Arne Duncan "is silent as teachers and principals are fired based on test scores."

[madfloridian]

Picture courtesy of Reclaim Reform

Why did educators boo Arne Duncan?

Booing is the behavior of the powerless

Booing is the behavior of the powerless. Educators are angry–and Jennings knows this–because of the top-down, authoritarian way in which Duncan has imposed policies that are bad for children, ruinous for teachers, and harmful to the quality of education. Jennings also knows that Duncan holds all the power. Educators may write blogs, opinion pieces, books, and research studies, and they will be completely ignored by Duncan. To say the least, he is uninterested in dialogue and unwilling to change his hardened belief that his policies are successful, no matter what anyone says.

In New York City, our mayor proudly announced that the public should hold him accountable for improving the public schools. After he spent $100 million or so to win a new term, someone in the press asked Mayor Bloomberg how the public could hold him accountable. He answered: “They can boo me at parades.”

He is silent as teachers and principals are fired based on test scores. He is silent as beloved schools are closed because of test scores. He is silent as cities turn their public schools over to entrepreneurs. He is silent as for-profit businesses take over public school districts and as for-profit charters proliferate. He is silent as more and more states adopt vouchers to send public money to religious schools. He is actively abetting the misuse of testing. He is actively supporting the forces of privatization.

We know now he will not change course. The only question is whether public education will survive Arne Duncan.

If Arne Duncan remains in control of our nation's education until 2016, odds are great the public school system will be damaged beyond repair.

[liberal_at_heart]

1. K&R

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

2. "The only question is whether public education will survive Arne Duncan."

Not if he can help it. His goal seems to be total privatization. Despite the fact that, when results are measured fairly, privatization does not lead to improved education.

[reformist2]

3. Standardized testing is taking over and ruining education.

There is so much time wasted now teaching to the test that it's starting to crowd out genuine learning.

[msongs]

4. mission accomplished. not need to brag like bush did nt

[Enthusiast]

5. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch.....nt

[phantom power]

6. recommend

[sabrina 1]

7. He's silent because that was the insidious plan. To force testing rather than education on the

public schools and attach the entrapment clause, where they presumed children would be unable to stand the pressure, children who need teaching, direction, understanding and creative educational techniques to overcome disabilities etc, no they KNEW those children would fail.

Airc this came about through the Bush/Cheney business oriented approach to schools.

It is CRUEL what they are doing to children and shameful that it has continued for so long.

The goal was to close public schools and take that money for Private Corporations.

These people are psychopaths and should not be allowed anywhere near children.

Btw, are Arne Duncan's kids in any of these schools he is so proud of?

[madfloridian]

8. "It is CRUEL what they are doing to children and shameful that it has continued for so long."

Amen to that, Sabrina.

[Smarmie Doofus]

26. Duncan's kids WERE enrolled in, I believe, Alexandria Va. public school ...when they first....

... came to DC.

Obviously he knew he'd get flack if he tucked 'em into Sidwell Friends w. the other kids of the DC elite.

They had been in prep schools in Chicago. No surprise there.

Naturally he wasn't about to put the kids in Michelle Rhee's tender care. Those schools are for the little people.

[DrDan]

9. he plays basketball with the Chief - so he has job security

[progressoid]

10. How about a test for Arne too?

[sabrina 1]

12. Arne wouldn't pass a test on education. Maybe on Privatization. I saw him being asked questions

regarding education once and I know ten year olds who could have done better. He gets testy when he's caught showing his ignorance of a subject he is supposed to be an expert on.

[frwrfpos]

11. privatization of education is only equalled

By the privatization of prisons for pure cruelty and evil heartedness. The goal is not to educate but to make submissive non questioning adults who wont dare protest or speak out about the extreme violent economic conditions in this country.

Also kicking amd recommending this thread

[Starry Messenger]

13. k&r

[davidthegnome]

14. Silent? I don't know about that.

He has been advocating for these things all along.

Arne Duncan is a colossal douche bag - and one of my greatest disappointments with this administration.

[madfloridian]

18. I believe Ravitch is implying he doesn't care about harm to teachers and schools and students.

[TheKentuckian]

15. Silent? I thought he was driving the bandwagon and caught snarking with regularity.

[n2doc]

16. ...

