A good NYT piece on Monday August 22nd on Michelle Rhee, former DC Public Schools Chancellor, and one of the most vocal proponents of the need for reform of the education system in the US with a strong anti-union approach.
Education reform ( notably through school vouchers and charter schools) in the US is not only the ultimate philantrophist playing field with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Warren Buffet and Facebook´s founder pouring considerable ammounts of money into alterantives to the traditional public education system but also part of a wider narrative around the role of governments and unions in times of deficits. Worthy noting the presence of such actors as Private Security companies (Caveon) and PR executives (Anita Dunn White House Communication Director April-November 2009) close to the Obama administration in the effort to counter the backlash from cheating scandals in several US education districts. Added cartoon, hyperlinks and context material.
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| Reliance on test data, key element of the No Child Left Behind initiative, to asses students and teachers performance has contributed to the reported increased of cheating cases in several US school districts. Source crooks and liars |
Eager for Spotlight, but Not if It Is on a Testing Scandal
Ms. Rhee, the chancellor of the Washington public schools from 2007 to
2010, is the national symbol of the data-driven, take-no-prisoners
education reform movement.
