Cult of Personality

Prior to my entry into teaching I was a political science major and studied this idea of a cult of personality. Basically it is the phenomenon where a person's accomplishments are out paced by their reputation. In other words the myth is greater than the person.

I find this an interesting part of Michelle Rhee. I was listening to an interview with her conducted by the Washington Post's Jo-Ann Armao. The first part of the interview discusses whether she is staying, she does not stay firmly either way. However, a quote from this first segment caught my attention. Rhee stated that some in the city feel like "If Vincent Gray really cares about school reform, then he'll keep Michelle Rhee." Rhee goes on to say that this is not her feelings on the subject and she actually states she wants to set it up so good things will continue even if she's not there.

With that said, I think there are some people who feel D.C. Public Schools will slide back without Michelle Rhee. This is where the cult of personality comes in. Michelle Rhee has accomplished a great many things as Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, however she is just one person. Of course, reform will go on whether she is there or not. Michelle Rhee is not the only person who can make school reform happen and I think often we pin our hopes too much to one single person. I think about this fact when I here people talk about Dr. Alonso. I have often heard people say that if Dr. Alonso was ever to leave all the progress BCPSS has made would be lost. While Dr. Alonso has done a great deal, he is not the only person working for school reform and improvement. School reform is a movement. It requires millions of people; teachers and administrators, school district leaders and parents, and of course, students. Much as the film Waiting for "Superman" states there is no one person or "superman" who can save us, we're all in this together.