General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMichelle Rhee in Florida pushing the Parent Trigger law. She really is pushy.
She seems to feel no shame over the revelations that she ignored her own cheating scandal in DC
Rhee failed to act on evidence of cheating because it undermined her success narrative, according to Merrow. He concludes his lengthy piece with:
This story is bound to remind old Washington hands of Watergate and Senator Howard Bakers famous question, What did the President know and when did he know it? It has a memo that answers an echo of Bakers question, What did Michelle know, and when did she know it? And the entire sordid story recalls the lesson of Watergate lesson, Its not the crime; its the coverup.
That Michelle Rhee named her new organization StudentsFirst is beyond ironic.
Instead she preferred to let people think that her policies were causing the high testing scores. That is just dishonest. Now she is spreading her faulty policies in Florida again.
Michelle Rhee makes the rounds in the Florida Capitol
Despite mounting criticism over a possible cheating scandal in Washington, D.C., nationally recognized education activist Michelle Rhee was in Tallahassee Monday to discuss a flurry of schools-related proposals in Florida.
"We're here to answer questions and lend our support in any way possible," Rhee said while waiting to meet with House Speaker Will Weatherford.
When asked which bills she was lobbying for, Rhee directed a reporter to the website for her education nonprofit, StudentsFirst. The organization lists performance pay for teachers, expanding school choice, and empowering parents as its top legislative priorities.
.."It's no secret that Rhee supports the Parent Empowerment Act, better known as the parent trigger. The proposal would let parents demand sweeping changes at low-performing schools, including having the school converted into a charter school.
No one seems to know who gave Michelle Rhee such power over teachers and public schools. No one seems to care really.
Let them eat cupcakes. Plus why Michelle Rhee is lawyering up.
Adell Cothorne says that now for the first time in her life she can be googled.
Taking on Rhee, Inc. hasnt come without personal costs. Adell gave up her job as principal and abandoned, at least for now, the doctorate she was close to finishing, a study of the use of culturally competent instruction to eliminate the achievement gap for elementary school-age African American males. She says that she felt she had no choice but to walk away from her job and her studies because of a fight that felt more important than either. I needed to do what was right for not only those kids in DC but all students. Testing is killing our education system.
In the coming days well be treated to endless news stories and puff pieces about Michelle Rhee. Thanks to the bravery of Adell Cothorne, much of this coverage will now include words like investigation, tampering, suspicion and cheating. So lets toast to Adell and hope for better days ahead. And since a little something sweet is just the thing to accompany that toast, why not sample a fresh baked cupcake? Adell thoughtfully provided the following recipe, one of dozens of varieties of cupcakes that she bakes at her new shop, Cooks n Cakes. She named this one in honor of Rhee and her successor, Kaya Henderson. Its called Let Them Eat Cake.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)jehop61
(1,735 posts)No matter what your opinion is on this issue, you should NEVER use that old and trite phrase "pushy" in referring to a woman. Why is it that strong women are pushy, but strong men are leaders? Rephrase please.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)That's a ridiculous statement to me. Michelle Rhee is pushy, someone gave her the power to be that way over teachers, career teachers. People who care about those they teach.
I could have used the word obnoxious, or a choice of many other words.
Good grief.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)I thought so.
Throd
(7,208 posts)11 Bravo
(23,926 posts)madrchsod
(58,162 posts)she gets away with this crap because the hatred of public schools and the teacher`s unions over ride the truth.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)So, like a used car salesman, she has to make it up with hutzpah.
jsr
(7,712 posts)Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)A narcissicist. A film flam artist. Unfortunately people love her brand of snake oil, it's so much easier to blame teachers and hurt them than to actually address the real problem.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Blame the teachers, forget poverty, take the responsibility off students and parents.
MattBaggins
(7,904 posts)From attacks on workers, to SS, Medicare and the healthcare issue; we are quite literally raised as Americans to hate and blame our neighbors instead of those actually responsible.
Pissed that public workers have healthcare? Don't fight for healthcare for everyone; instead do the American thing and take healthcare away from those that have it. Why give a neighbor a helping hand when you can trip them up instead.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)hay rick
(7,624 posts)Michelle Rhee and the education "reformers" have developed a simplistic, cynical formula to sell their wares. It goes something like this:
Step 1. Test achievement.
Step 2. Hold teachers and administrators responsible if test results are disappointing. Fire as necessary.
Step 3. Replace failing schools with charters.
The bottom line: better schools.
The appealing part of this is measuring achievement. Doing well on tests is achievement by definition. Achievement on tests is a good thing, but it hardly ensures a useful education. A more jaundiced look at the Rhee formula:
Step 1. Test achievement. The obvious failing here is that it creates a huge incentive to cheat. That's what happened in Atlanta and in Washington D. C. Rhee's "success" was a sham from the very start.
Step 2. Hold teachers and administrators responsible. The sales appeal of this idea is that it lets students, parents, and the rest of society off the hook. "Accountability" is a rhetorical cudgel which is used to justify efforts to undermine tenure and seniority agreements. Defining the problem as "bad teachers" makes union rights and protections bad guys in this morality play. Weakening unions leads to lower pay and benefits, longer work hours and less job security for teachers.
