Can Michelle Rhee Stay Out of Prison?

Via Diane Ravitch is this piece by one-time Rhee groupie John Merrow, who has seemed to have changed his tune as of late.

So will she be able to avoid the fate of Atlanta's Beverly Hall?

Michelle A. Rhee, America’s most famous school reformer, was fully aware of the extent of the problem when she glossed over what appeared to be widespread cheating during her first year as Schools Chancellor in Washington, DC. A long-buried confidential memo from her outside data consultant suggests that the problem was far more serious than kids copying off other kids’ answer sheets. (“191 teachers representing 70 schools”). Twice in just four pages the consultant suggests that Rhee’s own principals, some of whom she had hired, may have been responsible (“Could the erasures in some cases have been done by someone other than the students and the teachers?”).

Rhee has publicly maintained that, if bureaucratic red tape hadn’t gotten in the way, she would have investigated the erasures. For example, in an interview [1] conducted for PBS’ “Frontline” before I learned about the confidential memo, Rhee told me, “We kept saying, ‘Okay, we’re going to do this; we just need to have more information.’ And by the time the information was trickling in back and forth, we were about to take the next year’s test. And there was a new superintendent of education that came in at the time. And she said, ‘Okay, well, we’re about to take the next test anyway so let’s just make sure that the proper protocols are in place for next time.’”

At best, that story is misleading.

To say the least.

Read the whole long piece. It's pretty revealing.

D.C.'s Superwoman of the Public Schools

crashed and burned along with the mayor there. It appears voters had enough of the shit that went on.

Naturally the media blamed those nasty "unions," but it appears many voters were upset with mayoral control of the schools instead of having the traditional school boards.

Who in the hell came up with mayoral control anyway? Diane Ravitch nails what the problem is in this "reform":

Mayoral control of schools short-circuits democratic processes by concentrating all decision-making in the hands of one elected official, who need not consult with anyone else. If D.C. had had an independent school board, Rhee would have had to explain her ideas, defend them, and practice the democratic arts of persuasion, conciliation, and consensus-building. We now have an "education reform" movement which believes that democracy is too slow and too often wrong, and their reforms are so important, so self-evident that they cannot be delayed by discussion and debate. So self-assured are the so-called reformers that they can't be bothered to review the research and evidence on merit pay or evaluating teachers by test scores or the effects of high-stakes testing. If they can find one study or even a report by a friendly think tank, that's evidence enough for them. Mayoral control gives them the mechanism they need to push ahead, without regard to other views or collateral damage.

It makes school districts even more political than they already are.

Once a Liar, Always a Liar

Of course I am talking about D.C. tyrant Michelle Rhee, who has been caught once again:

Teachers union leaders angrily accused D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee of unethical behavior Tuesday by failing to disclose the discovery of a $34 million surplus in the school system budget in February, three months after laying off 266 teachers because of what she described as a budget shortfall.

News of the surplus comes at a critical time for Rhee and the teachers union, who just last week announced a tentative contract agreement that ended more than two years of often rancorous bargaining. The two sides were close to a deal late last summer when union anger over Rhee's plans for layoffs delayed its completion.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Washington Teachers' Union President George Parker said Rhee's disclosure of the extra money -- at a Tuesday morning discussion with the D.C. Council about the contract -- renews questions about the legitimacy of the October layoffs, which sparked bitter protests and an unsuccessful union lawsuit. Teachers charged that Rhee contrived the budget crisis by hiring more than 900 teachers in the spring and summer of 2009, and then targeting older instructors for layoffs. A D.C. Superior Court judge rejected the union's claims.

Weingarten and Parker demanded Tuesday that Rhee reinstate the laid-off educators or face a renewed court challenge to the legality of the job reductions.

We will see how far this goes.

Big Whoop

The D.C. teachers' contract has been settled with Rhee, who wanted to screw teachers even more:

The proposed pact, which must be ratified by union members and approved by the D.C. Council, provides teacher salary increases of more than a 20 percent over five years, with much of it to be paid for through an unusual arrangement with a group of private foundations that have pledged to donate $65 million.

The deal gives Rhee some of the tools she said she needed to raise the quality of teaching and learning in schools long ranked as among the nation's worst, but perhaps more importantly it brings her labor peace as Mayor Adrian M. Fenty he heads into an election-year battle with Council Chairman Vincent Gray and perhaps another candidate. The negotiations also have been viewed as a test of the strength of both union forces and reform advocates pushing for aggressive revamping of the nation's schools.

