I spent my entire childhood and adolescence in DC public schools, from kindergarten to high school. You mention a "lost generation of kids" -- imagine, if you will, being a gay, white kid in a school whose environment can only be described as hostile to intellectualism, never mind hostile to white people and hostile to homosexuals. I am not talking about the other students, primarily. They, like me, were victims of a system. I am talking about bureaucratic and educational negligence, about a faculty and staff who took morbid delight in reducing everything a student says to 'yes' or 'no'; that is, to obedience or disobedience.

This is the state of DCPS. You honestly expect a well-crafted counseling program to thrive in a place like that? I do not mean to sound self-pitying -- I've done OK since. I hope only that you'll concede that, as a parent, your point of view on DC's schools is limited.

As to whether it's crass to offer cash incentives to faculty and students, trust me when I say it is positively classy compared to indulging the current system. As to whether it's effective, well, that remains to be seen. But from 1988 to 2001, I intimately experienced, as a student, the attempts at more organic reforms within DCPS. Hiring better counselors and better teachers is like planting seeds in salt.

On a less personal note, isn't it interesting that it is an Asian female who is implementing such dramatic reform? Imagine if she had been male, or black, or, God forbid, white. How would people be reacting differently? I am reminded of the photographer Nicki Lee, another Korean female, who takes pictures of herself among dangerous groups of people of various cultures and races. Seeing some of her pictures, one wonders how she got out alive! Part of her point, I think, is that people have a unique perception of Asian females. Throughout all this controversy, I haven't heard racism invoked a single time; this, in the same city where a man was forced to resign his government post for using the word 'niggardly', in the same city that a crack addict has served twice as mayor and is now on the city council, almost entirely because he is black. There is a certain righteous pleasure in watching the public being punished for their unspoken, racially influenced views of Michelle Rhee. That aside, there is an entirely wholesome pleasure in witnessing an aggressive, compassionate purge of one of the most embarrassing institutions in the developed world.

I would much rather see Rhee spend her time figuring out how to pay for experienced lead teachers on every grade level who can support and assist the less experienced teachers coming into the system. Hey and what about creating a real learning assessment apparatus where there is some logical relationship between the curriculum, reports cards and standardized tests. It would also be great to see the District deal with behavior issues by strengthening the school counseling department, Peaceable Schools and other DC systems that offer support and teach conflict resolution. Why not study the school systems in this country that are struggling to give substance and depth to learning in a NCLB world that only makes time for testing. Actually there are tons of issues to address. I just refuse to believe that arbitrary firings, bribery, and union busting are the values that get us there.

In reference to the article "Concession Stand", I must add that I am pleased that President Parker is collaborating with Randi Weingarten, AFT, on this contract. Her negotiations with Chancellor Klein in NY, who is Michelle Rhee's mentor for change, seem like a fitting match. We've probably just moved the NYC contract negotiations four hours south.

I've never been one for quick fixes. They seem cheap, set a bad example for kids and in the end are short lived. These approaches also pit us against one another: teachers against teachers, parents against teachers etc. But perhaps that is what all of this is intended to do. The press, and other local voices can continue their love affair with Rhee. I am holding out for real reform. With hope it will come before my kids graduate. Real reform - "Come On Down"