By Jody Callahan- The Commercial Appeal -

Michelle Rhee isn't the least bit shy expressing her beliefs about what's wrong with modern public education.

Even if she has to embarrass her daughters a little to get her point across.

Rhee, the controversial former Washington, D.C., schools superintendent, spoke Sunday in Memphis to the education committee members of the Southern Legislative Conference.

The 65th annual meeting, which continues through Wednesday morning, was expected to bring as many as 2,000 legislators and staff members from 16 states. This year's chairman is state Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville.

In her 90-minute talk, Rhee said three things need to be accomplished immediately to help turn around public education in this country, an issue of particular importance in Memphis.

With each of those three points, she began with a broad idea and distilled it down into a relevant point.

Tops on her list, Rhee said, was to stop rewarding all children, regardless of achievement, because it dulls this country's competitive spirit.

"My two girls play soccer. They suck at soccer," said Rhee, whose daughters sat cringing in the crowd at The Peabody. "But you would never guess that if you went into their rooms. There are trophies and medals everywhere.

"We are so concerned with making children feel good about themselves," said Rhee, who moved to Nashville last week. "But we haven't put in the time to make them good at anything."

Rhee's ex-husband, Kevin Huffman, was appointed Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education in April.

For her second point, Rhee argued that legislators must abandon party dogma, illustrating her point with controversial school vouchers.

Rhee described her own about-face as a "dyed-in-the-wool Democrat" who came around to supporting vouchers, an idea typically associated with libertarians and conservatives.

"I really believed vouchers weren't good and you shouldn't even discuss them," said Rhee, who served as the Washington superintendent for 31/2 years. "My job is to make sure every child in the district gets a great education. I am agnostic as to where that happens."

Finally, Rhee said educators and legislators should make decisions based on "what is good and right for kids."

That led into her beliefs on tenure, an issue she has touched on before when she criticized teachers' unions. In a March 3 speech in Memphis, Rhee took on the unions squarely: "Their purpose is protect their members and they are doing wonderfully."

She wasn't as forceful Sunday, but her message was still clear: Teachers need to be kept and promoted based on their abilities in the classroom, not seniority or other criteria that keep poor teachers on the payroll.

Memphis City Schools has been forced to lay off 150 teachers in the past month, including 46 teachers it recruited to the district last year.

"There is a small proportion of teachers who do not belong in the classroom. ... They are not doing right by children," said Rhee, admitting that it was a "tumultuous topic."

She also praised the Tennessee legislature for its recent stances on education, calling its work "aggressive and courageous laws."

The body attempted to get school vouchers passed, a measure that passed the Senate but failed in the House.

The legislature did vote earlier this year to end collective bargaining by teachers, striking a strong blow against the 52,000 members of the Tennessee Education Association.