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MEET ARNE DUNCAN, OBAMA'S EDUCATION PICK.
With the Democratic Party embroiled in internal debate over public school reform, it is very much like Barack Obama to tap Chicago public schools CEO Arne Duncan as education secretary. Duncan is one of the only prominent education leaders in the country who signed both the Broader, Bolder and the Education Equality Project manifestos. Duncan, a longtime Obama friend and adviser, has shown particular interest in early childhood education, a major part of Obama's education and anti-poverty agenda. And he sends his own kids to Chicago public schools. Here's hoping he'll live in the city when he moves to D.C. and continue his family's track record of support for the public system.
But although Duncan is being hailed as a compromise between free-market education reformers and teachers' unions, we shouldn't delude ourselves as to the nature of Duncan's relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union. Duncan closed schools (never a popular move), removed teachers from the classroom, and supported charter schools, which now make up about 10 percent of the Chicago system. To get a sense of the grassroots opposition to Duncan, check out the Caucus of Rank and File Teachers and Substance News. Notably, these two groups, critics from the left, believe the Chicago Teachers Union is corrupt and little better than management at representing teachers' and students' needs; on the other hand, a more centrist observer, Alexander Russo, writes that Duncan hasn't been tough enough in his negotiations with the union, and should have done more to attract middle class and affluent families to Chicago's public schools. Russo also snarks that national union chief Randi Weingarten's recent kind words about Duncan's relationship with the CTU could hardly have been made "with a straight face."
Any pick of an actual superintendent to head the Department of Education, as opposed to a governor relatively ignorant of the nitty gritty of education debates, is a move by Obama in the direction of serious, hands-on reform. That's good news, I think, for those of us -- regardless of ideology -- who hope education will become a first tier issue under the Obama administration.
--Dana Goldstein
COMMENTS (10)
Re "...believe the Chicago Teachers Union is corrupt and little better than management at representing teachers' and students' needs"...
Why is it the responsibility of the Chicago Teachers Union (or any teachers' union) to represent students' needs? Is it the job of nurses' unions to represent patients' needs? Is it the job of auto worker unions to represent auto buyers' needs? Etc., ad infinitum.
You can criticize teacher unions for some excellent reasons, but not for failing to represent students' needs. That's not the job of teachers unions.
Posted by: Gerald Scorse | December 16, 2008 10:16 AM
Thanks, Gerald, for reminding us that teachers' unions do not represent the needs of students, which is a disingenuous claim sometimes made by lefties trying to hoodwink us. In fact, the unions are at best indifferent to the needs of students and very often work systematically against them, that is, against the needs of education.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 16, 2008 10:45 AM
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Posted by: G | December 16, 2008 12:04 PM
"...the [teachers'] unions are at best indifferent to the needs of students and very often work systematically against them."
Dear Anonymous: There is no connection whatever between those points (except in your mind).
Just for the record, I'm not a teacher. I know several though, and I happen to believe that teaching is one of the toughest jobs on the planet. The only tougher job that I know of is being a mother, and I'm not that either.
Posted by: Gerald Scorse | December 16, 2008 2:25 PM
The question about meeting the kids' needs is because so often, the unions say they are representing the schoolchildren's best interests.
Posted by: DougEMI | December 16, 2008 3:38 PM
In so far as teachers are professionals, the interests of their students are part of their collective interest. They may not be treated as professionals much of the time, but I think the teachers I know would be insulted to be told that their students' best interests were not vital to them.
Posted by: Brianz | December 16, 2008 8:21 PM
Here's hoping he'll live in the city when he moves to D.C. and continue his family's track record of support for the public system.
Why, exactly, should we hope this? He's not the DC Schools Superintendent. Why shouldn't he live in Montgomery County or Fairfax and send his children to decent public schools, if he wants? I don't see why children of public figures should be sacrificial lambs to their parents' political ideals, especially in a case like this where it's not even necessarily a question of public vs. private schools.
Posted by: John | December 16, 2008 9:12 PM
I've known people who've raised kids in districts with overall poor reputations--DC, NYC, Chicago, Atlanta; it wasn't difficult to find good schools in any of them and their kids got into good colleges. OTOH, you also can get "good" public schools that basically teach the SATs and don't teach decent writing or critical thinking. I've employed numskull college students who were products of the Fairfax County, VA system (and the more affluent end of the County), and had a college roommate who couldn't write (the product of a well-off Republican district in Cleveland's western 'burbs).
Posted by: Rich | December 16, 2008 9:58 PM
SPELLINGS FRAUD: Senators and Congress initiate fraud inquiry as Spellings rushes to leave Washington.
FOR RELEASE:
The Margaret Spellings' regime will soon be under investigation by Congress due to Spellings' involvement in the induced fraud by Western Seminary and collusion with its accreditation agencies, the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). A key Senator has begun the process to instigate an inquiry and is anticipated to coordinate efforts with another Senator and house members.
It appears Spellings is rushing to leave Washington before her mess blows up even further.
Department destroys evidence.
On October 30th and November 4th two lawsuits were filed and served against Margaret Spellings and the Department of Education over their cover up of academic fraud and collusion with ATS and NWCCU.
A third lawsuit will be served on Spellings and others over their concealment and/or destruction of evidences to aid and abet Western, ATS, and NWCCU as well as further allegations of misconduct and intentional misrepresentation. Spellings' administration is using taxpayers' dollars to help special interest accreditation agencies who in turned helped the school to harm the student, Randy Chapel, and his family. School is using various law firms and insurance money to deal with their mess.
Arne has been advised, read more at www.educationalfraud.com
Posted by: PR | December 16, 2008 10:38 PM
دردشة
Posted by: دردشه | June 15, 2009 11:21 AM