Who's Storing the Mind?

The District of Columbia
Has voted out its one-term mayor.
The major reason? His idea
To name as his school chancellor
A firebrand named Michelle Rhee,
Who cashiered teachers lacking skill,
A governmental novelty,
Indeed, a sort of fire drill.
The point? Thereafter never flout
Your pupils’ test scores, or get out.

Rhee reached with teachers such a deal:
Give up their tenure for a raise,
And bonuses for student zeal
That overcomes in-style malaise.
Most white folks very much approved;
Their kids’ high scores would further soar.
Most black folks comparably weren’t moved
Although their kids might profit more.
They deemed their families patronized,
And new white teachers ill-advised.

They feel as though the Peace Corps’s come
To rescue them from Third-World woe.
I get it where they’re coming from,
But wonder if it’s apropos.
We don’t give cushy guarantees
For jobs of those who keep us whole,
Like those who extirpate disease
Or have our safety as a goal.
Who better shouldn’t loaf behind
Than one who grows a child’s mind?