education's four letter word

There is a new word in education that has rapidly dethroned a much used word in our modern vernacular: fuck. The beauty, of what is affectionally known as "the F word", is that users find it to be an extremely versatile word; hence its popularity. The F word can be used as a noun, verb, interjection, or adjective. Given that, it is not hard to see why the F word is used with such enthusiasm in so many circles. It's often just that go to word.


Recently, however, the F word has been replaced in education circles by a word which many find to be infinitely more vulgar: data.  With that adoption, many common phrases have now morphed using this new bon mot. Now, in staff rooms everywhere one may hear:

• Data you!
• Oh, data!
• What the data? or WTD?
• I don't give a data!
• You don't give a data!
• He doesn't give a data!
• She doesn't give a data!
• They don't give a data!
• Shut the data up!

Well, that's where we are today, creating new meanings and uses of common words. But data may not be on the throne for too long. In the future, it, too, may be replaced with other four letter words found to be vulgar in education circles: Arne, Rhee, and Bill.  We'll see.

arne's summer reading list

Now that summer is upon us, I thought you might like some suggestions for some great beach reads. I get the feeling you're not a book kind of guy, so let me hook you up with some articles that you might enjoy:

• I know you just loves you some charter schools so here are some fun reads:
• http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2011/06/big-time-self-plagiarism-punked-web.html
• http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2011/06/big-time-self-plagiarism-part-2.html
• http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=3781
• http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-10-01/local/27076850_1_charter-schools-local-charter-success-academy
• http://gothamschools.org/2009/12/09/a-look-at-the-whys-and-hows-of-executive-pay-at-charter-schools/
• http://credo.stanford.edu/reports/MULTIPLE_CHOICE_CREDO.pdf
• http://credo.stanford.edu/reports/CREDO_Hoxby_Rebuttal.pdf
• Although not published in People Magazine, how about some articles on your girl, the cheating lying narcissistic irrepressible Michelle Rhee:
• http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/dc-schools/michelle-rhees-greatest-hits.html
• http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/09/why-michelle-rhees-education-brand-failed-in-dc/63014
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/12/AR2009121201276.html
• http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh071107.shtml
• (OMFG! This is one of my FAVORITES! FYI, you might want to just download it on your iPod and listen while you're chillin') http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/08/13/VI2010081305444.html (OMFG! Does the girl have a sense of humor, or what???)
• http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-03-29/michelle-rhees-cheating-scandal-diane-ravitch-blasts-education-reform-star/
• And what about that merit pay?
• (From your alma mater!) http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/fryer/files/teacher%2Bincentives.pdf
• (It's OK to skip the mathy parts.) http://www.performanceincentives.org/data/files/pages/POINT%20REPORT_9.21.10.pdf
• And we can't forget the article from your pal, Johnny Alter, that touched the hearts of thousands of educators and inspired them to chime in:
• http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-03/don-t-believe-critics-education-reform-works-jonathan-alter.html (Wow, Arne! You have such a way with words!)

Oh, and if you're just really not into reading this summer, here's a GREAT movie for you to watch. I mean if you LOVED Waiting for Superman, then this is the movie for you:

• http://www.waitingforsupermantruth.org/ (Just go to this website and order the DVD for FREE!! I mean, how great is THAT!)

Well, Arne, that's quite a bit 'o reading for you to put your laser-like focus on so I'll just stop here. But don't worry; I'll check in later this summer with some more suggestions. If you run out of reading before I get back with you, just email me, I'm happy to help out!

