00:04>> So, I'm thrilled to be here today.
00:07And when I was looking at my briefing
sheet and
00:10I saw that the title of the series is A
View from the Top.
00:14I thought, well, I guess I've been on the
top of an organization before, so
00:17I can give some insights on that.
00:19But I thought what would be interesting is
that I've also sorta been trampled.
00:23And on the ground with people's feet on my
head, [NOISE] looking up.
00:28So I maybe I can give a little perspective
from that vantage point as well.
00:32You do not want to hear me give a big long
speech, and I am not gonna do that.
00:36I'm gonna reserved most of the time, for,
for a Q and A.
00:41But in thinking about leadership I, I was
sorta reflecting.
00:46And I thought okay, what, what would I
want to share with young people who are in
00:52undergrad or graduate school today.
00:54And there are three things through my
experiences in DC and
00:58now with Students First that I think could
be helpful.
01:02Not in telling you specifically what you
should do or
01:04not do, but just to give you a sense of
perspective.
01:12actually, this is a lesson that I learned,
when I was the chancellor.
01:17And it was one that came to me from a, a
mentor and hero of mine, Joel Klein.
01:24So, Joel is, used to be the the Chancellor
of the New York City school system.
01:31And long before I was working in DC, the
mayor of D.C.
01:36and the council members were trying to
figure out.
01:40Whether they wanted to move to a mayoral
control model or not.
01:44So they took a trip to New York.
01:46They met with Joel Klein and Mike
Bloomberg.
01:48They toured the schools.
01:50They sorta saw what was going on there.
01:52And at the end of that visit Adrian Fenty
said to Joel Kline,
01:57okay I want somebody like you to come and
run the schools in D.C..
02:02Can you give me a recommendation?
02:05And Joel actually ended up recommending me
for the job.
02:09And because of that he always felt this
incredible sense of guilt.
02:14And so he would call me and kinda you
know, check up on me all the time.
02:18So I remember one evening in the height of
02:22sorta my first 100 days when things were
really getting a little tough.
02:28I was driving home one night.
02:30It's raining outside.
02:32It's like 11 o'clock at night and my phone
rings.
02:35And I look at it and
02:36I see that it's from Joel Klein, so I pull
over to the side of the road.
02:39Answer the phone and I said, yes sir.
02:42And he said how are you doing Michelle?
02:44I said, I'm, I'm doing okay.
02:45It's a little tough right now, you know,
but I'm hanging in there.
02:48And he's like, he's like, that's good.
02:50He said, I, I'm calling to give you some
advice.
02:55And I said, okay, I am ready.
02:57And he said there are two things that I
wanna communicate to you tonight.
03:00I said okay, I'm, I'm ready, let's go.
03:04He said the first one, he said, do you
have a boyfriend?
03:07>> And I said no, cuz at the time I did
not.
03:10And he said okay, so my first piece of
advice is go out and get one.
03:13>> [LAUGH]
>> And I said, okay.
03:17I did not think that I would ever be
getting love life advice from Joel Klein.
03:22So I was sorta hesitatingly you know,
sorta said, oh, okay sir.
03:25And he said, here's what you need to
understand.
03:28He said, this job is one of the loneliest
jobs you can possibly have.
03:33He said, everyday is just an absolute
grind.
03:36He said, I would never be able to do what
I do everyday if I
03:40didn't have my wife at home.
03:41Because at the end of every tough day I
get in to bed and
03:45she goes, baby don't worry about it.
03:48She's like, you're not the crazy one.
03:50They're the crazy ones.
03:53>> He said, if I didn't have that
grounding me everyday,
03:56I would not be able to wake up every
morning and go to work.
03:59He said, so my first piece of advice is go
and find a boyfriend.
04:04I actually meanwhile did do that and
happily.
04:08So I listened to that piece.
04:10And then, the second thing he said, he
sorta got really quiet and serious.
04:14So here's my second thing.
04:15He said, you have to lead from the front.
04:18And he said it with such conviction and
confidence that I said, okay, I got it.
04:26And I hung up the phone, and I pulled back
onto the road.
04:31I have no idea what that means, right?
04:34I didn't wanna ask him any questions cuz I
didn't wanna seem like I was stupid.
04:37So, you know, I'd get back on the road.
04:39And it actually wasn't until several
months later that I had
04:42sorta lived through a lot of the turmoil
of, of the, of being the chancellor.
04:47That I actually realized what he meant.
04:50Because when you are a leader, sometimes
you've gotta be out in front.
04:53You can see things that, that other people
can't see at the time.
04:58And if you get mired in the, the muck, if
you sorta get you know,
05:02pulled into every single argument on one
side or another.
05:05You're actually not gonna be able to move
your organization as far as you can,
05:10So when he gave me that piece of advice,
05:13I was actually in the middle of our school
closure process.
05:17Which was incredibly painful.
05:18You know, we had 144 schools, we were
closing 23 of them.
05:21It was 15% of the schools.
05:23And if you ever wanna quickly become the
most unpopular person in
05:27a city all you have to do is tell somebody
that you are closing a school.
05:31Much less 23 schools.
05:32So I was in the middle of this and
05:33it was, it was this tremendous amount of
opposition push back.
05:37And the interesting this was, about a year
after we closed the schools and
05:42we went through that process.
05:43I was in one of the schools that had been
consolidated.
05:47And I was trying to check out you know,
what the situation was.
05:49A women came up to me.
05:51She said, hey, hey, hey look at me, you
recognize me.
05:55She said I was the one last year that was
always screaming at
05:57you about closing schools.
05:59I said, oh yeah, I know who you are.
06:00>> [LAUGH]
>> I could never forget that face.
06:03She's like you know what?
06:05I just wanted to let you know you were
right.
06:07She said I didn't, I didn't, we couldn't
see it at the time.
06:09Because it was such an emotional and
sentimental process for
06:12us and we were just angry at you and you
know, this whole process.
06:16She's like, but now I get it.
06:18Cuz we're in this school, and
06:19this school has a lot more resources, our
kids are getting a better education.
06:25>> [LAUGH]
>> And she walks away.
06:27>> And I'm thinking, where's the
Washington Post when this kinda
06:30stuff happens, right?
06:31But what I realize is this, we were, we
were able to,
06:35because we made the incredibly tough
decision to close those schools.
06:40We were able to create a new reality for
the children in Washington DC.
