In a USA Today column, Richard Whitmire, author of “The Bee Eater: Michelle Rhee Takes on the Nation’s Worst School District” laments the poor performance of U.S. students on science tests. He writes that this country must look closely at who becomes a teacher if we expect to achieve and compete. (emphasis is mine)
In researching a book about Michelle Rhee’s turbulent tenure as a reform-minded schools chancellor in Washington, D.C., I got a sense of what it takes to boost learning among the nation’s neediest students. The answer is something more radical than anything Duncan and Obama are offering up.
The key difference between the U.S. and top scoring countries is that those countries draw their teachers from top college graduates, and we don’t. The results, especially in our urban schools, are striking, whether measured by high school graduation rates, the number of students entering college in need of remediation or the number of military recruits unable to pass screening tests.
Rhee — and Adrian Fenty, the mayor who appointed her — took steps to reverse the damage. The mayor lost his re-election bid, mostly over education reforms, and Rhee had to step down. No wonder Duncan and Obama hew to the politically safe.
Safe, however, won’t reverse those embarrassing science numbers.
We often hear that good teachers have “a calling.” Perhaps. Certainly it’s important for a teacher to want to be with and help children. But I’d much rather have my child in a classroom where the teacher is known for stellar intellect, content knowledge, and drive. At the end of the day, if a child doesn’t learn, our intentions are useless.
