THE EMOTIONS AND SMOKE SCREEN and ask the question, “what is her and the others like hers, real adgenda?” It is truly not for the poor that she claims to be for. Be a real investigator and FOLLOW THE MONEY.
Patrick Crabtree
February 12th, 2011
2:52 pm
Not to be said, I am not a typist and make honet mistakers as an educator, it should be “her’s”and “agenda.”
Patrick Crabtree
February 12th, 2011
3:10 pm
The Atlanta Association of Educators would like to invite you to the Mall West End on February 26th to celebrate NEA’s “Read Across America” from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. We will be celebrating Dr. Suess’s Birthday complete with cake and an appearance from the Cat in the Hat. We are promoting literacy in the community. Any book donations ae welcomed and any literacy organization who wishes to participate to contact the AAE office (404.758.944). We have been doing this for years and ODE (Organization of Dekalb Educators) have events scheduled also, not to mention that this goes on across the country, AND PEOPLE SAY UNIONS ARE THE PROBLEM. Where are all the privatization people who claim they are about “helping educate children”? I believe they are about profit, not our children.