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Cedar Rapids, Iowa -- If Michelle Rhee, the current Washington, D.C., public schools chancellor, is looking for a job, former Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA) would like to at least have a conversation with her. At a Rotary Club event here, the former governor who is trying to drop the word former from his title, took a question at the very end of the event about what he would do better if he were to find himself in Des Moines again.
"I think one of the most important things is the people you choose to surround yourself with," Branstad responded.
And one of the people he would like to consider bringing in, he said, is Rhee.
"The Director of Education position is open in Iowa, right?" Branstad said. "I don't know if you've been watching on television, but this woman that's been the director of education in Washington, D.C., she's probably going to lose her job. But she's probably one of the most leading innovators there is. This is the kind of person that we need to get to run the Department of Education in the state of Iowa. I don't know if we can get her or not. I've heard that the mayor lost and because they laid off a lot of teachers because they did it on the basis of results, and they're trying to improve education. And I guess I'm willing to take a risk with somebody that's willing to make the tough decisions to improve education, because I want to see us back in the leadership position."
Rhee was the only person mentioned by name in Brandstad's speech. His opponent, current Gov. Chet Culver (D-IA) barely got a mention. The audience members' questions and Branstad's speech, for the most part, focused on state taxes and how hard it has been for communities such as this one to recover from the devastating floods of 2008.
Tonight, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will appear with Branstad at a fundraiser and press conference in Des Moines.
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Conservatives hate teachers and want people to be ignorant because they are easier to control when ignorant. This means we need to keep conservaives as far as possible from making decisions regarding teachers, schools or education in general.
Elsewise how can the left indoctrinate the little ones?
I'd say indoctrination of little ones is what the republicans have in mind--they do not want to teach science, they re-write history including civil rights history.
The best teacher that I had was conservative and also spent time as president of state and national teachers' unions. It's easy to review the annals of teachers' unions and determine that their liberal militancy during the past thirty years has greatly contributed to the decadence of our education system.
Branstad seems to have forgotten the role he played, for 16 years, in the decline in Iowa's education system. He forced teacher pay cuts, cut funding to schools and gave tax breaks to big business; he kept two sets of books; he raised the sales tax three times, cut funding to many programs, and gave himself numerous pay raises (8 I think) when there were budget shortfalls and while demanding everyone else take cuts. Iowa under Vilsack and Culver has begun to move foward again, they put pre-kindergarten education back into the system to help children who otherwise fall through the cracks before they reach second grade. What surprises me is how quickly Iowa voters have forgotten the real Branstad.
I applaud the efforts of Michelle Rhee, she has made great strides in the DC area but she has also demonized teachers and made some questionable decisions. Teachers are not the only people responsible for a child's education.
I'm so sad that Culver mishandled his campaign so very badly. Iowa is in better shape than most others in almost every way. Lower unemployment, fewer foreclosures, better educational numbers, a surplus at the end of the budget year--it goes on and on.
When Brandstad was Governor jobs hemorraged, wages dropped, population was lost, education slipped--again, it goes on and on.
Apparently people are that stupid.
I couldn't agree more with both of you. I have only seen one Chet Culver sign in Council Bluffs and nothing for the other Democrats running. Iowa could have had a good chance to get rid of Steve King, Chuck Grassley and blocked Brandstad but I have seen no help from the Democratic Party for the state of Iowa. I get emails and mail every day from them asking for donations for candidates in other states so I have just quit donating altogether. I guess Iowa is only important at caucus time. Because our television is out of Omaha all we ever get is all the information for Nebraska candidates election after election. The DNC, OFA and the DCCC are doing nothing, and they aren't really doing much to help themselves from what I have seen.
Good points. I do not understand why the DNC and other groups are not putting more money into this state. I have seen a few ads for Conlin but not many--dozens of ads for Grassley. It is discouraging.
I am so glad you speak for Conservatives. The perfect Conservative is Chris Christie in New Jersy, he is fighting the teacher's union tooth and nail. Talk about the greedy in this country, lets talk about the teachers union for awhile. The teachers union is more greedy than most corporations ever considered being. Can't cut a teachers pay oh noooooo, can't fire a teacher who has been convicted of abusing children, oops what that you expect them to actually grade papers and give tests, they'll need a raise to do that. What you want them to patrol the hallways during lunch, oops not in contract can't do that.
This Republican gov is trying to improve education in his state by hiring this intelligent lady. You don't like her because she and others are exposing how the teachers unions have ruined education in this country. She is being fired because the teacher's union spent a million dollars of union dues to ensure her boss was fired because the unions didn't want to actually have to do the job they are hired to do, which is EDUCATE CHILDREN
The teachers' unions have not ruined education. Prove that they have. Post your facts and list your sources. This is simply more republican anti-union, destroy the worker, demonize unions and government chatter all of which began with Ronald Reagan. The result, workers make less money, jobs get shipped overseas, teachers are made into scapegoats.