Later, dude!  :)

an acrostic poem

Rheeviled                          
Heretical                              
Education                          
Entrepreneur 

Dude's
Unqualified
Needs
Clues
A
Non-educator

Geeky
Annoying
Temperamental
Egotistical
Slimeball                             

whack-a-teacher derailed

BREAKING NEWS: Whack-a-Teacher, slated to replace the popular Whack-a-Mole by the end of 2011, is already on a trajectory to obsolescence. Coming instead, to a game arcade near you, will be several new AMAZING Whack-A games: Whack-a-Duncan, Whack-a-Rhee, and Whack-a-Gates. Predicted to be HUGELY successful, these games are the start of a new gaming franchise, Whack-a-Corporate-Education-Deformer. This was the brainchild of a credentialed, highly-qualified, highly-effective, enormously pissed-off teacher on the Left Coast, Teacher Anon. When asked why she created this franchise, Ms. Anon stated that the recent gutting of public education budgets and the rampant amount of misinformation being blasted by the corporate ed deformers, inspired her to look at new ways to fund public education while at the same time having a little fun with its adversaries. Not only does she expect the new Whack-A games to be enjoyed by kids, she also expects a new demographic to join in the fun - public school employees and parents of over-tested children. "It'll be a lot cheaper than seeing a psychiatrist and taking anti-depressants to combat the stress we're all feeling," said Ms. Anon at a recent PTSA meeting. Production is in full swing and future games are already in the pipeline: Whack-a-Broad, Whack-a-Klein, Whack-a-Bloomie, Whack-a-Superman, Whack-a-Wendy (couldn't resist the alliterative quality), as well as several Whack-a-Governor games.

ALL profits from this Outside the Box venture will be used to fund struggling schools, prioritizing small class sizes and experienced intervention teachers as real reforms that work!

to arne - from a kinder, gentler me

Dear Secretary Duncan:

Last week I wrote to you in response to your Teacher Appreciation Week letter. I admit, my letter was kind of caustic. Well, actually, it was a LOT caustic. It had been a long week near the end of a long year and I just wasn’t feeling your love.

In fact, I haven’t felt your love since shortly after you became our Secretary of Education. I was a bit puzzled by your appointment. Your job qualifications were kind of odd for the position. You were a pro basketball player in Australia, worked for an investment company, were CEO of Chicago Public Schools, even though you had no education credentials, and then became Secretary of Education. I wondered why Linda Darling-Hammond didn’t get the job. Maybe her jump shot wasn’t all that. And yes, I know you helped out your mom in her after school tutoring program and that was cool, but that wasn’t really enough to prepare you for the jobs in education that you’ve held.

You confuse me, Arne. Despite the failure of Renaissance 2010 in Chicago Public Schools, (Chicago Tribune says ‘Renaissance 2010’ has failed) you keep insisting that those failed strategies be imposed on our nation’s schools. You have an impressive talent for not heeding the well-researched advice from such stellar education scholars such as Diane Ravitch, Stephen Krashen, Yong Zhao, Alfie Kohn, and a list of others. Oh yeah, you also don’t really listen to experienced veteran teachers either.

Arne, I so want to like you. Everyone says you’re such a nice guy, but I’m just not feeling you. You want to help our children be successful in school and reach their highest potential, and I give you props for that. But Arne, you’re going about it in the wrong way.

First, our children are not failing because of bad teachers. Our children are not failing because of LIFO based layoffs. Our children aren’t failing because of due process rights for teachers. Merit pay is not the answer. Teach for America is not the answer. Charter schools are not the answer. Bill Gates doesn’t have ANY of the answers. Our children are struggling for a variety of reasons:

·      Inequity in school funding: Our most struggling schools, those schools you call failures, sorely lack the resources needed to support our most struggling students. You poured salt on our wounds by implementing your Race to the Top program, which further exacerbates the economic disparity between schools.

·      Higher standards: Implementation of higher standards in many states (my state, California, being one) has lead to developmentally inappropriate curricula being imposed on our children. No matter how high your standard is and no matter how hard you work, you’re just not going get that newborn baby to walk.

·      Overloaded, yet narrow, curricula: Another result of raising the bar is that our curricula have become 10,000 miles wide and .000001 inch deep. We race through a developmentally inappropriate, test-focused, jam-packed, NARROW curricula then we wonder why our kids don’t score as well as kids in other nations (more about that later).

