Washington, DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee takes to the Washington Post Op-Ed page today to “set the record straight with students, parents and, especially, teachers” — the poor performance of the city’s schools, she says, is not the fault of teachers.
I often speak of our district’s performance data with sadness and outrage. The situation for our city’s children is dire. Yet while I acknowledge the seriousness of the work we face, I want to be clear about something: I do not blame teachers for the low achievement levels. I have talked with too many teachers to believe this is their fault. I have watched them pour their energy into engaging every student. I know they are working furiously in a system that for many years has not appreciated them — sometimes not even paying them on time or providing textbooks. Those who categorically blame teachers for the failures of our system are simply wrong.
What follows is a lengthy discussion of the proposed teachers contract. Eduwonk downplays Rhee’s shiny gold star for teachers saying “I suspect this will be seen as the ”new Rhee” but this is basically what she’s been saying for a while.” Personally the op-ed reads to me like a standard PR tactic to rally public support for the contract. Countering the union line that Rhee favors a “scorched earth” brand of reform, including teacher evaluation, seems almost secondary here.
As for teachers the chancellor will almost certainly find that regardless of what she has meant these many months, her ready, fire, aim rhetorical style has certainly created the perception that she holds teachers in less than high regard. And it may take more than a single op-ed to change that.
I agree. I think it’s also worth noting that up to this point she’s often seemed to be *trying* to create that scorched-earth persona because it makes so many reformers (e.g., anybody at the Education Sector) swoon, and she thinks she needs to develop some constituency to back her up if she’s going to take on the unions. If it turns out she really *does* need union cooperation, I don’t know how she’s going to be able to walk the line between being nice to teachers and giving Andy Rotherham the vapors.
Comment by Paul — February 9, 2009 @ 3:40 pm
George Parker and Randi Weingarten should bring the Post article with them when they sit down to negotiate a new contract.
Comment by Paul Hoss — February 9, 2009 @ 6:13 pm
I don’t know about that..Ms. Rhee has suggested she would do what the hell she wanted, and that she’d do it with or without the union. She suggested if they didn’t give her what she wanted, she’d simply declare a state of emergency and forget about contracts.
Anyone who trusts her after that is not at all bright enough to be a teacher.
Comment by NYC Educator — February 9, 2009 @ 7:38 pm
Don’t worry – teachers in DC are not buying it. read the comments section of that column and see for yourself: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/08/AR2009020801711_Comments.html#
They can see that she is completely disengenuous – and that this column is just another indication of it.
Comment by Mary — February 10, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
I agree, this is just another PR ploy by Rhee. She uses the media to mask her deficiency as a true ed administrator. What about grad rates? absenteeism, school violence? Test scores don’t mean anything, a good statistician can fix those. Or, teachers can be pressed to just do test prep.
Comment by Lisa — February 15, 2009 @ 6:39 pm