I saw Rhee speak Tuesday as well.

Perhaps kids are coddled in some respects (such as on sports teams where everybody gets a trophy) but end up divided academically, either in the high-pressure, high-achieving group or the one with exceedingly low expectations.

There might also be an age divide (I think she mentioned her girls were tweens).

I agree. I think too many students are being coddled. Not everyone will be successful and instead of fulfilling students heads with fancy ideas of a rosy future for everyone, they need to be normalized, brought to earth. Not only will you have the next generation of doctors and lawyers, but you will also have the next generation of thugs and prisoners. It's anathema to say this to the liberal set, but it is true. We seem to waste plenty of state money on students who may only be marginally improved by extensive tutoring.

Rhee is a 37-year-old Korean girl from Toledo, Ohio who has no real experience teaching and who has no administrative certifications. She is called Chancellor of DC schools because she is NOT qualified to be a Superintendent. How can we allow unqualified people to have such an enormous impact on public education? Here's why: Rhee and others like her are backed by corporations like Walmart. When you have billions of dollars behind you you can do anything you want! Why is there no mention of the teachers who were there protesting with bullhorns, chants and signs? What will it take for the media to listen to and acknowledge teachers? Why are teachers never recognized or heard?

@MaryMae, Your post is spot on! I have 20 years of experience in the city schools and am constantly flabergasted by "administrative/higher level employees" in BCPSS with 2-3 years of teaching experiences trying to tell staff how to teach, budget, run a school, understand the new Core Curriculum, and more. If you get them off their scripts, they are lost. One so-called expert wanted involvement in an event at my school. Gave her a class for a moment so she could demonstrate her genius and the kids went wild. But she is in a position to advise teachers. I do not believe age should be the only determining factor but solid experience can not be replaced by jargon, book smarts, fast track degrees or certifications, intimidation, or a lack of manners. Professional repect must be earned with solid work

As for Rhee, she may have stirred the pot of reform, but I doubt that very little meaningful and lasting reform occured. The real reform in education will happen when families send students to school with a thirst for knowledge and a respect for all adults worthy of that respect. That is what you saw at Pikesville. Schools can do their part and fix some problems but the family and community engagement piece (or lack thereof) is the elephant in the room.

@MaryMae
Rhee's ouster proves your point wrong. The voters of DC found her divisive and disagreed with her policies and as a result voted in a mayor whose major campaign promise was to fire her. (In doing so they overlooked many of his faults and are paying now, but that's a different topic.) Despite the heavy influence of money, we still reside in a democracy where people are the drivers of the political process. Teachers were heard loud and clear in that election. Rhee's taken her funding to start an interest group - I think that's an interesting move given her popularity (read: lack thereof) with the electorate.

While I'm not Rhee's biggest fan I think people write her off too often for being anti-teacher. While in DC, I think she did a poor job of articulating that she was angry at bad teachers, which I think is a totally legitimate response to them. I've worked with teachers who don't try, don't hold their kids to any kind of standard, and know that they are immune to consequences. It really pissed me off to work really hard with kids all year, then see them on their cell phones in class the following year with their next teacher. Anger is an appropriate response when you see kids' time and talent being wasted. Unfortunately Rhee (and maybe the nation) lacks the language and systems to reliably distinguish good teachers from bad ones. This puts all of us teachers in a terrible position - too often we're all lumped together and punished for bad policy decisions and the actions of a few outliers. I also kind of think it's funny when people who are anti-Rhee actually hear her speak at length remark on how surprised they are that they agree with something she's said. (Not that Liz expressed that, but I've seen it happen a lot.) She's actually a lot more nuanced and complex in her views than a lot of people give her credit for.

@ Nadine

All of us who have taught have had the misfortune of putting up with incompetent 'colleagues'. It makes it difficult to stand behind the unions, who also regularly protect good teachers from being railroaded in difficult situations.

But see, the thing is - I don't trust Rhee. She's more politician than educator, so of course she's going to say things that will appeal to your common sense. She says she wants to end tenure so that we can get rid of bad teachers - What I sense beneath the surface is the desire for the ability to get rid of ANY teacher for any reason. That's what the reformers want - total control of personnel. But who's to say that the good teachers will be protected? I hear a lot of promises, but I don't see any guarantees that good veteran teachers won't lose their jobs, simply because they are too expensive, or because they are less malleable than rookies.

I haven't decided yet whether Rhee is part of the scam, or if she's just a patsy of the corporate interest, lured by the prospect of a lucrative career as a... how would you categorize her these days? Lobbyist? Administrative Consultant? Edu-politico Celebrity? Whatever title she currently holds - her retreat as an official public servant left her in a position of even greater influence and power - one in which she herself is free from accountability to the general public\ (ironic, given her stance on the accountability of teachers).