I love politicians that can cut through the lip service and get things done. For many reasons both good and bad, our system is slow moving and change is often gradual. So, it is thrilling to witness an advocate for needed change who is so fearless and effective in changing our bureaucratic education system. I LOVE Michelle Rhee!
For friends and family that have delighted in the late Jimmermania craze, consider this analogy: For me, Michelle Rhee is to education what Jimmer is to basketball. It is exhilarating to watch someone with such an impressive skill set blaze through the system, yet there is skepticism about their abilities to succeed in the national arena. Rhee's ability to bring about improvements to our education system depends on increased grassroots advocacy resulting in a political voice that promotes legislation that benefits STUDENTS. I encourage everyone to jump on and support Michelle Rhee in her new organization, Students First.
I admired her in her brave efforts in DC, and I have shamelessly been a huge fan of her new awareness and lobbying movement. If you've seen "Waiting for Superman," you caught a glimpse of her vision and fortitude. I was able to attend a Meet and Greet with her last night, which was formatted as an open Q&A session. I was so impressed with her efficiency in her elocution. She was not as abrasive as her critics have claimed, but rather she was impressive in anticipating and addressing objections, relaying personal anecdotes, and clearly answering each question. Here are a few things from last night that I thought were awesome, and I'm hoping I can read this post years from now with the satisfaction and reassurance of seeing all of these goals accomplished:
*Change teacher evaluation to obtain a better gauge of the effectiveness of each teacher. Rhee proposes using growth in student test scores as a primary measure of effectiveness (rather than No Child Left Behind's mandated percentage of passing), in addition to classroom observations conducted by administration AND a "master teacher" specialized in your content area to provide constructive criticism and promote teaching improvement. She also advocates looking at other measures such as extracurricular involvement and student engagement, to create a holistic view of the teacher's effectiveness.
*Simplify the evaluation measures for Special Educators. IEP Goals OR NCLB criteria, rather than a confusing, shoved-under-the-rug attempt at both. It's nice to know Special Education teachers have been invited to the table and that their views are contributing to legislative goals!
*Create more holistic principal evaluations. Rather than just judging principals on test scores (which often results in test results being the singular focus), including teacher retention rates and measures of teacher happiness. The hope is those evaluation measures would encourage principals to build a culture of achievement rather than only a stressful test focus.
*LESS FLUFF at the district level! Unfortunately there is no legislation in line for taking on the districts. We just have to hope for visionaries to come along and clean up districts. Rhee flattened 1,000 to 400 employees and found that clear-cut roles with fewer employees led to much more effective operating! States and districts often heighten panic whenever budget cuts come along, and frustratingly enough, often the cuts are directed at teacher pay, increasing class size, and eliminating the arts. These changes always result in decreased student engagement and decreased achievement. How about cutting ambiguous district departments and jobs???
*Hold teacher preparation programs accountable. So much teacher skill is developed in the classroom, but still, education training programs need to be more successful in equipping teachers with knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will translate into effective teaching.
It is frustrating to think that so many decisions about education are determined based on the adults' needs. Attending this meeting last night was refreshing in hearing insightful solutions to specific problems, therefore making change seem feasible and urgent. I hope to always contribute, in various ways, to promoting student first legislation. I hope we can get our laborious political machine moving to get some of these changes started!
