Rhee-visiting Turnarounds

I love Learning Matters.  It’s John Merrow’s group; they do reports for Jim Lehrer on PBS.  The 10-episode documentary about Michelle Rhee, produced by Jane Renaud, Cat McGrath and David Wald, is well worth checking out on their website or your Ipod.  An “oldie” but goodie is their series on Turnaround Specialists from 2006, about Boushall Middle School in Richmond.  It’s a reality check on how hard it is to do what the President aspires — turn around 5,000 failing schools.  Here’s an update on that school from last week (scroll down).  

~ Guestblogger Mike Goldstein

2 Replies to “Rhee-visiting Turnarounds”

  1. Yes, this was an excellent documentary by John Merrow. He gives us something that is desperately needed in educational reform: the truth. It should be obvious to everyone that there are no simplistic solutions to improve education at schools such as the one featured by Mr. Merrow.

    Frankly I think such schools need to be closed. Institutions such as these are not safe for students or for employees and no one should be forced to attend. Research and common sense tell us that a school with too many low-achieving and poorly-behaved students has a detrimental effect on everyone, even the students who want a good education, as well as the teachers who wish to deliver it. The best solution to me is to close these schools and send the students to suburban schools or to very small (under 100 students) in their communities. Students who are extremely disruptive should be excluded from regular education and given home teachers.

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