Does Obama understand the monster Race to the Top is?

The Huffington Post reports on President Obama's Speech on education to the Urban League. Obama either does not understand that the current privatization model isn't working. he doesn't understand that basic tenets of Race to the Top (for example, turnovers) aren't working.

Test scores in New York City are collapsing because they made stuff up during previous years. Michelle Rhee fired over two hundred teachers, and then we learn that test scores in Washington D.C. actually dropped.

D.C. officials announced Tuesday that reading and math test scores declined in elementary schools this year, halting a two-year run of significant gains and dealing a setback to Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee as she seeks to overhaul city schools. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/dc/dc-elementary-test-scores-show.html

And Daley, as he does every year for the past fifteen years, Daley announces that test scores have gone up (that and Steel Production is up 1000% as it is up every year in North Korea). Teachers are fired for no real reason while bureaucrats are hired at astronomical salaries.

So back to Obama's speech to the Urban League.

He says this about Race to the Top:

So, for anyone who wants to use Race to the Top to blame or punish teachers - you're missing the point. Our goal isn't to fire or admonish teachers. Our goal is accountability. It's to provide teachers with the support they need to be as effective as they can be.  It's to create a better environment for teachers and students alike. 

Hey Mr. President, your Secretary of State did this. New York is doing this. Washington D.C. is doing this. Chicago is doing this. Everyone is using Race to the Top as an excuse to do this. Obama either doesn't know what is going on in the schools, or he knows but is going La-la-la as loud as he can. No one is providing teachers with support. Everyone is punishing teachers (well admonishing and then firing). All of these firings have created a horrible environment in the schools. I don't understand the speech. It's as if Bill Gates wrote it - on second thought, that's a distinct possibility.