"It took a lot of courage to get here," Rhee said in an interview. "We really have done something that frames evertything around performance for kids and making that the really core tenet of the agreement."

Michelle Rhee's Illegal, Draconian Methods of Running D.C. Schools

have gotten her into an ocean of hot water, so now she believes she needs to have "help" in restoring her shattered image:

Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, whose image has been frayed by a series of high-profile news controversies, is turning to former White House communications director and veteran Democratic media consultant Anita Dunn for help.

A D.C. schools spokeswoman confirmed Friday that the agency is negotiating a contract with Dunn's firm, Squier Knapp Dunn. The objective is to more effectively handle the heavy load of local and national news media attention that Rhee attracts and to help roll out major stories to greater strategic advantage. The spokeswoman said Dunn has devoted time to District school issues but would not elaborate.

Dunn is expected, however, to assist with an announcement of the long-awaited labor contract between the District and the Washington Teachers' Union, which could be finalized in the next few weeks.

Not that anything can help Rhee's image at this point. And, as is being asked, WHO is financing this?

There appears to be conflict of interest galore with Dunn and the White House, by the way.

The Education Wars: Michelle Rhee's Diarrhea of the Mouth

D.C. Chancellor Michelle Rhee is trying to spin her illegal firing of teachers under "reduction in force" as being justified for some "misconduct" on their part.

Of course, she's lying about that.

The reason they were let go was because of cost, and it's completely illegal.



Susan Ohanian comments:

Ohanian Comment: I post this because Rhee is in the national spotlight, the darling of the corporate politicos who are out to deform public education.

Even though an apology isn't enough to redress the wrong Rhee did, her unwillingness to make such an apology reveals a great character flaw. I don't think anybody should be around children who is incapable of saying, "I made a mistake. I'm sorry."

In Rhee's case that should be "I made a terrible mistake, and I will do everything possible to rectify it."

This article says she's "hedging." Obviously, this is too little and too late. Just as obviously, hedging is not admitting error and apologizing.

A teacher loses her job if she does not report suspected sex abuse.

Rhee should reassure the public with proof that any cases involving alleged sex abuse were reported to the police, or she should resign.

The reputations of 266 teachers are at stake. Oh, since Rhee offered some detail on the bad behavior of 8 plus "several others," make that the reputations of 250+ teachers.

Rhee's "clarifying comments" don't clarify anything.

Time for a true "due process" hearing for Rhee, and not a kangaroo court-type bunch of nonsense like what I went through.

Here is another report of diaRHEEa's lies, this one from yesterday:

The Education Wars: Michelle Rhee Strikes Again

D.C. Chancellor/Tyrant Michelle Rhee tries to justify her illegal actions in firing 266 teachers, trying to claim "some" of those teachers committed criminal or improper acts with children.

Of course the only "crimes" these teachers committed was being too old or being paid too much:

George Parker, president of the teachers union, called Rhee's statements "reckless" and without basis in fact. The union usually receives notice from the District when a teacher faces disciplinary action, Parker said, and he has received no information that any of the 266 had been under investigation for sexual offenses against children. One of the 266 faced action for administering corporal punishment, he said.

"This paints all teachers as being a group of child molesters who assault children and don't come to work," Parker said. "It damages the reputation of a lot of innocent, hardworking, dedicated teachers."

When you are an administrator or principal, you can break the law with impunity, since the taxpayers are footing the bill for your defense.

link

LOTS of good comments over at the Fast Company site.

This comment is REALLY good:

January 22, 2010 at 1:15pm by Betty Williams

Michelle Rhee's comments about firing teachers who hit and molested children and abused sick leave is evident that something is not quite right. As a professional psychologist I have followed the claims from Michelle Rhee regarding the educational system in DC and its staff and believe that first of all strong prayers are in order for her social and emotional stability. There is one thing to protect children but I think this mantra is becoming self imposed as Rhee begins to possibly act out her own childhood. Rhee has noted that her childhood was marked with feeling like an outsider, one who was constantly teased in the midst of not only her own but various other cultures. She claims that she was constantly in trouble because of the things she said to people and how she said them. In an interview, Rhee claimed that her parents constantly chided her about her "mouth" and warned her that it would get her in trouble someday. From the mouths of those who knew her personally she was bossy, crass, and found it difficult to have true friends in her life. Today, she is called a "Chancellor". Not many in history and certainly never in the history of education has anyone been called a "chancellor" accept Adolph Hitler. Hitler, the Chancellor, had a similar childhood, flanked with disappointment, bullying, and low self-esteem until one day he made good on all those who wronged him - whether they were the actual people who wronged him or not. He also found followers as many people find themselves victims of this same type of situation - even today when violence is at one of its most undefineable peaks - arises Michelle Rhee. She rises in the midst of the worst economic recession in history. She rises when there are more blacks in prisons than in schools. She rises in the black community where it is easier and encouraged to test and categorized black boys as Special Ed students. She rises while Principals are encouraged to expel and suspend low performing students from the schools so as not to reduce standardized test scores. She rises as alternative schools increase as a means to shove these students to the side in programs to be treated differently from "mainstream students". She rises as (in her own words)parents of private school students (meaning white children)complain about how expensive private school education is and how they want their children in public schools but don't want black teachers teaching them. She rises also in the midst of gentrification. She rises as the status quo grows for African American professionals and role models to be challenged, attacked, televised, and jailed, and as black teachers are escorted from their classrooms and offices in handcuffs. She rises in the midst of our first African American President. I think we should do research on the relationship between gentrification and standardized test scores in Washington, DC. Rhee is obviously not only out for self-aggrandizement in the name of "the children". I just wonder which children she speaks of, certainly not "all" children - just the ones who score high and who have parents with the economic means to place her higher among the social echelon. Which way is up for Michelle Rhee? Clearly, Michelle Rhee needs prayer of which she will receive while in the Black community. And when the Black community begins to pray for Michelle Rhee she needs to be concerned. Black people believe that prayer moves mountains as it has been our only weapon in time of need and despair. Prayer will not harm her but it will set wrongs to right and crooked to straight. At the risk of sounding condescending which is certainly not this attempt, we also offer and pray that Michelle Rhee also seek serious long term therapy as we would not like to see her harmed but healed. Imagine her power used to help instead of to detroy as she has done so well her few years in office as head of the education in a predominant African American school system.

A video report of her ridiculous remarks. As one person said in the report, "Why would these be factors in a RIF?"

The Education Wars: Vomit Alert

Anderson Cooper interviewed D.C. tyrant Michelle Rhee, who naturally slams teachers:



Be sure to read the comments below the video; they are pretty good overall. I suspect many of them were by D.C. teachers who KNOW what a farce this woman is.

Here are a few of the comments:

efavorite says:
January 8, 2010 at 10:44 pm

What I noticed was that Rhee’s answer to practically every question was “Human Capital” (I think that’s Rhee’s management-speak for “teachers.”)

Cooper asks what’s next in education? And Rhee answers, “I think one of the things were going to see over the next few years is a real focus on teacher quality and human capital in schools.”

Cooper asks about changes in education and Rhee answers, “I actually don’t think it’s going to be something in the realm of computers or smart boards…. I think the real innovation is going to happen around accountability for the adults in the system…with the focus on human capital…. How we change the ways teachers are thought about in society, how they’re compensated; how they’re evaluated…. That’s what’s really going to drive the innovation going forward.”

Cooper asks about creative solutions to education and Rhee answers, “It’s absolutely the human capital. It’s the quality of educators in the classroom and leading our schools…. “

Why even go to do the trouble of bringing in students to comment, when they were just used as shills for Rhee to put down teachers. When the first student commented on older teachers who “have connections,” Rhee saw an opening to blast unions: “It’s a significant problem that in this country right now we have a dynamic where you can be incredibly ineffective. You can, you know, actually take kids backwards in terms of their academic achievement, every year, year in and year out and still have a job.” [I think she should be required to present the data that proves she has kept teachers on the payroll who have taken kids backwards over a period of years, and then explain why she didn’t put those teachers on the 90 day plan and have them fired.]

When the second student suggested more technology for the future, Rhee disagreed, suggesting more focus on human capital, of course.

This interview was a farce. Anderson Cooper simply provided a forum for Rhee to publicize her only plan for reforming DC schools — firing teachers.

The Washington Teacher says:
January 8, 2010 at 11:28 pm

When Chancellor Rhee arrived in town she did not create an education plan. After much criticism, she created an educational plan 18 months into her term. Her educational plan included a plan to get rid of a significant share of her teaching workforce through buyouts, layoffs, terminations, etc.