[madfloridian]

17. Ha!

Danziger is right on as usual.

[abelenkpe]

21. Wow. nt

[Dustlawyer]

19. Why does Obama put up with this shite? He will do great for us in one area and in another

like Education, he appoints this sold out POS!!!

[Divernan]

22. Obama does great in areas which can't be privatized/milked for corporate profits.

No corporate interests lobbied against gay marriage or dropping the ban on gay members in the military. On the contrary, it profits MIC to welcome gays - more canon fodder for endless wars.

[Octafish]

20. I'm so old, I remember when being a Democrat stood for public education.

Soon, we'll be outcasts if we oppose eliminating the Department of Education.

[madfloridian]

36. Me. too, Octafish.

That's what makes this whole reform thing so hard to take. Now neither party stands for public education. That is just totally blowing my mind.

[abq e streeter]

23. Silent? Hell, I can just about hear he and his cronies' whoops and shouts of celebration

from 2,000 miles away.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

24. Duncan is just an obedient puppet -

his strings being pulled by those who want to make money off of schools. I find it so disheartening that Obama condones this.

Schools are not safe for children and other living things.

[Divernan]

37. Obama doesn't merely condone; he enables. The Great Corporate Enabler!

[grahamhgreen]

40. Soft salesman for the sold out.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

24. Duncan is just an obedient puppet -

his strings being pulled by those who want to make money off of schools. I find it so disheartening that Obama condones this.

Schools are not safe for children and other living things.

[Smarmie Doofus]

27. It's ok. It bears repeating. n/t

[jsr]

28. Yes, it does.

[PlanetaryOrbit]

29. Test scores aren't ideal, but how else would you measure student progress?

GPA is different from school to school. An easy school might give high GPAs, a difficult school might give low GPAs. You have a very hard time determining student performance based off of GPA.


Put more emphasis on the SATs?

[madfloridian]

30. How about grades and teacher-made tests based on what they are taught in class?

Teachers are required to keep grade books in detail and plan books (which when I was teaching had to turned in for inspection each week).

The way things are under the reformers, the teachers' grades in the grade book are meaningless. I know in Florida honor students, those at the top of the classes....can be put in remedial classes if they have a bad day on the state standardized test. Their academic futures can depend on sources that have nothing to do with classroom tests or projects assigned by the teachers.

It's a strange question because students are and always have been tested, but traditionally it is been based on classwork, test grades given by the teacher, and assignments such as research papers.

Even colleges look at such info as well as the SAT and ACT or other such tests.

[PlanetaryOrbit]

31. But teachers could deliberately give easy tests to get high scores.

The scores could differ drastically from classroom to classroom.

[madfloridian]

33. You don't seem to have much knowledge about how schools work.

Most grades plan together for one thing. Even before NCLB, RTTT, and Common Core schools had goals set by the district or by the state.

No, it would not benefit a teacher to skew grades in any way. The teacher grades barely count when there are so many high-stakes' tests to give. They are formulated and graded by companies who profit from it.

[senseandsensibility]

32. Silent? I would think he would cheer it

and loudly. Isn't this his dream?

[madfloridian]

34. The tweets are much appreciated.

So thanks so much.

[lindysalsagal]

35. I don't have proof, but, I'm sure they were fired for having a high salary, not a low score.

As long as boards of ed have to get re-elected,they'll want to get rid of the most experienced and hence, expensive teachers.

A brand new teacher costs less than half a veteran. there's nothing about ability here. It's all $$$.

[madfloridian]

42. I agree that is going on. Trying to turn teaching into a field of temps, no more career teachers.

Profit is bottom line now, not education.

[suffragette]

38. He was also silent as Learning Ally pled with him to preserve a program

that provided students with print disabilities free membership to their library of accessible books. This reduced both access and independence, creating significant barriers to their learning opportunities.

[madfloridian]

39. Thanks for sharing that. Was not aware.

It looks like a great program. I would say Arne is heartless and uncaring toward those who need the most caring and help.

https://www.learningally.org/



Guess you can tell he is one of my most unfavorite people.

[suffragette]

41. Yes, it's a great program

And fills an important need. It would have been easy for Arne to continue making the free membership available. But clearly, that is not important to him.
I share your view of him.