Radical: Fighting to Put Students First

(Paperback)

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Our country's status as a world leader in education is at grave risk. In Radical, Michelle Rhee, a driving force behind American education reform, delivers her plan for better American schools. Informing her critique are her years of teaching in inner-city Baltimore; her turbulent tenure as chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public schools; and her current role as an education activist. The book chronicles Rhee's awakening to the potential of every child blessed with a great teacher, her rage at adults with special interests who block badly needed change, and her recognition that it will take a grassroots movement to break through the barriers to outstanding public schools.

An incisive and intensely personal call to arms, Michelle Rhee's Radical is required reading for anyone who seeks a guide not only to the improvement of our schools but also to a brighter future for America's children.

Reviews

"Michelle Rhee is famous as a hard-charging champion of education reform, but this charming and engrossing memoir is full of surprises as we learn that Rhee is also a strong Democrat and a thoughtful -- even contrite -- activist working every day to help kids learn." -- Jonathan Alter

"Throughout her career, Michelle Rhee has fought for every student to receive a quality education. In Radical, Rhee describes her experiences in the trenches, her challenges and her successes, but what she has learned through it all is that we must always put our students first." -- Condoleezza Rice

"Michelle Rhee is a national treasure. . . . As told in this important book, her fight against this country's calcified education bureaucracy holds lessons for us all." -- Geoffrey Canada

"Radical: Fighting to Put Students First is one of the most important and compelling books I have read. Michelle Rhee's account of her continuing struggles to achieve her vision for American public education is riveting. This engaging and well-written book is a must-read." -- William Julius Wilson

"Radical is much more than a diagnosis of our failing schools. It is Michelle Rhee's personal odyssey, powered by her conviction that the survival of the American Dream of tomorrow depends on how we educate our children today. Her determination comes through on every page." -- Arianna Huffington

Author Bio

Michelle Rhee is the founder and CEO of StudentsFirst, a political advocacy organization for education reform. From 2007 to 2010, she served as chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public school system. She is also the founder of The New Teacher Project and a former Teach For America corps member. She divides her time between California, with her husband, Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento, and Nashville, with her daughters, Starr and Olivia.