Arne Duncan urged districts to consider "modest but smartly targeted increases in class size." As a parent, Duncan said, he'd much rather have his kids in a class of 26 with a really excellent teacher, than in a class with 22 kids, lead by a mediocre teacher. (
Edweek)
But for most, who can't afford a home in his Arlington,Virginia neighborhood, those aren't really the choices, are they? The Duncans' don't send their kids to inner-city schools where many class sizes have swelled to 40 or 50 as a result of the economic crisis and mass teacher firings. To avoid D.C. schools (even with Michelle Rhee running the show) they moved across the river in suburban Arlington, where schools and class sizes remain relatively small.
"I didn't want to try to save the country's children and our educational system and jeopardize my own children's education," Duncan told the Wall Street Journal.
First of all, Duncan hasn't really "saved the country's children," or its educational system, has he? And while it is all well and good to want the best for his own children, it's a bit disingenuous of him to use them as an example of why he doesn't mind a class of 26 with an ace teacher in front of it. Well of course not. That's not even an