·      Larger class sizes: Larger class sizes severely hamper teachers’ abilities to best serve all of our students. Rule of thumb: The more challenging the student population, the smaller the class sizes should be. Class size does matter regardless of what Bill Gates says. Arne, Bill is a computer guy, not a teacher. Think about it. You’ve got two kids. Do you seriously think you would be as successful parenting fifteen kids versus two? (And that’s without having to teach them any academics.) Regarding class size, have you noticed that charter schools boast of small class sizes in their advertizing literature? The Obama children attend a private school with class sizes of 13:1. If it’s good enough for the Obama kids, it certainly is good enough for my students.

·      High-stakes testing: The sanctions threatened and imposed by NCLB have served to focus schools on teaching to the tests, resulting in the creation of massive test prep factories. And look what happened in your own neighborhood with Rhee and RheeraserGate. Do you think there is a correlation between test prep factories and drop out factories?

·      College-for-All: An over-emphasis on college readiness has encouraged the abandonment of vocational education classes. The insistence on college-for-all discourages those students that are not college material. News flash: Not all kids are college material. By eliminating vocational education and severely narrowing curricular offerings, we have created an atmosphere of hopelessness for many students. This atmosphere encourages kids to drop out because they see no substantive purpose for school in their lives.

Finally, Arne, POVERTY IS NOT AN EXCUSE. Poverty is a reality that affects student achievement. Research supports this, as does classroom experience. To deny the effects of poverty on children is patently unfair. Until you are willing to BEGIN the discussion by addressing the effects of poverty on our nation’s children (21% are living there), you will never be able to reach a solution. Denial of poverty and its link to student achievement assures the continued failure of our most needy students. And PLEASE stop telling the world that our kids are sucking on international assessments. They’re not. Schools with <10% poverty rank at the top on international assessments. In fact, our kids do quite well in schools with up to 49.9% of children living in poverty. Are you aware that the highest-ranking nation, Finland, has only 3% of its children living in poverty? Poverty matters, Arne. It really does.

So there you have it, Arne. Public education as seen and experienced through the eyes, mind and heart of a veteran educator who has dedicated her life to teaching our nation’s neediest children.

As I said before, I want to like you, Arne. I really do. But unless you start making some better choices, I won’t be feeling the love.

Sincerely,

A Teacher Anon

p.s. If you are still wondering how the broader teaching community feels about your letter to teachers, don’t listen to Justin Hamilton. I think he’s just messing with you. Teachers still just are not that into you.

status quo

• the existing state of affairs
• large class sizes
• developmentally inappropriate curriculum (a.k.a. higher standards)
• narrowly focused, densely packed curriculum
• scripted curriculum
• vocational education classes
• test prep overkill
• high-stakes standardized testing
• intensive intervention services for struggling students
• inequitable funding for schools
• education policy being driven by corporate education reformers

"What keeps me up at night is the historic lack of urgency, the acceptance of the status quo. We need to change. Anyone who is defending the status quo is part of the problem."

Arne Duncan
US Secretary of Education

When corporate education reformers like Arne Duncan, Bill Gates and Michelle Rhee rail against those who defend the status quo, they should really start looking in the mirror. Dudes, you ARE the problem!

the importance of one little letter

In the blogoshpere this evening, I was reminded of the importance of each letter we use when forming words. While commenting on the MeFirst RheeFirst StudentsFirst FB page, a public education advocate, who shall remain acronymless, discussing charter schools posted, "Is any of that money pubic money?"


Oh my, what a difference a little 'l' makes!

338 words

Dear Mr. President,

Recently you spoke to students about education and said, “One thing I never want to see happen is schools that are just teaching the test. … young people do well in stuff that they're interested in. They're not going to do as well if it's boring." I absolutely agree.

Why then, Mr. President, do you want to continue to impose an inferior educational system based on high-stakes testing on the rest of the nation’s non-elite children? Why is it acceptable to subject children living in poverty, most of whom are children of color, to a punitive educational system that limits their curricula, kills their love of learning and fails to support the most struggling students, effectively making it impossible for these children to catch up to their more affluent peers. Why do you support a system that begins labeling children as failures at 5 years old, and makes it essentially impossible for those children to escape that label?