I should think the failing urban schools of Washington D.C and the Iowa school systems would require different approaches to reform, but that might just me being too nuanced.
The way she closed down schools in D.C. the right would love Michelle Rhee. After all, the right wants a dumb electorate to indoctrinate with falsehoods about the government. So why not start with the kids, nutty tea bag coloring books, and rewriting history?
It'll make it easy for the righties to con the country if they start indoctrinating the little kids with right wing nonsense. Forget about real history; just keep the lies going.
Beverly in Chicago
The way she closed down schools in D.C. the right would love Michelle Rhee. After all, the right wants a dumb electorate to indoctrinate with falsehoods about the government. So why not start with the kids, nutty tea bag coloring books, and rewriting history
I'm not sure how i should read your post, but i wish michelle were in chicago. the chicago teachers union, which my mother was a member of for 30 years is the problem in my eye. this woman would be perfect for chicago. she is good at bridging the gap between parents and school administrators, and is not scared to take on a union, in the name of giving children a good education. yes the right would love her, but what the right does not iknow about here and that is, once she is done cleaning house, them she is going to want additional funds to attract the best teashers colleges have to offer and that cost money. something the right will not want to do.
What a joke! Can't Terry Bumstead find any qualified people among the tens of thousands of unemployed Iowans? Oh yes, in order to be considered for any leadership position in Iowa government you're only cosidered qualified if you live outside the state.
Your in-state talent sucks.
You might want to work on those people skills, Handgunner.
Handgunner sounds like a typical leftwingnut.
a concerned DCPS parent :
re: Michelle Rhee's "mom friendly" comment, prepared specifically for the Oprah show, about moms not tolerating mediocre teachers being given time to grow and develop professionally. "Well. The unqualified, needing-to-grow-professionally, TFA principal that Rhee PUSHED on our school, despite protests from a panel of engaged, informed, truly progressive, professional educators and parents with advanced degrees in education . . . . . (this TFA principal) hired and protected even more inexperienced, unqualified teachers who will take YEARS to develop into true professionals. But the principal and those teachers all know how to say "yes" to their boss. Too bad they don't know the basics of how children learn, or the nuances of curriculum and instruction. It is hard, hard work indeed to have to reprogram my kids every day after school, to get them to embrace and understand learning again.
Rhee's influential, BAD decisions and practices, more than
ANY OTHER failure of the DC Public School system, has me
on the verge of pulling my kids out of school.
Rhee embarrassed herself mightily at the DC screening of this film ("Waiting for Wall Street Super-scammers") -- with her comment insulting DC voters.
My kids, and the 350 others in their school,
will not be devastated at all
when she leaves.
We assume she will head to the business world for which
she may have more appropriate skills."
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Thanks truthteller, that's very interesting. She'd fit right in with Branstad's prior history involving education, which was characterized by attempting to make it "better" by cutting programs and funding, promising increases in teacher pay but line item vetoing the funding, and dramatically increasing costs for college students.
Recently I saw an interesting TV piece on public schools in Japan. They felt it was crazy to just cut teachers loose at the first hiccup as is increasingly advocated here. In their much more highly achieving system they put a lot of resources into developing teachers, taking them from their initial green state to confident, competent educators by making sure they always have back up and support. Here we just burn out promising young teachers faster than we can make more, sending them off to other industries. The rapid turnover of teachers is in itself a reason why things aren't better. How competent can you be at your job if you never have a chance to develop?
RESEARCH Michelle Rhee’s ongoing
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST machinations, financial gaming the system, and legal violations — in Washington, DC and also in Sacramento.
Did you know that every time she brings in a new inexperienced, unqualified “Teach for America” intern that she pays her ex-husband’s organization (he’s the “TFA” Communications Director) a fee of several thousand dollars for each recruit — which goes toward his salary and he then repays back to her as child support ! — that’s self-dealing. ======= Investigate the rattling skeletons in both Michelle Rhee’s and Kevin Johnson’s closets, while they’ve been protected from consequences by their big-money financier and corporate backers (including — deliberate prevarication, budgetary machinations & financial scandals (including misappropriation of over $400,000 in federal grants), sexual misconduct with students (teen minors)
and staff subordinates, cover-ups and ‘hush money’ deals
behind-the-scenes).
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Must-read important
news article:
http://www.sacbee.com/2009/11/20/2338165/kevin-johnsons-accuser-says-he.html
See website:
http://sacchartergate.blogspot.com/
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