Michelle Rhee, the rock star of the education reform movement, addressed a standing-room-only crowd at the state Capitol and delivered a memorable performance.
The former chancellor for the Washington, D.C., Rhee appeared before a much-anticipated joint session of the state House and Senate education committees and the controversial commentator didn’t hold back.
According to the Grand Rapids Press, she addressed head-on the issues of merit pay, teacher evaluations, parental involvement, tenure, and seniority rules that require the most recently hired teachers to be the first laid off.
“I love teachers – effective teachers,” she said earlier in the day.“No one has a harder job than an inner-city teacher. There is nothing more noble than working as a teacher.
“But if you raise some of these (reform) issues you are labeled ‘anti-teacher’ or a ‘union-buster.’ I’m not a union buster. But teachers have a very effective organization lobbying on their behalf. I want to be effective representing the other side, our children.”
Rhee, who has appeared on national TV news shows, on magazine covers and in the documentary film “Waiting for Superman,” is criticized by union leaders who say her reforms are too dependent on firing teachers and principals.
The founder of a new school reform group, studentsfirst.org, Rhee said she was encouraged by lawmakers who are considering bills to recast the tenure system. That move “will be incredibly difficult politically,” but will keep better teachers in schools, not just the ones serving the longest.
The GR press reports that Rhee said there are too many protections in place to keep ineffective educators in classrooms, and not enough opportunities to help struggling teachers get better at their craft.
“It should be virtually impossible for an ineffective teacher to remain in the classroom,” she said.
“No wants to get rid of ineffective teachers more than effective teachers – they drive them nuts,” she added.”But … look, teachers, you can e-mail me under the cover of darkness all you want. But you have to stand up and say something.”
Rhee resigned as chancellor in November after the D.C. mayor supporting her was defeated in an election campaign where her tough reforms were a dominant issue.
She favors a teacher evaluation system that rates ability and performance, with the requirement that new hires who aren’t ready should be “sent back” to their universities.
“You accepted $100,000 from this student to get a degree and they’re not effective. You are responsible.”
She repeated the mantra heard across the nation that parents need to become more involved in their kids’ school work. But Rhee said schools should not be allowed to blame parents for a teacher’s ineffectiveness.
“You can’t subjugate children over something that they have no control over, which is the abilities of their parents,” she said. “Does … the lack of responsible parents make educating children harder? Sure. But you don’t get a pass for that.”
But she also took on the role of tiger mom, asserting that even active and involved parents need to demand high standards. The country, she said, “has gone soft.”
Rhee said her daughter plays soccer “and inherited her mother’s athleticism. But if you look at the medals in her room you’d think she was Mia Hamm. We’re so busy making children feel good about themselves that we’re not helping them build the skills to see that they really are good.”