06:44Because of that decision, we were able to
provide an art music, an art teacher,
06:48a music teacher, a PE teacher, a
librarian, a nurse.
06:52And a social worker or
06:53a guidance counselor at every single
school in the city.
06:57For the first time in the history,
06:59that anybody could ever remember, we
equalized the resources.
07:03So that having an art teacher wasn't
dependent on whether you,
07:05you know, were at one of the schools that
had wealthier parents.
07:08And they could hold an auction to hire the
teacher, etc.
07:11We equalized the playing field for
07:13all of the kids as it pertained to the
kinds of curriculum that they should have.
07:18And had we got caught up in all of the
sorta emotion and, and
07:22the sorta opposition and whatnot.
07:25We would not have been able to follow
through on that decision.
07:27And we could not have provided the kids
with those additional resources.
07:31So that's my first message is sometimes,
you gotta lead from the front.
07:35My second, observation.
07:37[COUGH] And, and, you could, you could
either take my advice or not on this one.
07:42But I believe very strongly that in order
to be an effective leader,
07:46you have to be okay with not being liked.
07:51And I'm like really really good at this
one.
07:53you can, you can, you can, you can take my
advice.
07:56I, I remember very clearly about halfway
through my second year as chancellor.
08:04A columnist for the Washington Post wrote
a piece.
08:08And it was sorta you know, I like Michelle
Rhee.
08:12She is doing, you know, good things and
making hard decisions.
08:17She would be a little nicer.
08:19So I read the piece and I'm pissed off.
08:21So I call the guy and I'm like what are
you doing?
08:23And he's like, no you don't understand.
08:25He's like I, I want you to be here for the
long haul, I think you are good for
08:29He said, but in order for you to be here,
people got to like you a little bit more.
08:34You could be a little friendlier and
nicer.
08:39And I look and you know so I said to him I
said look you have to figure out what you
08:44think the most important characteristics
of a schools chancellor are.
08:50And quite frankly if its sorta personality
driven then you know and
08:55you want warm and fuzzy.
08:57Then I am not your girl.
08:59And you should actually be advocating for
my ouster.
09:02But if you like what is going on in the
schools, if you believe sincerely
09:07that the right decisions are being made in
the interests of kids.
09:12Then you should not be saying Michelle
really needs to change her personality.
09:15You should be advocating that we kinda
leave the personalities aside and
09:19focus on the policies of what's actually
happening in the schools.
09:23So, I say this because you know,
09:25when I was in my first year as a
chancellor my mother came to town.
09:29So, when your mom comes to town,
09:31yo, you got a whole different perspective
on things.
09:33So, my mom happened to come at a time
where people were very, very angry at me.
09:39And so she comes into town, it was all on
the school closure stuff.
09:43And she, you know, opens up the Washington
Post.
09:45There's a two-page spread on, you know,
all the different schools that I'm
09:49closing, like, can point it all over the
city.
09:51She turns on the TV, there are people,
like, you know,
09:54throwing things at me at a meeting, and
that sorta thing.
09:58She [LAUGH] she, over the weekend said,
they're.
10:02Yeah, there's some really loud
10:05people down the block who are picketing
about something.
10:08And I said, yeah, they're picketing me.
10:10She's like, oh my gosh.
10:11I can't believe this is going on.
10:13So anyways, one night at the end of
10:16a long night of community meetings that I
was having.
10:19I come home, I'm in the kitchen,
10:21I'm making myself a peanut better an jelly
sandwich.
10:23My mother sorta creeps into the kitchen,
and she says are you okay?
10:28And I say yeah I'm fine I'm good.
10:29And she looks at me, she goes you know,
10:31when you were little you never used to
care what people thought about you.
10:38I always thought that you were going to
grow up to be really antisocial.
10:41But I see now that this is serving you
well.
10:43>> [LAUGH]
>> And I said yes, it was.
10:48Because the bottom line is that if you are
concerned in too
10:53strong a way with being liked.
10:55With whether or not you're popular, with
what your polling numbers look like, etc.
11:00Then you're gonna make a different set of
decisions.
11:04And the bottom line is that no really
significant change comes
11:09without some pretty significant pushback
and opposition as well.
11:13And at the end of the day,
11:14if the decisions that you're making are
the ones that you believe are right.
11:17And you, you, you, you, you, you have the
confidence of that.
11:22Then you have to be okay getting that
opposition,
11:24getting the criticism and, at the end of
the day, not being liked so much.
11:28So that's my second piece of advice.
11:31My third is actually about my boss at the
time when I was in D.C., Adrian Fenty.
11:38Who was the mayor of D.C. and he's the
person that I reported to.
11:42And in my opinion, he is the person
without whom none
11:48of what we did in DC could have happened.
11:51He was an extraordinarily unique
politician.
11:54In that when he hired me he said, all I
want you to do is make the schools better.
12:01Make the schools a place where we wanna
send our own children every day.
12:05In terms of politics and the pushback and
what, I'll handle that.
12:09But we're not gonna worry about it.
12:11Because at the end of the day, we're gonna
make every decision within what we
12:15believe is in the best interests of kids.
12:17He said that on Day 1 to me.
12:19And of all the crazy things that happened
to me in DC,
12:22actually, none of that was particularly
surprising.
12:24The one thing that I would say was
surprising to me is the fact that
12:27that man never wavered one time.
12:30In fact, this is a quick story.
12:33His primary election, was in September of
2010.
12:41And in August, we had just implemented a
new teacher evaluation system.
12:47Where for the first time, we were
evaluating teachers based in part on
12:51whether or not their student achievement
levels had grown in the school.
12:55And so we had identified a couple hundred
people who were,
12:59who were categorized as ineffective.
13:01And based on the, the framework and the
structure that we had set out.
13:08We said that those people who had been
rated as ineffective after their first
13:11year were subject to termination.
13:14But this is weeks away from his primary
election.
13:16So I call the man and I say, okay mayor,
so
13:18here's where we are and reminded him about
the new evaluation system.
13:21I said, you know the decision is whether
we
13:24actually move forward with this
terminations or not.
13:28Because at the end of the day I am very
sensitive to the fact that
13:32you've got a race coming up.
13:34I don't want to do anything to jeopardize
your ability to,
13:37to you know, run the city effectively,
etc.
13:40And he said let me ask you a question.
13:42He said, if we take this action, will that
ensure that
13:47kids in D.C. have better teachers in, come
fall?
13:52He said then we gotta do it.
13:55He said, absolutely.