Chancellor Rhee has since fired a significant share of teachers, administrators and school staff without due process and without regard to their performance ratings. Rhee believes in firing probationary teachers without regard to performance, seasoned administrators with schools that have made documented gains and the list is endless. Rhee recently terminated 388 teachers and school staff via a reduction in force in November ‘09 after school started which has created over sized classes & teachers teaching outside of their certification. Rhee hired over 900 teachers this year then argued that she had a budget deficit which caused her to terminate 266 teachers and over 100 school system employees, many of whom were highly qualified and certified. No credible school system in America terminates highly qualified and certified teachers & staff while continuing to hire mainly new teachers who lack experience and are at not highly qualified. This ensures that mostly students of color are more likely to be taught by an inexperienced and un-certified teacher thereby contributing to the increasing disparity in the achievement gap between black and white students. This is also a violation of NCLB. Students of color are more likely to be taught by a teacher who is provisionally certified, inexperienced and lacking in HQ credentials.

Certainly the piece by Anderson Cooper was a farce. I agree with e-favorite that Rhee was simply given a platform to spew her lies and continue to bash public school teachers on CNN as well as give a plug to Mayor Fenty for his next election bid. This is about capitalism and privatization of public education through hefty million dollar contracts to groups like TFA and the New Teacher Project. This creates a revolving door workforce of inexperienced teachers who stay an average of 3 years and leave before gaining the experience, professional development, mentoring, coursework and professional certification to become better teachers.

I do hope that the DC CIty Council in their oversight role of public education will take a stand and continue to investigate instances of fraud within DC public schools. Rhee is still hiring teachers despite the fact that she claims that there is a budget deficit and one that is continuing to grow under her leadership and will require more layoffs in 2010-2011. Rhee more than likely will fire more teachers within this next year.

I support an immediate forensic audit by the DC City Council, like the one conducted in the Barbara Bullock union scandal. I also support getting on with the independent evaluation so that the results can be provided to the public before Mayor Fenty’s next election. What can you do to help facilitate this Mr. Brown and how can we be of help to support your efforts ? It is finally time for some real accountability of Michelle Rhee.

Candi Peterson
(AKA The Washington Teacher Education blogger)
thewashingtonteacher.blogspot.com/
website: saveourcounselorsdotorg

Jane Doe says:
January 9, 2010 at 1:04 am

I believe the Michelle Rhee feature on Anderson Cooper 360 was both appalling, inaccurate, biased and an example of why I will NEVER support anything Anderson Cooper speaks on, produces, writes, edits, tweets, googles or affirms in any way. It is bad enough that the City Council has allowed her to manufacture RIFs, conduct massive layoffs and to badmouth the citizens and children of the District as well as its workforce. However, when a person like Anderson Cooper gives an educational dilletante so much exposure and allows a platform for her to lie about data with no one to represent the opposite side of the argument, something is very wrong. The only scores that have improved are white students’ scores and that translates to a problem for everyone because all children must succeed!!

Councilman Brown, you were merely ‘present’ the day Peter Nickles became the Attorney General of our nation’s capital. We need you to be present and ACTIVE to rid the city of leaders who operate in the reptilian manner Rhee espouses. Ronnie above posts that the current union needs to be dismantled and reformed into a different organization. While I agree that all organizations have their problems, it is a serious issue that Rhee is unable to respect or follow ANY RULES of any organization and that she is allowed by the supreme legislative body to operate with impunity while breaking the Anti-Deficiency Law and other similar laws.

Rhee cannot be trusted to be responsible for anyone’s children with the destructive decisions she has made while responsible for students in Sacramento. Ms. Rhee was made aware of sexual allegations against her fiance when she was in the position of being a mandatory reporter in Sacramento. She did not. There is no statute of limitations with respect to her failure to act appropriately within the confines of the law. Rhee also interfered in a federal investigation by contacting former Inspector General Gerald Walpin, the man whom President Obama chose to fire or have fired when allegations about her fiance came out. How is this at all acceptable?

People say this has nothing to do with her current position. What a naive perception. It has everything to do with her current position. A woman who is amoral enough to protect a man who prefers little girls to women his own age is now engaged to a woman with a child’s body. If she can interfere with a federal investigation without reproach, what wouldn’t she do? It is clear she has no respect for the City Council or even for the President of the United States if she dares to interfere with an Inspector General. After all, the President did sponsor legislation to protect Inspectors General.

