NYT Columnist Bob Herbert receives a needed tongue-lashing from Harvard sociologist William Julius Wilson in this morning's Times. Responding to Herbert's?post-D.C. election column calling Michelle Rhee ?cold-blooded? and ?disrespectful? to blacks,?Wilson writes:
Ms. Rhee's appointment was the ultimate display of respect for African-American residents in Washington, showing exactly how far the Fenty administration was willing to go improve urban education.
Under her able leadership, the D.C. school system responded to President Obama's ?Race to the Top? initiative by basing teacher salary increases, as well as annual bonuses, on classroom performance, not traditional seniority.
Teachers with miserable performances in the classroom have been dismissed, and others with ?minimally effective? ratings have been put on notice. With the appointment of Ms. Rhee, I had some hope that inner-city schools, which have become the dumping grounds for many of the worst teachers, would improve. I am no longer hopeful.
Will D.C.'s loss be Newark's gain?
?Peter Meyer, Bernard Lee Schwartz Senior Policy Fellow