13:56Because every other political calculus
that we make [NOISE] we
13:59don't know what the outcome is gonna be.
14:01if we don't make this decision does that
mean I'm gonna win the election?
14:05Can't, we can't tell.
14:07And that's not really at the end of the
day what matters.
14:08It's not why we're here.
14:09We're here to make sure that the kids are
getting a great education.
14:11And if you can tell me that by removing
these people and bringing in other ones,
14:15that kids are gonna get a, a good
education, then I'm okay with that.
14:19So it was exactly the answer that I wanted
to hear.
14:22It was not so much the answer that other
people wanted to hear.
14:24So we made the decision and you know the
city goes nuts, right?
14:28And it, I started getting calls from
people, all throughout the city.
14:31People who were supporters of the Mayor
and mine saying, are you insane?
14:35This is political suicide.
14:37You can't fire a bunch of people weeks
before the election.
14:42And it was amazing to me how despite the
fact that he was
14:45being told that his political career was
potentially gonna end with this decision.
14:50The ease and the confidence with which he
made it, because he knew that, at,
14:55at the end of the day, it was the right
policy decision to make.
15:00I wish I could say the same for
politicians across this county, and
15:05elected officials across this country.
15:08We live in a state where there is,
15:12to say a lack of political courage is an
understatement.
15:16We live in a state where not too many
months ago,
15:19when it was found that in an L.A. USD in
Los Angeles, there was
15:24a teacher who had been a sexual predator,
kind of molesting kids and et cetera.
15:30A state assemblyman from L.A. introduced a
piece of legislation and
15:36all it would have done is made it easier
for
15:39school districts to fire people were
sexual predators.
15:44That's a pretty low bar in my opinion,
15:47that bill didn't even make it out of
committee.
15:51Couldn't even go to the floor of the
legislature for a vote, because the status
15:56quo people, and, you know, folks who
wanted to defend, you know, the adult
16:00interests etc said to the politicians,
don't vote for this, etc, etc.
16:05Couldn't even get a bill like that out of
committee.
16:10Couple of weeks ago, we had a similar
situation where
16:15a legislator introduced a bill around
teacher evaluation in the state.
16:20It was a very very low key bill.
16:23It just said three things.
16:25One that parents and the community should
have input into the evaluation.
16:31Two, that we should evaluate teachers and
put them into four
16:34different performance bands as opposed to
just satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
16:39And that for veteran teachers, we would
move the timeframe.
16:44So instead of a evaluating them once every
five years,
16:48we could evaluate them once every three
years.
16:53The committee vote of nine committee
members, six of them abstained.
17:02Which is, to me, I was like, look, if you
don't like the bill for
17:04whatever reason, then vote against it.
17:06But what are, what's abstaining all about?
17:09So, our, our, we had a bunch of students
first members at the, at the capitol.
17:14And they were asking one of the people who
had,
17:16and saying you know, why don't you take a
stance on this?
17:19I mean, what do you believe about it?
17:21Whether it's right or wrong, you'll agree
[UNKNOWN].
17:22But you, you have to take a stand.
17:24And the guy said well, here's the thing
I've heard from people,
17:29constituents in my community on both
sides.
17:33And so, no matter what happens,
17:35there's gonna be one group of people
that's unhappy.
17:38And so I don't want to be in the middle of
that.
17:40But that's your job, right?
17:46Your job is to hear from both sides.
17:49What the pros and cons of something like
this.
17:50And then to make a decision that you
believe is in the public interest.
17:53Right, that is gonna serve your
constituents best.
17:57Whether or not people get angry at you,
that can't play into the calculus.
18:02Hardly the profiles of courage that you
would like to
18:05see from your elected officials.
18:07So at the end of the day my, my third
point, and
18:10potential one of my most important is you
have to as a leader you have to
18:14have the courage of your convictions.
18:17You have to know what it is you believe is
right and
18:21then you have to be willing to stake
everything, essentially, on it.
18:25Whether it's your job or your staying in
office.
18:26So many of these politicians like, well,
here's the thing, if I take this vote,
18:30then these people are not gonna like me.
18:32These people are not gonna vote for
18:33me next time and the world is a better
place if I remain in office.
18:37And what I would argue is the world is
only a better place if you're in office.
18:41If you're actually making the decisions
that you think are right for
18:44If not and you're just, you know, trying
to determine which way the political winds
18:48are blowing that's actually not moving us
forward in the right direction.
18:51So having the courage of your convictions
is my third.
18:55But at the end of the day here's what I
believe in.
18:58Take questions and you can ask me anything
you want.
19:01Here's why I feel these three lessons, as
it
19:06pertains to this incredibly important
field of education, is so important
19:11because public education is supposed to be
the great equalizer in this country.
19:17It is supposed to be the thing that
ensures it doesn't matter
19:20if you're black or white, rich or poor.
19:22We have a public education system so
19:24that every single kid can have an equal
shot in life, right?
19:29You work hard you do the right thing you
can live the American dream.
19:34Unfortunately, that is not the reality for
the,
19:37for a huge percentage of kids in our
country today.
19:41In fact, In America today,
19:43America, is towards the bottom
internationally on social mobility.
19:49Which means that if you are a child who is
born into poverty in this country,
19:53the likelihood that you will ever escape
poverty is slim to none.
19:58Because if you live in a poor community,
with not a lot of resources,
20:02the likelihood is very high that you
attend a failing school.
20:06And that you will not gain the skills and
knowledge that you need to be able to go
20:09onto higher education, get a high paying
job, et cetera.
20:12So we are essentially saying to poor kids
now, you don't have a shot in life.
20:18Because of the circumstance of your birth.
20:21That in my opinion is the most terrifying
dynamic that
20:25we have going on in this country today.
20:27It goes against every single ideal that we
stand for as a nation.
20:33We're supposed to be the land of equal
opportunity,
20:36where anybody can pull themselves up by
their bootstraps.
20:38If you have the, the, the wherewithal the,
the, the,
20:42the will, right, you can do this.
20:45But if we are ensuring that essentially we
are keeping poor kids trapped in
20:50failing schools, where they're not getting
the education they deserve.
20:53And then they can't live that life.
20:55What does that say about us as a nation?
20:59I would argue that it is everything that
we don't wanna say.
21:02It goes, it, again it goes against
everything we stand for, and
21:06that is why if we are to focus on one
issue in a,
21:11in a collective, and bipartisan way in
this country, it has to be this topic.
