You may be aware that in December the TU took a trip to attend the National Council of Social Studies Conference in DC. One thing we looked forward to was hearing directly from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Perhaps even having the opportunity for him to hear from us. That did not happen. TU thinks he ducked the teachers but the official version is that he was "called to the White House." Seems other teachers and education advocates had similar experiences.
To be fair Duncan has made efforts to hear from teachers. But does he listen? He seems to ignore much of what he hears. TU and many others wonder if really understands the policies that he supports(Race to the Top). He gave a recent speech at Harvard where he addressed the issue of teacher evaluations, a major plank in the reformers platform. Duncan stated “Teacher evaluation should never, ever be based on test scores.”
So we are left to ponder if leaders know what they are supporting. Haunted by a Geoffrey Canada statement "there is no plan". The following video was created by two teachers frustrated by current efforts by reformers like Duncan and even calling for a replacement. It lacks a catchy hook and the beat leaves much to be desired. What it does have is the ability to sum up how many educators feel about the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and overall current trends in Education Reform.
Duncan is an empty suit and salesman for a fraudulent product, namely, corporate education reform. Like any good con man, he will appear to listen and understand your point of view, and will say anything to get you to go along with the con.
ReplyDelete