Research does not support the policies being advocated by your Secretary of Education. School turnarounds and charter schools staffed by unqualified teachers have been proven failures. Both you and Mr. Duncan need look no further that your former backyard, Chicago, to see the failure of those policies. High-stakes testing serves to dumb down curricula and encourage cheating. Look what happened recently in Ms. Rhee’s former school district.

Think of your own children, Mr. President. Would you want Sasha and Malia taught by highly qualified, experienced educators, or recent college graduates with no background in educational theory, pedagogy or child development? Would you want your daughters’ curricula limited to reading, writing, and arithmetic? Would you want your daughters sentenced to an educational system that is nothing more than a test prep assembly line? I am sure your answer would be ‘absolutely not’.

Please, Mr. President, we want our children to have an educational system like your daughters have. We want equitable funding in our schools. Those are goals that would be worthy of your administration.

Sincerely,

A Teacher Anon

RttT

Rheerase to the Top

rheeally????? spin, spin, spin, spin……

Rhee:  The Evidence Is Clear: Test Scores Must Accurately Reflect Students' Learning

Me:  Rheeally? How is the evidence “clear”? And “because you said so” doesn’t count. Evidence overwhelmingly indicates the opposite.

Rhee:  The reports, however, unfairly leave the impression that district

leaders unduly influenced or avoided an investigation into possible

cheating. Further, it implies cheating was widespread.

In D.C. schools, hundreds of classes flagged for 'erasures'. From 2008 to 2010, 103 public schools in the District of Columbia were flagged for having at least one class of students with statistically high rates of wrong answers that were erased and replaced by correct answers on their standardized tests. That represents more than half of the schools in the system.

 Jack Gillum and Marison Bello

USA Today, March 27, 2011

Me:  Well, considering that 103 DC public schools, representing more than half of the schools in DCPS, were flagged for uncommonly high erasures from wrong to right answers, I’d say that’s pretty “widespread”.

Rhee:  …we took immediate steps to investigate in a thorough, unbiased and transparent way. 

John Fremer, president of Caveon Consulting Services, the company D.C. hired, says the investigations were limited. ...Parents and some State Board of Education members say they were never told which schools had high erasure rates or other irregularities. ...D.C. officials declined to let USA Today visit schools or talk to principals.

Jack Gillum and Marisol Bello

USA Today, March 27, 1011 

Me:  Michelle, you’ve got Caveon admitting that the investigations were limited. Since parents didn’t even know an investigation was happening, and the press was denied interview access, I think it’s disingenuous to say the process was “transparent”.

Rhee:  …we secured an outside test security company, Caveon, to investigate unusual rates of erasure marks on tests in 2009. ….It is simply not true that district officials avoided doing an investigation.

Me:  Gee, what about 2008?

In 2008, the office of the State Superintendent of Education recommended that the scores of many schools be investigated because of unusually high gains, but top D.C. public school officials balked and the recommendation was dropped.

Jack Gillum and Marisol Bello

USA Today, March 27, 2011 

Rhee:  I believe that the vast majority of teachers in our district and across the nation would never compromise their professional and personal integrity to falsify the results of a student's test. That said, there certainly may be exceptions. In such instances, swift action must be taken.

Me:  I wouldn’t qualify 103 schools being investigated as ‘exceptions’.  It is interesting, however, that you didn’t say that the “majority of administrators in our district would never compromise their professional and personal integrity to falsify the results of a student’s test.”

Rhee:  Educators are used to being under tremendous pressure. That pressure doesn't come from test taking.

Me:  RUFKM??? I mean, seriously, what planet have you been living on????

BOTTOM LINE:  Anyone who argues that that many rheerasures from wrong to right answers does NOT constitute cheating is not being honest.  Gee, what a surprise… [sigh, eyeroll]

michelle rhee: a glossarhee, 2nd edition

Rheewrite:  to write something again in order to embellish or falsify an existing document

Rheelay:  to receive and pass on misinformation and/or lies

Unrheedeemable:  not capable of being cured or reformed due to vicious, destructive actions taken in the name of corporate ed deform

Rheesumé:  a page full of lies

Rheevise:  to prepare a newly rheerased, edited version of what rheelly was; to intentionally change or modify in order to mislead

Rheevision:  an illegally altered final draft or new version of existing material

Rheefudiate: to refuse to be challenged when telling lies, regardless of evidence

Rheetract:  to quickly take back or disavow incorrectly marked test answers or verifiable statements of intentional misinformation

Rheelly:  used to express surprise, interest or doubt as in “RUFKM?”  Serheeously!