21:18Every single person in this room plays a
role in this.
21:21Unless you stand up for
21:23kids, then we can't expect that anything,
anything is ever going to change.
21:28Okay, that is the end of my remarks, and I
then I will take questions.
21:41>> Okay, I think we have two people with
mics, so I will just go back and forth.
21:45Over there's the first.
21:47>> So thank you for coming.
21:48I'm a second year MBA student.
21:49I wanna challenge you a little bit on the,
21:51the notion, the idea of being friendly
versus being tough.
21:54We spend a lot of time here studying the
interpersonal intricacies and
21:58making tough decisions and something that
I've come to learn is that there is a lot
22:02of middle ground sometimes and I wonder,
when you reflect upon your time in D.C,
22:07do you ever think that had you moderated
your personality, your toughness,
22:11you might of been more effective?
22:13I mean, for example, you, you've fired
friends while on TV.
22:16And I know you've, you said you regret
that in hindsight, but
22:18if that's indicative.
22:20Of kind of your general disposition,
22:22do you feel like you ever did a disservice
to students by being tough to a fault?
22:27>> So, here's what, what I said is you,
you, you, you have to be okay,
22:33with not being liked, I didn't say you
gotta be an a-hole, right?
22:38And here's, and there's a difference
between those two things.
22:41So I would go out all the time, out into
the community.
22:44and, and, you know, one of the things that
I would often do, sort of,
22:48is speak to large crowds of folks, or I
would do living room meetings where,
22:52you know, a constituent could invite me in
to meet with, you know, 12 or
22:5515 of their neighbours.
22:56And oftentimes after those kinds of
meetings, people would say,
22:59wow you're nothing like we thought you
were gonna be like.
23:02You're actually kinda funny and charming,
look, so I can win people over.
23:08And I, you know, I tried to do plenty of
that.
23:10But at the end of the day the question is,
what is more important,
23:14what was more important to me.
23:15Being liked and being popular or doing the
right thing for kids?
23:19And, I remember, I don't know if any of
you saw the movie Waiting for Superman.
23:23But there's a scene in that movie where
I'm in a,
23:27I'm in a community meeting where people
are, like, going nuts.
23:30And apparently I have this look on my
face, this sort of serene look.
23:33And so people ask me all the time, like,
what were you thinking?
23:37Because, you know, people are yelling at
you and
23:39calling you every name in the book and,
like, you look so calm.
23:42So I was trying to literally think back
to, like, what was my mindset?
23:47And, at the end of the day, I actually
know what was going through my head.
23:50Which was, we are living in a city
23:55where 8% of the eighth graders are
operating on grade level in mathematics.
24:0192% of our kids do not have the skills and
24:05knowledge necessary to be productive
members of society.
24:08And, we have to do something radical to
change that.
24:11You may not like it, you can scream at me
all you want.
24:16But I am not gonna let this continue on my
watch.
24:20So I'm good with, but, you know, be, if
you can go out there and, and,
24:25and win people over, absolutely you should
try.
24:28But if that becomes your goal.
24:31Right?
That becomes the outcome that
24:33That's what I think is problematic.
24:39>> Thanks for coming to Stanford.
24:41The question I ask is, how do you take
your values and
24:46translate them into school financing?
24:48And I'm thinking about, you're in
Sacramento the state
24:53treasurer invests a ton of money through
banks, is there an opportunity for
24:59social impact bonds or some other
financing mechanism that would have
25:04a groomer rationality let's say then the
budgeting process in, in the capital.
25:09>> Cuz let's be clear the current
budgeting process
25:13is the least rational process around.
25:16So here's, here's, here's the, the bottom
line.
25:21Should we bring some, some reason and
ration to how we spend money in schools?
25:26It is much more difficult than you think
it would be for a number of reasons.
25:32First, is, what is widely sort of known
and touted and
25:37talked about in this country.
25:38And in fact if you go to any school
district board meeting around this time,
25:42which is budgeting time.
25:43What you're gonna hear anywhere across the
country is what we need in order to
25:47fix the system is more money.
25:49But then actually the data doesn't bear
that out.
25:51Right?
The data shows that over the last two to
25:53three decades in this country, we have
more than doubled, and
25:56almost tripled the amount of money that we
are spending per kid in public education.
26:00That's controlling for inflation.
26:02And yet the results have remained pretty
much stagnant.
26:05We, we are spending more money per kid
than
26:09almost any other OECD nation out there.
26:13And yet, again, the results are not where
we would want them to be.
26:17I can tell you, from having led a school
system where we were spending
26:22more money per kid than any, almost any
other jurisdiction in the entire nation,
26:27that people still were saying, we need
more money, we need more money.
26:30And when I looked at the budget we were
spending,
26:32we had a one billion dollar budget when I
got to DC, and
26:36of that 403 million of it was going into
the classroom and the schools.
26:40That means the majority was being sucked
out by this
26:45bureaucratic bloated bureaucracy we had no
idea there's no accountability, etc.
26:51And so when you talk to people in
California today,
26:54you'll hear some similar things.
26:55Like if you go out, any, to any score any
superintendent, and
26:59ask them, how much money do we spend in
California per kid.
27:02You will get an answer of somewhere
between 5500 and $6500.
27:05That's what people will tell you.
27:08Actually that is not correct.
27:10In this state we are spending about $9500,
per kid per year on education.
27:16Those people actually are not wrong,
because there is a whole
27:19lot of money that they never see in the
schools cuz it gets lopped off the top and
27:25put towards our unfunded pension
liabilities et cetera.
27:28In fact, unfunded pension liabilities are
a huge problem across the country.
27:31There's just a, a piece of research that
showed that just funding
27:37unfunded pension liabilities in a place
like Pennsylv, in Philadelphia right now,
27:41is costing that district between 2 and
$3,000 per kid per year.
27:46We gotta fix that problem.
27:48Because until we fix that we can't say
there's not enough mon,
27:51it's just where the money is going.
27:53So what we believe in is advocating for
27:57transparency as it pertains to the, to the
dollars.
28:00Now this is an interesting one cuz I was
just in Ohio the other day and
28:03we were advocating for transparency of
dollars.
28:05And what we found was that there was a
school district in the state of Ohio,
28:09that was spending more money per kid on
their cheerleading program than on
28:14their literacy programs.
28:17And I thought, this is actually a good
data point.
