In Praise of Michelle Rhee

She’s getting put through the ringer now because of a proposal to close down some schools in Washington, D.C., but how right she is about the need to reform the district can be seen quite capably in this quote from Education Week:

“How giving the chancellor the power to fire a secretary or someone who works in the mailroom improves student achievement is beyond me,” said Rick Powell, the political and legislative director for the Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO, which includes several unions with members in the school district’s office.

“Is that grounds to lose your job?” he said of employees’ reported confusion about their duties. “If somebody doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do, then you train them.”

Or, alternatively, if someone can’t tell you why they’re employed by the district, you wish them well and send them on their way. Truly—your boss asks you what you do, and you don’t have an answer?