Rheevile:  to criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner, often involving the word crap or crappy

Rheestate:  to state again the same lie in a new form

Unrheesonable:  having unsound judgment; unfair and insensible; often in regard to education policy

Rheehearse: to practice and repeat key phrases or sound bites for later public performance; e.g. status quo; dramatically change; change the trajectory; put adult interests ahead of students; rheesearch shows; a teacher’s value-added; I don't give a crap.

Rheeplay:  to play back a section of a rheecording in order to watch and/or hear one’s self again and again and again

Rheetaliate:  to seek revenge in an especially evil manner

Rheeplace: to change a wrong answer to a right answer; provide or find a substitute for an ousted quack or fraud

Rheemail:  an electronic communication generated by an education rheeformer

Rheephrase: to express a lie in a different way, especially with the purpose of inciting fear or deflecting truth when confronted with facts

Rheeview:  to examine facts then willfully and intentionally dismiss them

Rheeinvent:  to spin shamelessly in order to aggrandize one’s self

Rheemember:  to rheecall alleged facts based on hearsay

Rheeply:  an answer most likely untrue

Rheeism:  a lie

Rheeality:  an existence devoid of facts

Rheesist: to vigorously deny facts

Rheespond: to answer a question with a lie

Rheesult:  an outcome obtained through questionable, unethical, illegal, or immoral means

Rheerase:  a strategy employed to raise test scores

Rheerasure:  the outcome as a rheesult of rheerasing.

Rheeform:  drastic change imposed by clueless people and unsupported by peer-reviewed research or facts

Rheeformer:  an education deformer committed to imposing drastic change while willfully ignoring input from experts

Rheecommendation:  a suggestion made by a highly unqualified person

Rheesearch:  a billionaire-funded investigation initiated to support a predetermined outcome

Rheepeat:  stating a lie over and over in an attempt to create a truth

Rheetell:  to change one’s story multiple times; back peddle

Rheemove:  to fire without cause; to fire and replace with cheap, unqualified labor

Rheesign:  to leave a job after 3 years

Rheetire: to be forcefully driven from one’s position or occupation under a cloak of controversy

Rheegurgitate:  to spew out nonsense; usually done by education deformers

Rheeap:  to obtain employment, wealth or stature through the efforts and/or contributions of sugar daddy billionaires

Rheetard:  a devotee of Michelle Rhee; a member of the Michelle Rhee Fan Club

Thanks for inspiration and suggestions for the 2^nd Edition go to: Diane Hanfmann, Michael Fiorillo, McStowy, Bob Somerby, Venicelady, Sahila, Cindy Lane Sloan, Guy Brandenburg and Dale Rogers.

an education rheeform fable

TeacherSabrina fights for our schools

Our children, our teachers

All of them jewels

She steps out, she steps up

to fight for what’s right

Determined, courageous

Addressing our plight.

But TeacherSabrina is more than just that

She clearly loved reading the Cat in the Hat

She knew not that later an author she’d be

Writing of schools, some in Washington, D.C.

Much kinder, much smarter, than dreadful Ms. Rhee

What could she write for all people to see?

A cautionary tale she did pen and record

To be viewed by the masses who clearly adored

The pains that this advocate took on their behalf

So read it and listen

Get ready to laugh!

Rhee the Reformer, A Cautionary Tale
by Sabrina Stevens Seuss

michelle rhee: a glossary

Rheeism:  a lie

Rheeality:  an existence devoid of facts

Rheesist: to vigorously deny facts

Rheespond: to answer a question with a lie

Rheesult:  an outcome obtained through questionable, unethical, illegal, or immoral means

Rheerase:  a strategy employed to raise test scores

Rheerasure:  the outcome as a rheesult of rheerasing.