28:20Because I can't tell you that in that
community those people wouldn't say,
28:23yes, cheerleading is so important.
28:25I grew up in Ohio, so I know, people like
their cheerleading.
28:28The community might have said, yes, we, we
value cheerleading more highly than
28:32literacy, in which case, then, okay, so be
it.
28:35But I would be that there would be a whole
lot of people who'd say,
28:38wait a second, this is crazy and we ought
to change that.
28:41But until you have the data to show where
the dollars are going and
28:45what kind of return on, on investment
you're getting for those dollars,
28:48they're, it's gonna be very difficult to
advocate for the changes that we need.
28:52And it's, and I think it's always gonna
devolve down into let's just you know,
28:55let's just ask for more money.
28:58I'm not against more money.
29:00I'm just saying [LAUGH] that you,
29:02you have to use the dollars that you have
right now well,
29:05before in, increased dollars we're gonna
have a significant return on investment.
29:11>> Hi thanks so much for being here with
us [COUGH] I had a question on there there
29:15are many areas on ed reform many different
angles that you could you could
29:21attack the issue with and I'm wondering
where where are you seeing the most.
29:25Like where, where are you most excited
about it?
29:27Is it like federal, federal level, state
level, district level, or is it
29:31charters or other kind of groups like your
own that you're currently leading, thanks?
29:36>> So I would say this.
29:39One of the, the challenges that we face in
education reform,
29:43is that everybody is looking for the
silver bullet solution.
29:48on a monthly basis, I'll get calls from
governors across the country saying okay,
29:54Michelle, I'm gonna take education on.
29:56Tell me the one thing that I should do.
29:58>> And usually, I refuse to answer that
question.
30:02Because I say, there is no one thing that
you can do that is going to
30:05change education in your state.
30:07It is much too simplistic a, a mindset to
go in to this with.
30:12So, take Students First, for example, my,
my new organization.
30:16We focus on three areas.
30:19We don't think, think they're the only
three areas.
30:21They're just the ones that we focus on.
30:23It's principal and teacher equality.
30:26We focus on empowering parents with
information and choices.
30:30And we focus on fiscal accountability and
responsibility.
30:34Within those three areas, there are 37
different policies on our agenda.
30:40And our belief is that you have to have
all 37 in place, in order to create
30:45the kind of environment that's gonna be
ripe for real reform to take place.
30:49But what people wanna do is just choose
one.
30:51So somebody will say, well I'm gonna pass
the parent trigger.
30:54Or, I believe in vouchers.
30:56And then they believe that, you know, you
implement a voucher program and
30:59then all of a sudden, everything's gonna
change cuz the market is gonna rule.
31:03It just doesn't work that way.
31:05So, part of, I think, we have to focus on
is understanding that,
31:10how the, the, the system became the way
that it is was very sort of,
31:14a complex mix of issues all sort of coming
together.
31:18And how we're gonna solve this problem is
also a complex mix of lots of
31:22different things happening.
31:24It's not just about one issue or one
policy.
31:31Thanks for being here.
31:33I appreciate your talking about leading
from the front and
31:36be willing to take risks to not always be
popular.
31:39Another part of leadership that I am
trying to think about is how do you make
31:42sure that you're as inclusive as you can
be and really build a cohesive movement.
31:46So I'm wondering if you could talk about
how you think about balancing those two
31:50And whether there's maybe been a time in
your leadership where you've
31:53decided to slow down or
31:54back off from one of your goals in order
to bring more people along with you.
31:58That's a great question.
32:00And, and something that to tell you the
truth.
32:02We weren't able to do particularly
effectively in D.C. so,
32:07but this is the lesson that I learned from
that.
32:09What, when I was in D.C.
32:10we were implementing all of these
incredibly aggressive reforms.
32:13We were out in the community a ton.
32:16I mean, I, every single night we held
chancellors policy forums.
32:20I had office hours, I was doing living
room visits.
32:23I did you know, teacher talks twice a
week.
32:26I mean, we were out there trying to engage
the community in what, in,
32:30in our reform efforts getting their
feedback, etc, etc.
32:33At the end of the day, it didn't work.
32:37We were not able to create an environment
where people felt that they were
32:42part of what we were creating.
32:45And so, it's interesting because people
say to me,
32:47well this is, that, that shows that you,
know, you can't bring people along.
32:49I'm like, no it doesn't.
32:51What it shows is that I wasn't successful
at it.
32:53But just because I couldn't do something,
I would never say that therefore,
32:57it can't be done, right?
32:58So what I would hope is that the next
superintendent who comes along,
33:03whether it's in D.C. or somewhere else,
would be able to look at what we did.
33:07The things that we did well and the things
that we didn't do particularly well.
33:10And then, learn from those things and
33:13build off of them to try to chart a new
course.
33:17Like that's what I think the most
important thing was.
33:19So striking that balance I do think is
important and it was unfortunately
33:23something that we were never able to like,
do exactly the way that we wanted to do.
33:28I think that had we been able to stay for
another term for
33:31four more years I do believe strongly that
that dynamic would have changed.
33:36Because for us, because what we were doing
was so
33:38dramatic and we were doing it in such
short order.
33:42We were getting that kind of immediate you
know, opposition and,
33:47and pushback that, that often you do when
you have significant change.
33:50What we weren't able to stay there for was
people realizing wait,
33:54okay, it's not so bad.
33:56Like yes we have a new teacher evaluation
system,
33:57but now I'm getting paid a whole lot more
money because I'm effective in
34:01the classroom, you know the sky didn't
fall, etc.
34:03So you know, but those things have to be
in place for
34:07some time before people can come around to
it.
34:10And I think that's just a virtue of you
know,
34:13also sort of leadership in knowing that,
that consistency is important too.
34:18And I think that one of the most fortunate
things about my experience in D.C.
34:21is that the woman who was deputy was able
to continue on and
34:24she is now the chancellor in DC.
34:26So there was a tremendous amount of
consistency within the policies that we
34:31But the dynamics are different, and
34:32I think that she's, she's, she's doing a
great job of that now.
34:41>> Hi, my name is Katie, I'm a first year
MBA.
34:44So I wanted to ask you about some of the
erasure scandals that have
34:47been happening nationally.
34:49Over the last few years as you know as
there's been increased
34:51accountability linked with high stakes
testing that's also been tied with teacher
34:56cheating administrative teaching in New
York, DC, Texas and across the country.
