Education Reforms

There is a lot of friction between politicians and the dreaded NEA (National Education Association) when it comes to educational reforms.  There are so many issues that can be brought up like vouchers, tenure, unqualified (or underqualified) teachers and administrators, and in Ohio, school funding.

In this post I would like to highlight some of the efforts of the Chancellor of Washington, D.C. schools, Michelle Rhee.  In a September issue of Newsweek, the authors wrote a very interesting article titled An Unlikely Gambler – By firing bad teachers and paying good ones six-figure salaries, Michelle Rhee just might save D.C.’s schools.

Chancellor Rhee has been shaking things up in Washington since the start of her tenure.  According to the article:

She says she wakes up every morning with a “knot in my stomach,” and that she is “angry,” though “angry in a good way.” She is angry at a system of education that puts “the interests of adults” over the “interests of children,” i.e., a system that values job protection for teachers over their effectiveness in the classroom.

We know that President-Elect Obama opted to keep his children out of the public school system in Washington, chosing to enroll them in Sidwell Friends School.  Personally I do not begrudge him in that decision.  He must do what is best for his family.  But I wonder how he will respond to a crisis in our inner-city public schools.  Will he take action or will he be beholden to the NEA that supported him in is election bid?  Do you think that the methods of Michelle Rhee should be implemented in our larger city publich school systems?

Tagged as: Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Education Reform, President-Elect Obama, Public Schools, Sidwell Friends School