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Credo - MIchelle Rhee
By: Leah Fabel
Examiner Staff Writer
February 8, 2009
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| D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee (Andrew Harnik/Examiner) |
Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?
I would say I am a curious agnostic. I appreciate that people connect with each other through their faith, and last year I started to attend services at churches across D.C., often one of the Baptist churches where I meet parents who have children at our most struggling schools. The people of D.C.’s faith communities have welcomed me so warmly, and it is clear that through their faith, they have gained obvious and enormous strength to face the challenges they meet in their lives. I am a believer in people, and in what they can do when they have faith in whatever keeps them moving toward better outcomes for their lives and their children’s lives.
Did anyone especially influence your beliefs or your path in life?
My parents always had high expectations of me. I was fairly successful in school but for some subjects, like calculus, it took a lot of extra studying to do well. My parents made it clear that my success did not mean I was smarter or more special than other children but was a product of my hard work. I didn’t like it at the time, but I appreciate that my parents pushed me to face what was challenging. They were supportive and impressed on me that all children could be as successful if they had those supports.
Some call you stubborn in your dealings with the Washington Teachers Union. Is that an accurate assessment?
I would say I am confident in what I believe is right for kids. If I feel that something is good for students, I want to do whatever it takes to make it happen. On the flip side, if I think something is compromising children’s rights, skills or future life outcomes, I am firm about doing everything in my power to keep it from continuing. Some view this as obstinate, but I prefer “focused.”
If you could instill one lesson into D.C. students, what would it be?
I think we need to start talking to more students as honestly and compassionately as we can about where they are, how much potential they have to succeed, and how much work it takes to get where they want to be. These are painful conversations to have. But they are the starting point for the hard work that needs to happen. Once that work really begins and is supported in earnest, students start to see what they can do, and they keep going, often beyond the high expectations we set.
What about for teachers?
Right now I would want teachers to understand that when I speak of the low performance levels of our students, I am not blaming teachers. With less than 30 percent of our children meeting basic standards for proficiency, we are in a very serious situation. Research has shown us time and time again that teachers are not the problem, but rather the solution to the challenges we face. As a system, we must compensate and support teachers so that they are able to do the very difficult work we are asking them to do.
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
I believe that achievement — for children and adults — is a function of effort and not ability. I often hear from people that due to circumstances, many children just don’t have the capacity to really achieve at high levels and we should accept that. I think this is a dangerous way of thinking, especially if you work in education. There are too many examples of highly successful people who were not the most gifted but attribute their success to pure grit.
