“Tenure is the holy grail of teacher unions, but has no educational value for kids; it only benefits adults. If we can put veteran teachers who have tenure in a position where they don’t have it, that would help us to radically increase our teacher quality. And maybe other districts would try it, too,” - Michelle Rhee, chancellor of the Washington DC public schools.

The lengths to which Rhee must go just to apply basic standards of accountability in the teaching profession is mind-boggling. And reading the comments from the leaders of the teachers' unions really does drive home the point. Until we really do bust the teachers unions, the next generation of kids in public schools is at risk. I'm one of those DC residents, whose taxes are poured into often useless schools with often dreadful teachers. I'd like to see a tiny bit more value for money.

The best profile of Rhee is, of course, in the Atlantic, ahead of the curve as usual. It's by Clay Risen.