Education Reform

Education should be about what's best for the kids. That is the whole premise Michelle Rhee brought to bear as she took over as Chancellor of the public schools in Washington, D.C. She was not a career education administrator, rather she is an idealist and a reformer. She was brought to D.C. by then-Mayor Adrian Fenty with one mission — to fix the worst school district in the nation.

Rhee, her time in D.C., and the lessons she learned there are chronicled brilliantly in the book "The Bee Eater," by Richard Whitmire. It was a fascinating, compelling and, at times, sad book to read. But for those of us who care about education, and a system that seems stuck in the mud, there are rays of encouragement and reason to fear no real change can be made.

I first came across Rhee while watching the documentary "Waiting for Superman." That film, which I named one of the best of 2011, is compelling, fascinating, and heart-breaking. It's heart-breaking because it chronicles the problems with the education system and introduces you to the people that are hurt the most by the system. What stood out to me was Rhee's story, so I began to follow her in the news.

When I had a chance to hear her speak at a leadership conference last summer, I jumped at the chance. What I heard confirmed to me what she was about, what she tried to do, and how far we still have to go. Reading "The Bee Eater" is more insight along those lines.

I have had a passion for education for years. I covered the local schools and saw the great and the terrible traps in education during that time, investing in the people. There is little doubt the system we have is populated by some great and talented people, but the system is broken. "Waiting for Superman" and "The Bee Eater" offer some glimpses of how it can be fixed, the question is whether we have the will to act.