Rheeform:  drastic change imposed by clueless people and unsupported by peer-reviewed research or facts

Rheecommendation:  a suggestion made by a highly unqualified person

Rheesearch:  a billionaire-funded investigation initiated to support a predetermined outcome

Rheepeat:  stating a lie over and over in an attempt to create a truth

Rheetell:  to change one’s story multiple times; back peddle

Rheemove:  to fire without cause; to fire and replace with cheap, unqualified labor

Rheesign:  to leave a job after 3 years

Rheegurgitate:  to spew out nonsense; usually done by education deformers

Rheeap:  to obtain employment, wealth or stature through the efforts and/or contributions of sugar daddy billionaires

Rheetard:  a devotee of Michelle Rhee; a member of the Michelle Rhee Fan Club

for immediate release

March 30, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


After her brief stint as an unqualified teacher and totally NOT qualified Chancellor of DCPS, Michelle Rhee burst onto the screen in her debut role as herself, in the not nominated for an Oscar, fictional documentary, Waiting for Superman. Critics agreed that her cute yet edgy performance playing the role of her arrogant gritty, ball-breaking, take no prisoners self, would open the doors for former TFAers everywhere. In breaking barriers, she's right up there with Dorothy Dandridge. 


Following on the heels of her not award winning AMAZING performance in Waiting for Superman, Michelle Rhee, the Empress of Education, the Doyenne of DC, will soon be coming to a theater near you.  Reprising her much lauded role as Michelle Rhee, Rhee is hoping to inspire yet another generation of wannabes, or rather, Rheenabes, to go for their dreams, as she inspires them to reach for their highest level of incompetence. Slipping secretively amongst a group of adoring fans, spellbound by her magnificence, one can listen to murmurs of crap everywhere.


After limited release, Oscar buzz is in the air and those in the know predict a repeat of last year's Oscars. So fans, download your Fandango app now, and be the first to order your tickets to see Rhee starring in the not long awaited sequel....Waiting for Superfraud, coming to a theater near you. 


DISCLAIMER: Buying tickets early will ensure your seat in the theater before WFSf is released to DVD.

busted

USA Today, March 27, 2011 

In D.C. schools, hundreds of classes flagged for ‘erasures’

     "From 2008 to 2010, 103 public schools in the District of Columbia were flagged for having at least one class of students with statistically high rates of wrong answers that were erased and replaced by correct answers on their standardized tests. That represents more than half of the schools in the system."

USA Today, March 28, 2011

When standardized test scores soared in D.C., were the gains     real?

     "A trio of academicians consulted by USA TODAY — Haladyna, George Shambaugh of Georgetown University and Gary Miron of Western Michigan University — say the erasure rates found at Noyes and at other D.C. public schools are so statistically rare, and yet showed up in so many classrooms, that they should be examined thoroughly."

USA Today, March 29, 2011

D.C. officials to review high rates of erasures on school tests 
     "In its months-long investigation, which included documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, USA TODAY looked at 103 public schools in the nation's capital where tests showed a pattern of unusually high numbers of answers that had been changed from wrong to right."

     “Rhee, who said Monday night that the investigation "absolutely lacked credibility," had declined to speak with USA TODAY despite numerous attempts before an article ran online and in Monday's newspaper."

Uh oh..... Rhee's thighs must be burning. Back peddling is so exhausting.  And her pants... they are definitely smokin'!!!

the empress has no clothes

Michelle Rhee, former Chancellor of DCPS, and current CEO of RheeFirst StudentsFirst, seems to be above many things including telling the truth. (Note to Rhee: Crossing your fingers behind your back doesn’t make lying ok.) She seems to be especially truth challenged when test scores are involved. She has well publicized, both in print and in her live act, her miraculous success as a novice, untrained, non-credentialed teacher with her second grade students in Baltimore. After year one of being an admittedly ‘crappy’ teacher, she magically morphed into the best teacher EVER, raising her kids’ scores to unfreaking believable majestic heights.

