The headline says it all...

New WTU Chief: Top Job 'is to protect members'. Yup. And the sub-head?

D.C. teachers union looks to guard perks... That's a surprise.

Best quote:

The new president of the Washington Teachers' Union [Nathan Saunders] promised a "progressive" administration rather than a "reactionary" one, and said his No. 1 priority is to protect members' job security.

Here's the 'reactionary administration' Mr. Saunders refers to:

Former Chancellor Michelle Rhee and former DC Mayor Adrian Fenty ~

the reactionary administration Mr. Saunders is replacing.

Mr. Saunders is correct. Former Mayor Fenty and former DC Chancellor Rhee were proactively reactionary during the short time they had to bring change to the worst performing school district in the United States. In a school district where 12% of 8th graders are proficient in reading and 8% in math, and the money spent per student is the third highest in the country, someone had to frigging do something.   

And Fenty and Rhee were those people. They reacted with action. placing children and their education as the first priority in schools where the teachers' union (WTU) has ruled forever, always placing professional greed way before fixing a broken system. Rhee closed the 23 worst schools, reorganized another 27, fired a third of the principals and cut back on cushy, non-teaching positions. 

Most importantly, Rhee reformed the salary structure for teachers, offering the choice of earning well over $100,000 a year if a teacher was willing to be judged on merit. As Michelle Rhees puts it,

"Tenure is the holy grail of teacher unions, but it has no educational value for kids; it only benefits adults."

It's very important to point out that merit-based pay is supported by many teachers. Good teachers have nothing to lose by agreeing to be paid on the quality of their work. Teachers' unions, on the other hand, understand that switching to merit-based salaries greatly reduces the power they hold over union members. After all, the power of collective bargaining was the motivation for forming unions in the first place.

But now both Fenty and Rhee are gone. The old guard is back in power, calling itself the progressive administration. And the students?

I have a feeling they'll be kicked back to last place. As the WTU made clear, the 'new' first priority is to guard the perks of its members...and, I'm sure, actively ignoring reports like this one released by the Council of the Great City Schools showing a huge achievement gap between white and black students.

I'll take reactionary over progressive any day, especially when it involves the futures of kids.

Michelle Rhee hasn't decided where she's going to land next, but wherever she ends up, she'll be sure to bring her boldness of action and remarkable courage.

I know, a little over the top. But the dragons Rhee has fought against are powerful and vicious...and the students who depend on failing schools for their education need a knight...well, enough said.

Michelle Rhee's website.