Alan Pagano, Teaching and Learning: Arne Duncan and No Child Left Behind - Santa Cruz Sentinel:
"For those unfamiliar with the name Arne Duncan, he is the current U.S. Secretary of Education, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. According to his resume, Duncan has had extensive experience in the development of education policy and served eight years as the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
However, Duncan has never been a teacher, counselor or school site administrator. As a result, I am extremely skeptical of his ability to understand the challenges and constraints of local issues.
One of the secretary's most important tasks will be the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. In a previous column, I stated: The federal government instituted the No Child Left Behind legislation, which examines student achievement, provides a status category based on that achievement and if the 'school's' achievement is consistently insufficient, imposes sanctions.
In fact, the punitive nature of NCLB and the absence of a targeted focus on real student reform and change, severely undermine the proposed outcomes of the legislation."
"For those unfamiliar with the name Arne Duncan, he is the current U.S. Secretary of Education, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. According to his resume, Duncan has had extensive experience in the development of education policy and served eight years as the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
However, Duncan has never been a teacher, counselor or school site administrator. As a result, I am extremely skeptical of his ability to understand the challenges and constraints of local issues.
One of the secretary's most important tasks will be the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. In a previous column, I stated: The federal government instituted the No Child Left Behind legislation, which examines student achievement, provides a status category based on that achievement and if the 'school's' achievement is consistently insufficient, imposes sanctions.
In fact, the punitive nature of NCLB and the absence of a targeted focus on real student reform and change, severely undermine the proposed outcomes of the legislation."