Her official resume found in the online magazine, DCPSWatch, boasts of her success:

Teach For America (1992-1995):

• Taught in Harlem Park Community School, one of the lowest-performing elementary schools in Baltimore City, effecting significant measurable gains in student achievement. Over a two-year period, moved students scoring on average at the 13th percentile on national standardized tests to 90% of students scoring at the 90th percentile or higher.

It’s mentioned on her Wikipedia page, and you can even watch her performance on Youtube!

Wow. Just wow. How did she do it? And why, being the talented miracle worker that she is, did she suddenly leave teaching altogether? How could she be so stingy with using those superpowers that could change the trajectory of zillions millions so many young lives?

Now having had 14 years in the classroom as a primary grade teacher, I must admit that when I first heard of Rhee’s miraculous claims, I was a bit skeptical. Ok, I admit it. I was A LOT skeptical. I mean, seriously, from the 13% to the 90^th percentile OR HIGHER for 90% of her students. Call me Debbie Downer, but really, no way, dude. Not without some serious cheating manipulation.

And then along came Guy Brandenburg, a former D.C. math teacher, who was more than well equipped to solve a number problem. Being puzzled by the probability of making such stunning growth, GFBrandenburg decided to dig a little deeper. And dig, he did. Upon perusal of his work, one could only say to Rhee, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!"


Rhee, with her trademark chutzpah, wiggling this way and that in the press, was unable to come up with any evidence to support her lies claims. Instead, she began strutting her skills as an Olympic level back peddler. And then....

"When standardized test scores soared in D.C., were the gains real?"

screamed USA Today.

And the answer is......

with mouths taped shut

Michelle Rhee, the professional quitter and anti-public education spokesmodel, has started an organization to put Michelle First Students First, or so she alleges. She has become the Empress of Education after an impressive career as a Teach for America pretend unqualified non-credentialed teacher and "Chancellor" of DC public schools. Rhee occupied both positions for a mere three years before quitting. And for both positions, Rhee possessed neither the qualifications, credentials or experience to hold. According to the crafters of NCLB, she would be deemed highly unqualified for either position.
     
But being the tiger gal that she is, Rhee would never let willful ignorance get in her way. Never! And facts? Nope. Not valid unless Rhee has made them up. When she waves her magic broom and summons the incantation, "Research says....", no sooner than you can say, "Bibbity bobbity boo!" her lies facts are magically born and validated with no 'use by' date. No need for peer-reviewed research. Not for Rhee, she's above that. 
     
With the backing of her sugar daddy billionaire$, Rhee has set out on a course to brutally dismantle public education. You'll see her on Oprah, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News, the not nominated for an Oscar teacher bashing crappy fictional documentary, Waiting for Superman, and before state legislatures proselytizing.  Her message is simple, public education is "crappy". She makes unsubstantiated claim after unsubstantiated claim to push her agenda and her audiences lap it up, spellbound and evidently brain-dead. Dissenting voices are nowhere to be found. And therein lies the rub.
     
Venues to challenge the propaganda that Rhee promotes are virtually non-existent. Parents and teachers do not have billionaire$ backing their message. Our options are few, so thank goodness, for the blogosphere. Rhee loving nothing more than Rhee enthusiastically posts her propaganda on her All Rhee, All the Time website so that her devoted followers can hang on her every word or YouTube. She even made it possible for her loyal minions to adoringly blog and comment on her website. And they did.  And so did we.
     
In an effort to counter Rhee's propaganda and educate her fans, a small but mighty, well-researched group of public education advocates have challenged her claims. We have backed up our facts with links to the research. We are relentless and unwavering in our defense of public education. We aren't hesitant to call out Rhee or her devotees. Despite their lack of interest in research-based facts, we have valiantly advocated..... until yesterday.
     
I guess if one can't control the message, then that message is threatened and the threat must be neutralized. So yesterday, the comments section on her website was disabled and all comments were removed. Rhee is a bully. As she taped shut the mouths of her disobedient 2nd grade students in Baltimore, so has she taped shut the mouths of those daring to challenge her lying baseless claims. Truth hurts, I guess.
    
Tiger? Bully? Chicken???