35:01I'm wondering as a leader how you kind of,
where within this cycle you see
35:05the real cause beyond simply blaming the
individuals involved.
35:12That, I believe very strongly that the
vast majority of educators in
35:17this country would never, ever compromise
their personal or
35:22professional integrity, and cheat on a
test.
35:24Cuz they know that, that's cheating kids,
and they would never do that.
35:27Does that mean that there aren't a small
number of people out
35:30there who are gonna make the wrong
decision?
35:31No, you're always gonna have that
circumstance.
35:33And I think that because of that you need
to be very clear with folks about the fact
35:37that cheating is unacceptable,
35:39you have to have very strong test security
measures in place.
35:42And then when it does happen, and
35:44find that this happens, then you have to
have consequences for those folks.
35:48So, that's, that's generally what I feel.
35:51I think that the, where this debate is
going or
35:54where the conversation is going around the
cheating stuff is just weird to me.
35:59Because what you're hearing a lot is,
36:01well because there's cheating this shows
that we should not have high stakes test.
36:05Because when you put these high stakes,
you're making teachers cheat.
36:08That, that is so demeaning to the teachers
across this country that I know.
36:14You're, you're implying that because
you're putting, you know,
36:17because there's pressure that they're
gonna do the wrong thing.
36:19There's pressure every day in a teacher's
life.
36:21Forget, forget tests for a moment.
36:24Because, teachers know that the future of
their kids,
36:27their students rests in their hands.
36:29So, they feel that pressure every single
day.
36:32And they're not gonna make crazy decisions
in, you know, because, just because of,
36:36they, they feel that pressure.
36:38So I, I feel like that's,
36:40that's part of the problem that's going on
in the education debates these days,
36:43is it is becoming sort of these very
polarized extremes, that because
36:47you're seeing some of this happen that we
should get rid of standardized tests.
36:52You should put the right security measures
in place.
36:56so, that I, I feel that at the end of the
day, here's the thing.
37:01There are people out there who are sort of
very anti-testing right now, and
37:05I actually understand exactly where these
people are coming from.
37:08Because I can tell you as a parent, I have
two kids.
37:11And last year, when my younger daughter
was in fourth grade,
37:16she started coming home in late April and
I, I'd say, well, where's your homework?
37:20And she'd say, I don't have any homework
anymore.
37:22In fact, we're hardly going to school
anymore.
37:24We're only going on field trips cuz the
TCAP is over.
37:27That's the state test where we live.
37:31And, I, I thought, oh my gosh, this kid is
saying this to me, right?
37:36If I was just a normal parent, who didn't
know anything about education reform,
37:40I would hate that test.
37:41I would, and, and you didn't even have to
tell me anything about it,
37:43I'd be like why are we creating an
environment where we're communicating
37:47either directly or indirectly to kids that
after the test is over learning stops,
37:53cause that somehow all important.
37:55So I get the, the, the feelings of the
sort of anti testing because when you
38:00have experiences like that, that makes you
not wanna like the test.
38:04At the, on the other side of the equation
though, we have to have
38:08standardized consistent ways of measuring
whether or not children are learning.
38:14Whether that their learning, their able to
do you know, what, what they should do for
38:19So should we have and, and
38:21standardized tests though they are not
perfect are one way to do that.
38:24So do we need them, yes.
38:26Should they be the end all be all,
38:28the thing that we all go to school around
every, absolutely not.
38:32So what we need is a balance in the
equation,
38:34just around with the cheating staff, etc.
38:36You need, you need balance, you need
reason,
38:38you need rationale, when you are talking
about the policies.
38:41Because where people are on the extremes,
it makes absolutely no sense.
38:48>> Hi Michelle, I'm Amber.
38:49I'm a second year MBA.
38:51I'm a graduate of D.C. public schools and
a former TFA Corps member Houston 2008.
38:56I particularly like your idea of public
education as a great equalizer.
39:01One might argue, though,
39:01by virtue of us being here at Stanford,
that we are the winners in that equation.
39:06So, my question to you is, how do you get
people involved in the public
39:10education debate and, I guess, the
movement, particularly considering most
39:14people that leave here might not go in the
education sector.
39:18Or if we end up in banking, finance,
consulting, what, what might have you,
39:23it's easier to say that's a very difficult
problem to solve,
39:26I'm gonna put my kids into public, or
private school and forget the issue.
39:30So that's a great question, and, and one
that, that vexes me every day.
39:36Because take, take, for example, business
folks.
39:41The vast majority of business people that
I run into on a daily basis say to me,
39:46you know, Michelle, God bless you.
39:49You know, god speed, keep doing the work
that you're doing.
39:53I mean, it's just amazing.
39:55And I say, great, do you think you could
sit on my board?
39:58Or help me in the, oh, no.
40:03so, and, and, and literally, if I had a
dollar for every person who told me this,
40:07like Students First would be set for a
long time.
40:09And it's, and it's frustrating, but at the
same time, it's understandable, right?
40:13If you have a CEO of a Fortune 500 company
40:17who takes a stand on education and then
the unions or whoever like, come after it,
40:22why are you supporting Students First, why
are you taking a stand on this issue?
40:25Let's boycott the company, their stock
price is going.
40:28Then they're not actually fulfilling their
fiduciary responsibilities to
40:34So, while they may think that education is
important, it's not worth it for
40:39them to take it on, cuz they have other
stuff to worry about day to day, right?
40:42So that, I think, makes a whole lot of
sense to me,
40:45and you can't begrudge people for that.
40:46But that said, I think that part of the,
40:50the, the dynamic that we need to create is
getting people, not just business people,
40:55parents who have their whether they have
their kids in public school or
40:58not to understand that this is an issue
that is going to
41:02impact all of us in the long run, right.
41:06Because how you get people involved in a
movement,
41:09typically, is if it impacts their day to
day life, right.
41:14I mean, people are busy every day.
41:16Come out to a meeting, come to the
Capitol, write a letter.
41:20Ugh, I have 52 million things to do, I, I
can't fit that in.
41:23Unless you say, your kid is not going to
be able to go to this school.
41:26Then I will clear my calendar to make
things happen.
41:29And part of what we haven't been able to
do for vast majority of Americans is show
41:33them how, whether getting involved in
public education and
41:37this fight or not is gonna impact their
livelihood, their day-to-day life, right?
41:41It seems too far removed right now,
41:43and that's what we've gotta kind of
connect to dots on.
41:46a, just a quick thing.
41:48This is, so for employers and business
people.