Step 3. Replace failing schools with charters. The money that is saved on teachers can then be transferred to the real bottom line: profits and high salaries in the for-profit education industry.
An article on the educational benefits of charter schools in Florida: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-10-16/features/os-scott-maxwell-charter-schools-101712-20121016_1_charter-schools-imani-elementary-traditional-schools
And last year charter schools accounted for nearly 50 percent of the state's F-rated schools, even though they accounted for only 11 percent of the total public schools.
Put another way: Charter schools were seven times more likely to fail.
Yet Florida politicians barreled ahead, vowing to pour more tax dollars into this flawed system and now they're talking about doubling the number of kids in charter schools.
Charter schools in Florida are prolific political donors and some politicians have direct family ties with the schools. Another article: http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/9-investigates-lawmakers-connections-charter-schoo/nS6Z3/
Sancho
(9,070 posts)when I call my local representatives, they are usually idiots who actually listen to her crap.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)They adore her.
jsr
(7,712 posts)Wherever she goes, she is very good at scamming the locals into thinking she's an out-of-the-box forward-thinking pathbreaking non-profit visionary pioneer lone ranger or some such bullcrap.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)you aren't really going to make much headway.
She's a lobbyist, pure and simple. You should be able to use non-sexist terms to critique her and what she is advocating.
What is wrong with parent trigger laws?*** If you cannot make an argument with attacking Rhee, then you've lost.
***I'm not taking a stand on them.
hay rick
(7,624 posts)Who knew? Let's hijack this thread and turn it into a discussion about "pushy."
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)"Get Rid of the Pushy Broad Syndrome."
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2011/07/24/the_pushy_broad_syndrome/
If one cannot figure out how to overcome Michelle Rhee without using the term 'pushy,' then you've pretty much lost the argument.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Are you feeling good about it?
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)1) Ignore.
2) Send my posts to a jury.
You are not a victim here.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)No need to blame it on the women in this thread.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)And he supports what Rhee does.
Thus, most Democrats are eager to embrace her policies.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)That's what you are using as 'proof?'
Oh, lordy.....
Oilwellian
(12,647 posts)pushes a hideous program to privatize our children's education. We better fight this for the sake of our very soul as a society. If we don't, we will one day soon be carpooling children to Walmart Elementary. Is CREW involved in Rhee's cheating on her test?
duffyduff
(3,251 posts)I seriously believe Michelle Rhee IS one.
Who the hell takes pleasure in firing a principal and having it shown in the national media?
Who the hell takes delight in bragging about duct taping students?
In interviews it is obvious something is "off" with her.
hay rick
(7,624 posts)She was the first guest and told a story that went something like this:
She walks into a Washington School and looks around at the classrooms- a lot of them have a teacher and just 3, 4, or 5 kids. Then she comes to a class with about 35 kids. There aren't enough chairs for everybody- it's standing room only. Rhee asks a "tough-looking" kid why this class is so crowded. The tough kid explains that this is a really good teacher and he learns something new every time he comes to this class. Rhee wanders around some more and finishes her visit to the school. As first period ends, she is walking out the door when she notices the tough kid and his friends walking out the door in front of her. She stops them and asks them where they are going. The tough kid explains that they just came for the one good class and now they are leaving.
That sounds like a made up story to me...
duffyduff
(3,251 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)MattBaggins
(7,904 posts)Can parents use trigger laws against corrupt, so called public charter schools, or do they get a pass from these laws?
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)They think they are gaining power, but they are only gaining the right to pick which charter company takes away their choices.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)Charter schools are public schools.
MattBaggins
(7,904 posts)I have made model rockets before. I am not an astronaut.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)are granted at the local district level.
MattBaggins
(7,904 posts)Can I go to the local public schools and sign up?
Do the charter schools have to follow every single law that the public schools do?
Do they have one night a year where parents can get applications?
Do they only allow open enrollments for 9th grade and then hand pick after that?
Do they respond to local boards?
Do they have a fair system of grievance for families of children kicked out?
Public schools my ass.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)initiative process to mold the charter law (enacted in 1992) to your wishes.
I am sure you will have a groundswell of support.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)The distortion of the use of the word "public" in this conversation has been festering for years.
Is the local shopping mall "public" because you don't need to pay to get in? No. Public means publicly owned, publicly run and publicly accountable. The end.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)It just becomes a big game.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)and stopping you is the troll's goal.
It can be frustrating, but have faith that it is worth it. They're afraid and they're stupid. We will win in the end unless we give up.
chervilant
(8,267 posts)online verbal bullies and those who tend to mistake argumentative derision for 'debate.'
Many of us know how hard you've been working to support teachers and public education. Only a few DUers seem oblivious to Rhee's relentless (nee pushy), politically-driven assault on teachers and public education.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)It's a sign of their desperation. Pathetic, really.
jsr
(7,712 posts)Just ignore the bullshit that derails your threads.
just1voice
(1,362 posts)of corruption. Rhee was a known hack in D.C., hired to fire people and cut the education budget. She invented stories about teachers to get them fired, a true corporate hack.
Of course "No Child Left Behind" is a complete fraud since it's inception too. Our corrupt country is now based on lies and propaganda, Rhee is just one of 1000s of criminal frauds preying on the public in an almost endless number of different government-approved rackets.