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It was all over in an instant: a couple of clicks of the mouse, and I had the "too late-oops" reaction when I realized I'd made a truly regrettable error. The innocent subject line was something in the vein of "kittens and puppies", and so I clicked… and confirmed that I supported "kittens and puppies". Another window opened asking if I'd support some other worthy "kittens and puppies" cause (click), and another (click)…and another (click).  And suddenly, there it was…the wolf in sheep's clothing, the Trojan horse of all Trojan horses: Join the Fight to Save Great Teachers,  a petition initiated by Students First, the education policy lobby run by faux education expert, Michele Rhee.

I wish I could have been there. I wish Pres. Obama and Michelle would have made it over to the 1787 Old Whaling Church in Martha's Vineyard last night as well. The Post's coverage makes last night's  panel sound simply like a well-deserved verbal spanking of  test-and-punish Michelle Rhee by Diane Ravitch. Rhee's singular focus on bad teachers always pales in comparison to Ravitch's broader social critique.

It wasn't quite the Smackdown in Edgartown, but two leading figures in the national education debate politely collided here Thursday over the causes of failing schools and the best ways to rescue them.

Last September NBC brought us the first Education Nation, developed in coordination with the release of the pro-charter documentary, Waiting For Superman. The network ran into a few bumps in the road, catching flak when it was pointed out that panels were loaded with "superheroes" like Michelle Rhee, and critical voices like Diane Ravitch, and those of classroom teachers, were largely absent. This year, NBC has made an effort to be a bit more balanced and inclusive of teachers voices, and the Teacher Town Hall yesterday made a start in that direction.

For those who don't remember the Bobby Ewing letdown in the Dallas television series, let me summarize: Back in the 1980s, the actor who played Bobby left the show and his character was killed, presenting a problem a year later when he decided to return. The writers dealt with the dilemma by declaring the entire 1985-86 season of storylines a dream sequence. In other words: Never mind. That's what came to mind when I got to the last chapter of Steven Brill's book "Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America's Schools, " which has received a lot of attention in school reform circles because Brill - an author, entrepreneur and founder of the Yale (University) Journalism Initiative - is a significant presence in that world and because his narrative centers on the central reform movement players (Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, etc.).

To understand the attack on public education in Pennsylvania, begin with Rachel Tabachnik's comprehensive report on the partnership between far right-wing funders like the DeVos family with Michelle Rhee's national StudentsFirst organization, and the Pennsylvania StudentsFirst organization, which shares the same name as Rhee's group, but has very different people running it.

Moderated by Charlayne Hunter-Gault Essence, Africa Bureau Chief, and author of New News Out of Africa: Uncovering the African Renaissance Lawrence D. Bobo W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences, Harvard University James P. Comer Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine's Child Study Center Angel L. Harris Associate Professor of Sociology and of African American Studies, Princeton University Diane Ravitch Research Professor of Education, New York University Michelle A. Rhee Founder and CEO, StudentsFirst

The term "merit pay" has gained a prominent place in the debate over education reform. First it was D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee trumpeting it as a key to fixing the D.C.'s ailing public schools. Then a handful of other cities gave it a go, including Denver, New York City, and Nashville. Merit pay is a big plank of Education Secretary Arne Duncan's reform platform. Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel has just launched his own version of merit pay that focuses incentives toward principals.

Basically, almost everything that market-based reformers think needs to happen has been the reality in DCPS for the past 2-3 years. And the staff  has been transformed too. The majority of principals, and a huge proportion of teachers, were hired during the tenure of either Michelle Rhee or her successor, Kaya Henderson. The district should be in overdrive right about now. Is it?

With the release of the NAEP TUDA stats, there's been a lot of conversation swirling around achievement gaps and the efficacy of neo-liberal education reforms in urban districts. In particular, there's been some talk about how to judge Michelle Rhee's legacy, especially in light of the fact that that DC has the largest achievement gap between black and white students and one of the highest between poor and non-poor of all the cities featured in the report. Education journalists such as Alexander Russo weighed in here and Dana Goldstein offered some mostly solid analysis here.

Last week, Philadelphia became the latest in a long list of cities to be courted by Bill Gates, when his "Great Schools Compact" was presented for consideration to the School Reform Commission. Bill Gates has taken on a reputation as a school reformer as well as philanthropist, dispensing money throughout the country for struggling schools in economically distressed cities while imposing changes in policies and procedures in those locales. Sounds like just what the doctor ordered.

Listen as Diane Ravitch dismantle Rhee's proxy, Tim Melton, on issues of teacher tenure, seniority, testing, and teacher evaluation.

Since 1968, the black middle class in America has quadrupled, Henry Louis (Skip) Gates told a packed house at the Edgartown Whaling Church on Thursday evening. But that was the only positive news in an otherwise bleak survey of the state of black education by a panel of experts convened by Professor Gates and the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

"Charter schools promised new education innovations. Instead, they produced scam after new scam"