41:5050% of of employers in a recent survey
said they could not
41:55find people in their applicant, in their
candidate pool, who had the skills and
42:00knowledge that they needed to fill
mission-critical jobs.
42:03In this economy, with this kind of an
unemployment rate, you have
42:07people who have jobs, and they're saying
they can't find people to fill them.
42:12That means we are not, we don't have an
education system that
42:16produces kids with the skills to fill the
jobs that are available.
42:20And this disconnect is only gonna widen as
time goes on.
42:25So if we are creating a world in this
country where you know, we
42:29might have the Facebooks and the Googles
and whatever, but all the coders and
42:33the engineers, half of them are being
employed by people in in India and
42:37China because that's, that's who has the
skills.
42:39That is a huge problem for our country at
large.
42:43And so connecting those dots is one of the
things that I think we
42:45have to do in order to crack this open and
42:47really get a broader swath of people
involved in this effort.
42:55Oh, I'll go back first and then you after
that.
42:58>> Sorry.
Hi I'm my name is Alan Eindhoven and
43:00I'm a retired professor of public
management in this school.
43:03And my question is to ask for
43:04some clarification and your thoughts about
the unions.
43:08I read a lot about you know excessive
unfunded pension and
43:12liabilities, about inability to you know,
fire sexual predators and
43:17all kinds of awful stuff like that.
43:19On one hand, and then I have an argument
with my daughter who's been in
43:23the Department of Public Instruction in
North Carolina.
43:26And I say the unions is a big problem and
43:28she says well we don't have teacher's
unions in North Carolina.
43:32Yet we still has those problems.
43:34So, help us understand your thoughts on,
on that.
43:38>> Yeah well, I run into people every day
who say, the unions are the problems,
43:42if we just, if we didn't have the unions,
everything would be better.
43:44And the union is the root of all evil.
43:46I actually don't agree with that at all I
believe that
43:49unions are doing exactly what they are
supposed to be doing.
43:53Right, the job of the union, the purpose
of the union existing is to
43:59look out for the rights, privileges, and
pay of their members.
44:03And they are doing a bang-up job of that.
44:06>> So you can't begrudge them the fact
that they're doing exactly what they
44:10You can't hate on that.
44:12I don't actually think that unions doing
their job is the problem.
44:16I think the problem is that we have,
44:18to date, not had an organized national
interest group
44:23with the same heft as the teacher's union,
that's advocating on behalf of kids.
44:27Because if you had that, then you'd have
balance in the equation.
44:31you'd have a powerful force that was out
there saying to politicians,
44:34if you're gonna vote for this, then, you
know, we'll support you, and if you don't,
44:37but in the absence of that counterforce,
you end up with a skewed landscape and
44:43a skewed environment towards the special
interest groups.
44:46And it's not just the teachers union,
44:47it's testing companies, it's textbook
manufacturers, you name it.
44:51There are a lot of adult interests out
there in education,
44:53who are just doing what they're supposed
to be doing.
44:55So, the, the, the environment becomes
skewed towards those special interests.
44:59When you don't have a, a balance in the
equation.
45:01So that is what I would say is the, is the
problem that we need to be solving for.
45:06Not how are we going to change the unions.
45:08So like I said, they're doing what they're
supposed to be doing.
45:11I will say this that, on some issues, I
don't think the union is,
45:16is serving their members particularly
well.
45:19And I'll take the pension issue as an
example.
45:22If we don't do something to solve the
pension problems,
45:24the systems are going to go bankrupt and
people who are relying on this in
45:27the long run are going to be screwed and
that is not good.
45:31If you actually look at polling of new
teachers.
45:36Right, so say your gonna create a new
pension system.
45:39And you grandfather everybody who has more
than five years of experience in, right?
45:44You can keep your current benefits as they
are.
45:47And you're just looking at people who have
not yet invested in the program.
45:50The vast majority of those people
actually, they don't,
45:54they're not interested, they, they would,
45:55they wouldn't, they don't prefer a defined
benefits program.
45:59They would prefer to have a portable, more
flexible pension system.
46:04so, if moving towards a more flexible
system,
46:08both solves the problem, and is what more
teachers prefer,
46:12new teachers prefer, then why wouldn't we
move towards that right?
46:16So the, that, that's the, the kind of
circumstances where I think that,
46:20that unions need to sort of be moving
along with us, because it's gonna better
46:23serve their members, and better serve sort
of the general school district operations.
46:28Because like I said, right now these pen-,
46:30unfunded pension liabilities, a huge
percentage of the dollars that
46:34are being used to try to fill these holes
are being taken out of the classroom.
46:38So that doesn't benefit their current
members.
46:44the, yes.
>> Hi, my name is Chen.
46:46So my expertise is in, isn't in education,
so please correct me if I'm wrong.
46:50But my understanding is that
socio-economic level and
46:53heritage educational level are probably
the biggest determinants of
46:56learning outcomes by a big margin, by a
really wide margin.
46:59So I was wondering, based on your
experiences,
47:02I wonder how much of our problems with the
education today are due to broken policy,
47:07and how much of it is because of, deeper,
more intractable social problems.
47:12>> Yep.
>> And I think, because of,
47:13kinda DC's unique situation in terms of
socioeconomic inequality, and
47:18also learning outcomes that you're, kind
of, uniquely positioned to speak to those.
47:21So here's what I, I will say.
47:24When kids are living in abject poverty,
does it make it harder for
47:28them to come to school ready to learn
every day?
47:32Does it make it harder to teach them
effectively?
47:38Those are two realities.
47:40But, can we use poverty as an excuse for
why kids aren't performing at?
47:50I, I staunchly refuse to belive that
because if you look at the research,
47:56That of, of all of the in-school factors
that exist, the teacher quality
48:01is the factor that has the most impact on
student achievement levels.
48:05So if you look at a recent study that was
done by Raj Chetty from Harvard.
48:09It showed that if a kid has just one
highly effective teacher
48:14in their lifetime, in their 12-year
schooling experience.
48:17That it increases their lifetime earnings,
48:22their likelihood of graduating from high
school and going on to college,
48:25decreases the likelihood that they'll have
a teenage pregnancy.
48:28Just one, out of the 12 teachers that they
have, just one.
48:31Increases those things.
48:33We know, based on a research, that if you
have three highly effective teachers in
48:37a row, it can literally change a kid's
life trajectory.
48:40Four in a row and you could actually close
the achievement gap.
