"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Rhee Declares Poverty No Longer an Excuse

Blame the school, blame the teacher, blame the student, but never, ever blame the system that perpetuates the poverty while it continues to pay Michelle Rhee's $275,000 salary.

From WaPo:

Acting D.C. schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee received accolades yesterday from nationally known educators, former students and some of the staunchest critics of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's school takeover plan, appearing to undercut criticism about her lack of experience to run a 55,000-student school system.

Rhee, 37, has never been a superintendent or chancellor and taught for just three years in Baltimore public schools more than a decade ago.

But at a D.C. Council confirmation hearing, two dozen witnesses testified that Rhee's management skills and her passion for educating underprivileged children outweighed her inexperience. The council will vote on her nomination July 10.

Rhee testified that being poor would not be an excuse for low test scores under her leadership. "We will no longer describe failure as the result of vast impersonal forces like poverty or a broken bureaucracy," she said. . . . .


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