Michelle Rhee is resigning under pressure in Washington D.C. after she tried to bypass the power of the unions. Only a few months ago she was firing teachers and administrators left and right and appearing on major news networks as an icon of education. Now, she is stepping down. Was this the work of the unions or was it something else?
Michelle Rhee vs. Teacher’s Unions
Michelle Rhee came to power and had the strong support of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. Rhee proposed an effort to pay teachers as much as $135,000 a year if they would not belong to a union. Unionized teachers would be paid substantially less. Each teacher could decide which avenue to take. Schools were closed, teachers terminated, and it seemed like no one would have any tenure unless they belonged to a union.
Could this be a political situation? Apparently, so. Fenty supported Rhee (Korean) in her overhaul within D.C. schools. In September’s primary in Washington D.C., things shifted. Rhee’s position toward education was seen as racial. Kaya Henderson, deputy chancellor (black), will be the interim chancellor. Fenty lost to Vincent C. Gray (white), the chairman of the City Council. This was partially because of his support of Rhee.
To Rhee’s credit, she took on one of the most dysfunctional school districts in the nation and tried to turn it around. She had a plan and she wanted to improve education for the children of Washington, D.C. She fired 241 teachers that placed on the lowest levels of her new evaluation system. George Parker, a union chief, called Rhee’s evaluations too punitive. Parker commented that her leaving would help end the “divisiveness.” [1]
Teacher Unions Have Embraced Democrats
Teachers unions nearly always support Democratic candidates. However, many teachers are not very pleased with Arne Duncan’s version of the teacher evaluation process. Duncan is the Secretary of Education under President Obama and he supports the “value-added” approach as part of school reform. Value-added considers students scores into the evaluation process.
Value-added would allow administrators to judge teachers’ effectiveness based on how the students perform in the classroom. While this may initially sound reasonable, teachers have many circumstances they can not control.
Teachers can not control the fact that there were no parents at home all evening and no food for supper. Teachers can not control adult parties until 3 a.m. with children getting little to no sleep. Teachers can not control the residual effects of drugs in the home, parents getting arrested, and physical abuse. Holding teachers totally accountable for how students perform in the classroom is unfair. Teachers can not be held accountable for students not having active parents.
Unions Unable to Stop Changes
In Los Angeles, the teacher union has been unable to stop charter schools. Los Angeles has created more charter schools than any other city in the country. The majority of teachers working in charter school do not belong to a union. [2]
The Los Angeles Times released teacher ratings in August causing quite a stir. The unions were unable to have this data suppressed. The union called for a boycott of the newspaper after a teacher committed suicide after he received a “less effective” rating. [2]
The United Federation of Teachers in New York City was also very upset when the school officials announced plans to release similar teacher information to the public despite a promise that would keep the information private. [2]
In spite of these disappointments, unions still have millions of members. “I think a lot of the politicians are looking for a quick fix, and they’re looking for a scapegoat, and the scapegoat in this case is the teachers,” said Kirti Baranwal, a teacher and union representative at Gompers Middle School in South Los Angeles. [2]
Unions still want to protect teachers from incompetent administrators and unsupportive parents. They want teachers to be evaluated fairly. Unions are regrouping to serve the latest needs of their teachers.
[1] Ian Urbina and Sarah Wheaton. “Washington Schools Chancellor to Resign.” The New York Times, October 12, 2010.
[2] Mitchell Landsberg. “Influence of teachers unions in question.” latimes.com, November 7, 2010.
Barbara Pytel - Email me Experience Although I was never particularly fond of going to school as an ELL student, I ironically became a teacher, ...