Well, he is another of Rhee’s victims. Is she more powerful than the President? Her level of power reminds me of a poignant scene of the motion picture Malcolm X where a police officer commented “That’s too much power for one man to have.” Rhee is clearly more powerful than the mayor and we all know exactly what he thinks of the City Council, of which he was once a part.

The proper way to effect change is to follow the rules in place while making changes to the process by which things are done. It is no better for a broken system to be replaced by a tyrant, his out-of-control undereducated and underexperienced chancellor and his police chief who allegedly bends the law for the privileged.

People have NO idea what is going on in education, and they NEED to know, for this is the very future of this country. People need to pay close attention to what is happening in the big urban districts such as NYC, D.C., and L.A., for ALL districts will be going that way.

The Education Wars: D.C.

Teachers in D.C. who were sacked unfairly because of tyrannical chancellor Michelle Rhee's "budget cutting" layoffs are trying to fight back.

Lots of luck because they are going to need it.

The Education Wars II

It takes laid off teachers, in this case D.C. teachers, to appreciate just how effective the teachers' unions are.

They spend hundreds of dollars a year on union dues--required in states that are not "right to work," and they have utterly no protections at all from these abusive tactics by administrators:

After losing a court challenge, several teachers laid off from D.C. public schools are now criticizing the union for not being proactive enough in helping them keep their jobs.

Crystal Proctor is one of several teachers who say union lawyers were not well prepared in court when they argued in favor of reinstating the more than 250 teachers. "We don't think that the legal representation was competent," says Proctor. "Watching our attorney perform, it was laughable. It was ridiculous."

Another teacher Natasha Mason says she didn't get replies when she sent emails to her union representative. She says she's gotten "nothing" out of her membership. "I'm totally disappointed," says Mason. "It's a pity we've been paying all this money into people to protect us and represent us and to stand up for what our rights are none of it has been done."

The Education Wars III

Meanwhile over at D.C., teachers there are screwed over as the WTU lost a court challenge to mass layoffs proposed by chancellor/dictator Michelle Rhee:

In an opinion issued late Tuesday morning, Judge Judith Bartnoff said WTU had failed to prove any of its core arguments against Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's decision to conduct a RIF (reduction in force) due to a $43.9 million budget shortfall. She said that given the District's financial situation, a reversal of the layoffs would force Rhee and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to make other cuts in the DCPS, harming the public interest.

"The District asserts, and the plaintiff has not disputed, that in that event, other staff would be subject to a RIF--even further into the school year--or programs that have been deemed essential would have to be cut," Bartnoff wrote. "Such an action would not benefit DCPS, its teachers, students or staff, or the wider District of Columbia community."

No word yet on whether WTU plans to appeal.

The union is so stinking ineffective, or else the judge was on the take.

Here is a blog post saying somebody needs to take a stand for teachers:

I decided to post this entry after reading articles by Leah Fabel of the DC Examiner and Bill Turque of the WaPo this morning. Seems like the Washington Teachers' Union got brutalized yesterday by Judge Judith Bartnoff in her 23 page ruling . Many argue that the WTU's legal strategy was flawed right from the start. I knew we were in trouble when our WTU Prez George Parker indicated that the union's legal strategy was a secret so as not to tip off the other side. I was concerned that at no time was there a consultation with our laid off teachers and our union lawyers about our various legal strategies. Further there seemed to be little effort made to get affadavits' from teachers under oath and/or collect evidence for our legal case. I like many others worried when the WTU didn't file a TRO (temporary restraining order) as union members had been advised would happen right from the start. The TRO was filed after the preliminary injunction in late October.

Not until our WTU General Vice president, Nathan Saunders and I arranged for a free legal consultation with Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, P.A.- did the WTU decide to file a TRO, some say too little too late and well after the filing of the preliminary injunction. As Peter Nickles has been quoted this is a slam dunk for the Rhee administration. As much as I hate to admit it I have to agree with Nickles this time.

Look for more of this crap to go on all over the country.

The Education Wars

Naturally, I want to point out a "report" which is slanted to make teachers look bad, but still it is nice to note Michelle Rhee is after tenure, which we know is nothing more than a rubber stamp anyway for principal abuse.

The Obama administration says it wants to remake public education around the principle that the best teachers should be promoted and rewarded, regardless of seniority.

And a brawl over just that idea is now playing out in the shadow of the White House.

The chancellor of Washington's school system, Michelle Rhee, is wrestling with one of the most expensive, worst performing school systems in the country. The dropout rate has hit 40%, and the cost per student is $14,000 a year. Buildings are crumbling and thousands of parents have abandoned the system, which serves about 45,000 students.

