The Corporate Spin on the Fenty/Rhee Drubbing: Blame the Teachers

[Hannah Bell]

The New York Times has a downplayed story on the Fenty defeat, mentioning neither Fenty nor Gray in their headline and featuring a much larger photo of Fenty than Gray. It also attributes the loss by Fenty to the bad guys, the teachers.

And to whom should the new Mayor Gray work to reassure and assuage now? The Rhee supporters who got trounced in yesterday's election: "In particular, many residents have voiced concern that a victory by Mr. Gray would signal an end to the city’s education overhaul under Michelle A. Rhee, the schools chancellor, which has become a model of education reform advocated by the Obama administration."

Exactly. That's what the election was about. The Business Roundtable's version of "education reform" lost. Get it? You do not take such a loss as a signal to placate or bow to the losers.

But the strongest corporate response so far has been issued through Pawlenty's office in Minnesota, which frames the repudiation of corporate ed reform by the voters as a win for the greedy teachers' union. You will hear much more of this in the days to come: "Mayor Fenty lost after the teachers' unions led a campaign against him and Michelle Rhee. Fenty's loss is further evidence that despite all their rhetoric about 'the children,' what the teachers' unions really care about is getting more money for jobs they can't lose at schools that produce students who are not prepared to compete. . . ."

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/09/corporate-spin-on-fentyrhee-drubbing.html

[dkf]

1. Don't you guys want to claim victory?

I don't get it.

[Hannah Bell]

2. what?

[dkf]

7. I thought teachers were against the guy.

Don't they want to get "blamed"?

[Hannah Bell]

8. what's your problem with the post? what's the point of your comment? it has nothing to do with the

op.

[dkf]

9. It's an oddly defensive title. Not celebratory at all.

[Hannah Bell]

12. oooh, "oddly" defensive, is it? trust you to find *something* to insinuate *something* about.

the corporate sector & its bag boys are spinning the win to their storyline. what don't you get?

[dkf]

13. Okay you tell me then. Are educators not happy with the spin that teachers got rid of Fenty?

[Hannah Bell]

14. stupid question, non-seq. why are you even asking it?

[dkf]

15. It would make more sense to me had it been titled: corporate spin...teachers are greedy.

Now THAT would have made sense as a call to arms and something that should be refuted. Jmo.

Not a big deal but it was my admittedly first impression.

[Chan790]

5. Oh, I have been.

Claiming victory all day. Fenty was an asshole and a corrupt administrator who practiced crony politics, held vendettas and frequently governed with something other then the best interests of DC residents in mind.

Good riddance to bad fish. He's been ousted in favor of an actual liberal who believes in accountability to the citizens and causes of social justice.

[chimpymustgo]

16. "The Business Roundtable's version of "education reform" lost." Teachers, students, the people WON.

[Chan790]

3. As a hiring supervisor for my employer...

I've had the joy of interviewing some of the best and brightest of Rhee's prodigies including the salutatorian of a local HS. Higher test scores and SATs might be fine but these kids were dumb. Teach to the test, produce inflexible minds that can't think.

Make no mistake, this election was a repudiation of Rhee and Duncan and that entire education model. But the take-away and causes are not what people think. DC voter rejected Rhee's education model for a simpler reason by far than stated...the test results are somewhere between meaningless and misleading. The model is an abject failure. To quote our former president: "Is our children learning?"

In DC, the answer is no...and that's not the teacher's faults. It's Rhee's...she designed a system that holds educators accountable for the success of DC students though. In the end, the voters decided it was reasonable to hold her and Fenty accountable for the success of DC students too.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. This is real simple. How many teachers are there? How many voters?

Do teachers outnumber all the other voters? If not, then Pawlenty should shut up. People vote the way they want. If Teachers, with their meagre union dues have super secret hypnotic powers to force people to change their votes, then what about the Koch brother's billions?

[Stinky The Clown]

6. I'm more thrilled by Fenty and Rhee's departure than about Gray moving in. Gray is not without . . .

. . . . his own problems. But at least he'll stay with his date at the dance.

[laughingliberal]

10. +1 nt

[Starry Messenger]

11. k & r