Michelle Rhee... "Can She Save Our Schools?"

Recently we read an article about a school district in Washington D.C. that now has Michelle Rhee as a superintendent. She is a women that believes in producing the best students possible and making a change throughout the rest of the country. She is doing this by finding the best teachers in the Nation. We were asked whether we would like to work under her as a teacher in one of those schools. Some said yes, some said no. I, on the other hand, wasn't sure.

I completely agree with wanting to have the highest achieving students. I think it is a great thing to do in society as it will definitely improve the way education is in the US. I, in turn, want to be the best teacher I can be. I understand that excellence is important and I want my students to learn and do great things. What teacher wouldn't want that? However, I also think that there is more to teaching that just looking good on standardized tests. That is where I'm torn.

Rhee was married and had two young girls. However, her marriage didn't last. I can't help but wonder if this happened because she was not devoting enough time towards her family. In the article, it said these teachers who work for/with her work around 80 hours a week. If this is true, the ideal teacher would be one that is single and has all the time in the world to devote to their job. But that's where the real world comes in. Many teachers have families and want to spend time with them. After all, if they don't, what kind of example are the setting for their students? Would that end in divorce like her marriage did? As a child, I was raised in a family that always did things together. It is important to me that I spend time with my family and future children. But here's the catch: How can you balance the two in a school Rhee is asking for?
I am still unsure if I would work for her at this point. I feel teaching is very important, but my priorities are also different than hers. Family comes before my career and I think it always will. I just need to find a way to healthily balance work and personal life- something I think all professions struggle with.

Then while reading the article, I wondered how she would treat Music classes. Music isn't something you can be tested on using a standardized test; yet it is a subject that can help to improve test scores. Music and other art classes call for creativity- which is impossible to use on the tests as well. If, as teachers, we are only supposed to teach to the test, where will students be able to find and use their creative juices? If we don't offer these classes, will our students just be dull and not well- rounded?