Michelle Rhee in Florida pushing the Parent Trigger law. She really is pushy.

[madfloridian]

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 Baker’s famous question, “What did the President know and when did he know it?” It has a memo that answers an echo of Baker’s question, “What did Michelle know, and when did she know it?” And the entire sordid story recalls the lesson of Watergate lesson, “It’s not the crime; it’s 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. hasn’t 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 we’ll 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 let’s 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. It’s called “Let Them Eat Cake.”

[blkmusclmachine]

1. Obama's gal.

[jehop61]

2. "Pushy" REALLY?

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]

6. No, I won't rephrase.

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]

8. Maybe consider a trigger warning?

[madfloridian]

10. You're joking, right?

I thought so.

[Throd]

14. Pushy men are called "dicks"

[11 Bravo]

42. Yeah, so let's just call her the female version of a "dick". That'll be well received.

[madrchsod]

3. she really is something is`t she...

she gets away with this crap because the hatred of public schools and the teacher`s unions over ride the truth.

[n2doc]

4. She doesn't have truth on her side

So, like a used car salesman, she has to make it up with hutzpah.

[jsr]

5. She is a shameless soulless liar and self-promoter

[Starry Messenger]

7. She's a black hole.

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]

12. That's the truth.

Blame the teachers, forget poverty, take the responsibility off students and parents.

[MattBaggins]

36. It's part of a deeper rooted problem in American society

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]

46. Crabs in a pail. A great metaphor for Americans today. n/t

[hay rick]

51. Accountability.

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

One of every five has failed to keep its doors open.

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. I hate to hear Rhee is anywhere in Florida...

when I call my local representatives, they are usually idiots who actually listen to her crap.

[madfloridian]

11. Yes, they are. Even our Democrats here listen to her.

They adore her.

[jsr]

13. There is a ton of money behind her

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]

17. Well, if you are going to use sexist terms such as 'pushy' to describe her,

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]

18. "Pushy" is sexist?

Who knew? Let's hijack this thread and turn it into a discussion about "pushy."

[madfloridian]

19. I know, that's ridiculous, right? Anything to aggrevate. It's a hijack for sure.

[msanthrope]

20. Yes. And I'm not the only poster who noted it.

"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]

21. There are 3 of you now trying to discredit this thread.

[msanthrope]

22. It's a CONSPIRACY! nt

[madfloridian]

25. See. You get to do that with impunity.

Are you feeling good about it?

[msanthrope]

28. If you don't like what I, and the two other posters have written, you have two options.

1) Ignore.

2) Send my posts to a jury.

You are not a victim here.

[madfloridian]

30. Wow.

[Sheldon Cooper]

23. You discredit yourself when you use sexist terms.

No need to blame it on the women in this thread.

[madfloridian]

27. I am a woman.

[Sheldon Cooper]

39. So?

[madfloridian]

24. I can't make "headway" because this is Obama's policy.

And he supports what Rhee does.

Thus, most Democrats are eager to embrace her policies.

[msanthrope]

26. Kindlly show me the quote where President Obama supports 'parent trigger laws.' nt

[madfloridian]

29. He supports Rhee. Link

http://www.fastcompany.com/1046420/obama-and-mccain-fight-over-woman

[msanthrope]

33. From 2008, he called her a "wonderful new superintendent?" in a debate?

That's what you are using as 'proof?'

Oh, lordy.....

[Oilwellian]

15. Rhee is a hideous creature that...

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]

16. I know the word "sociopath" gets thrown around a lot, but

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]

31. Saw Michelle Rhee on Bill Maher a couple weeks ago.

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]

43. I think it is made up, too. n/t

[HiPointDem]

47. yep. she lies about everything.

[MattBaggins]

32. So I have been wondering

Can parents use trigger laws against corrupt, so called public charter schools, or do they get a pass from these laws?

[madfloridian]

34. With parent trigger the parents get to choose the charter school company.

They think they are gaining power, but they are only gaining the right to pick which charter company takes away their choices.

[msanthrope]

35. Looking at the CA law, I don't see why not.

Charter schools are public schools.

[MattBaggins]

38. Are they?

I have made model rockets before. I am not an astronaut.

[msanthrope]

40. Under CA law, charters are public schools. And most charters

are granted at the local district level.

[MattBaggins]

41. If I move tomorrow to CA can I go to the local charter school and sign up?

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]

44. If you move tomorrow to CA, I would suggest you use the statewide ballot

initiative process to mold the charter law (enacted in 1992) to your wishes.

I am sure you will have a groundswell of support.

[madfloridian]

49. Good questions.

[Starry Messenger]

53. You rock.

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]

37. 2012 Arne praises Rhee publicly.

http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=3109

[madfloridian]

45. Posting serious stuff is just about useless.

It just becomes a big game.

[Egalitarian Thug]

48. Don't stop doing it, please. Many more people are reading than replying,

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]

50. Only to

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]

54. They do it because they know it derails a great thread.

It's a sign of their desperation. Pathetic, really.

[jsr]

55. No, it's not useless.

Just ignore the bullshit that derails your threads.

[just1voice]

52. Our country ignores torture camps, education is way down on the list

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.