48:44So that's not saying that poverty doesn't
provide a a huge obstacle and
48:50barrier and challenge to our children
everyday.
48:52But what it does say is that there are
things that we can be doing
48:55within the schools everyday that can make
a significant difference in
49:01And when I say these things often enough
people say well
49:03you're blaming the teachers.
49:04You're putting too much pressure.
49:05I am not blaming the teachers for
anything.
49:07These problems don't exist because
teachers are doing what they are.
49:10What I'm saying is, that if we look at the
situation that we're in now, and
49:14we look at the pot, potential solutions,
49:16I believe that teachers are the solution
to the problems that we face.
49:20If we know that three or four highly
effective teachers in the world can change
49:23a kids life trajectory, why shouldn't we?
49:26Be aspiring, as a nation, to make sure
that
49:29every single kid has a highly effective
teacher in front of them every single day.
49:33That's not anti-teacher, that's just,
that's just wanting to put every kid in a,
49:39in an environment where they are most
likely to be successful.
49:43And I, I, I think that, that being
controversial or
49:45whatever makes absolutely no sense to me.
49:47We have to know within every sector that
we're in but
49:50in particular in education, that what we
do matters.
49:53And I would say this, if you look any,
49:56at any place in history, over any time
period, any country or whatever.
50:01The most effective strategy that we know
50:06to break the cycle of inter-generational
poverty is not a social program.
50:10It's making sure that kids are getting the
education they deserve.
50:17Thank you so much for joining us.
50:19So there's a two-part question.
50:21The first, the first part is and
50:23what lessons can the US learn from some of
the other education systems in the world?
50:28And the second question is on behalf of
the youth in the top team.
50:31And we like to close with the question
that we all get asked as we apply to
50:35the business school, which is what matters
most to you and why?
50:41>> That's a little heavy.
50:42>> [LAUGH]
>> So what lessons can we learn?
50:46I just finished reading a book that, it
hasn't come out yet, but
50:50it's gonna be out shortly,.
50:51That's called The Smartest Kids in the
World and How They Got That Way.
50:56And it's a book written by a,
50:59an American journalist who has been sort
of in the, she wrote a big piece
51:05about me when I was the chancellor, and
she got sort of inundated with all this,
51:08you know, well, why are you saying that
Michelle Rhee's doing x, y, or z?
51:11So she started hearing you know from
people who are saying,
51:14well we need to do what Finland is doing,
we need to do what South Korea is doing.
51:17And so she decided to go to Finland, South
Korea, and
51:19Poland to figure out what those systems
are doing.
51:24And I, the book is fascinating because it
actually tells us a lot about what we
51:27should and shouldn't be doing.
51:28We should not be trying to replicate a
situation like South Korea.
51:31Those people are crazy.
51:32Those are my people, so I can say this.
51:33[LAUGH] We're a little crazy.
51:36Koreans have no moderation.
51:38We're like, we're nuts, and, you know,
look, everything is focused on like nuts.
51:45Anyway, so we should not do that.
51:49But we also can't, can't continue to sort
of believe, you know what?
51:54If kids are poor, they face too many
challenges.
51:56There's nothing that we can do to overcome
the pa, you know,
51:59the challenges of poverty.
52:00And therefore we're gonna throw our hands
up.
52:02That's not the right answer either.
52:04And so what I think she sort of called out
of the various countries that are doing
52:09quite well is that there is number one, a,
a very,
52:14very strong focus on teacher quality.
52:17And a lot of these countries do this on
the front end by not allowing any but
52:21the, buddy, but the highest achieving
people to actually become teachers and
52:24go into schools of education, right?
52:27And then holding them to a, to a high
standard throughout.
52:30So that's one piece.
52:31A, a ver, a, a curriculum that is very,
very sort of
52:36focused on having high standards for all
kids is another piece to it.
52:42And then having accountability on all
levels.
52:45So not just of teachers and of
administrators, but of students too.
52:49we're gonna hold you accountable if you're
not doing the right things.
52:52So I'd say those are some of the,
52:53the, the lessons that we've learned from,
from other countries.
52:57And again, if we, if we do things in
moderation,
52:59I think we can actually vastly improve
where we are as a nation.
53:05Your second question was what?
53:06>> What matters most to you, and why?
53:09>> What matters most to you and why.
53:13I would say that what matters most to me
is kids.
53:18I mean this is what, this is what makes me
get up in the morning.
53:24It makes me want to fight every day for
what is in their best interests,
53:28because so I, now that I run this
political advocacy organization,
53:33I have a lot more interaction with our
elected officials.
53:38Which is unfortunate in a lot of ways.
53:41[LAUGH] I was not too long ago talking to
one of them,
53:43who said you know Michelle I get it.
53:45You, you, your policies make, you know,
logical sense to me.
53:51And I'm not against them at all, he's like
but
53:52what you need to understand is, if I vote
for this bill in the way that you want.
53:56Me too.
You have to understand that I'm
53:58gonna go back home and then the, the
teachers or
54:01whoever are gonna be picketing in front of
my office and those are my constituents.
54:05And I have an obligation to serve them.
54:09And I said, you absolutely do.
54:11I said, but when you're talking about your
constituents,
54:13you need to think about all of your
constituents.
54:16And at the end of the day you also have an
obligation to serve the children of
54:23They don't vote, they don't contribute to
campaigns.
54:26And they don't organize rallies on your
office.
54:30So if you're just moving and turning
towards where the voices are loudest.
54:37Necessarily that means your gonna be
turning your backs to kids
54:42And that is unacceptable.
54:43You have to be able to do this and this is
what I I believe I believe so
54:46strongly in what children are capable of
doing.
54:51I did it when I, throughout my entire term
as a chancellor in DC, I never made
54:57a substantial decision without talking to
kids and engaging them in the policies.
55:01Because despite what all the adults were
always saying and
55:05the arguments that we were having, the
kids were the ones who had the most
55:09insightful, rational, reasonable
conversations and debates.
55:14I kid you not, because they're always like
yeah, but,
55:16and then they're like, you know, go back
and
55:18forth but show them, like, you're right,
we're all right, but this is what.
55:22So they could actually do this in a way
that, that adults couldn't.
55:26The problem is we don't listen to them
enough in my opinion.
55:29And in the other thing that I believe very
strongly
55:35is there is nothing that is more worth
fighting for
55:41than the future of a young person so kids
without a doubt most importantly.
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