Ms. Rhee is trying to reduce what she believes to be a bloated school management and wrest more control over the district's affairs from the powerful local teachers' union. She has replaced principals, laid off teachers and closed underperforming schools.

Michelle Rhee is a moron.

Meanwhile, newbies are rumored to be sighted all around the D.C. district:

I have received emails confirming sightings of new 'teacher hires' beginning the second week of November, only a month after the notices of layoffs were given to 388 DC teachers and school staff. This is pretty darn amazing given the budget pressures that DC public schools is reportedly faced with. Ever wonder why Chancellor Rhee has yet to implement a freeze on hiring and spending practices given the twenty million dollar deficit DC schools is up against ? Well let me make an educated guess why this administration continues to spend willy nilly. Perhaps Rhee does not want to freeze spending so that she can continue to hire staff on the DL (down-low) to replace teachers who were unfairly laid off.

_____

The Education Wars

The News Hour With Jim Lehrer has this report about D.C. tyrant Michelle Rhee and her attempt to fire teachers in order to hire cheapies as replacements:

The Education Wars

A ruling is expected next week regarding the D.C. union's bid to roll back mass teacher layoffs proposed by the school district's dictator Michelle A. Rhee. It is widely believed she is using the layoffs as an excuse for age discrimination against older employees while replacing them with younger ones.

The post I mentioned yesterday from the same site said the average age of a teacher being laid off in D.C. is 48, while the average age of the new hires is 32.

Yep, I'd say it's a trifle questionable.

After all, the younger ones are cheaper and more malleable. They probably won't have teaching "careers" lasting more than 2 or 3 years anyway.

The Education Wars III

D.C. teachers, under the ironfisted rule of tyrannical chancellor Michelle Rhee, are getting a taste of the new "evaluation" system:




I expect teachers all over the country, including Nevada, will undergo similar evaluations.

Principals and other administrators, of course, will get off scot free.

Age discrimination in D.C. is evident, as noted in the post below the video here.

Rhee apparently doesn't want anybody working in the schools who is older than she is, which is 39, I believe.

The Education Wars

D.C.'s chief Michelle Rhee, NOT a real educator, is at it again. I expect the union to capitulate, and thus hundreds of "ineffective," i.e., older, more senior teachers, will be tossed out on their asses.

What bullshit from Rhee:

Tenure protections are likely to remain in place despite Rhee's outspoken criticism of the provisions as a major obstacle to reform. As recently as July 5, she told an audience at the Aspen Ideas Festival: "Right now, the culture within education and within the teaching ranks is once you have tenure, you have a job for life. I believe that mind-set has to be completely flipped on its head and that we have to move out of the idea that a teaching job is a right. . . . And unless you can show you are doing positive things for kids, you cannot have the privilege of teaching."

You DON'T have a "job for life" unless you are a crooked administrator. Teachers have NO protections, just some dubious right to a kangaroo hearing dubbed "due process" for those fond of Orwellian terms.

The Education Wars

I'll BET those 80 tenured teachers sacked in D.C. were let go because of "poor performance." I'll bet they were let go because they were too old or too expensive or were "troublemakers" of one type or another. The D.C. school district is one of the worst, most corrupt in the United States.

As Susan Ohanian comments:

People who think they can shortcut the path to Teacher Excellence are the same sort of people who buy into giving kids phonics worksheets instead of reading aloud to them A LOT. I figure a teacher begins to learn what it's all about at about year 5. After my first 8 months of teaching (I didn't start at the beginning of the year), my official report card from the New York City school system ranked me at a "C." I regarded it as a gift. My grader wrote in the comments section that I responded well to suggestions [for reducing chaos], that I HAD A GOOD HEART [and he cited a couple of examples], and, given some time, would develop into a good teacher.

Can you imagine a teacher grader today writing on an evaluation that a teacher has a good heart?!!!!

This journalist calls the dismissal of 80 tenured teachers to be "a landmark."

landmark:
4) a significant or historic event, juncture, achievement, etc.

This is Michelle Rhee's most notable achievement thus far.

When you base your plan on transient, obedient practitioners, you will never have people who know what they're doing.

Public education is turning into a revolving door "business" where young teachers are hired, then let go before they reach tenure, while older teachers are harassed out of their jobs. All of it is for financial reasons or because the administrators are sadistic.

Meanwhile, administrators have almost ironclad job security.