Arne Duncan: Dumb and Dumber
Yesterday, Arne Duncan warned governors about ‘dumb’ education cuts and then suggested even dumber cuts, like increasing class size:“Duncan also said that states should think selectively about increasing class sizes. The father of two grade-school-age children said he’d rather his kids be in a bigger class with a better teacher than a smaller class with a lousy one. He suggested teachers could get paid extra for getting a bigger class…”
Now can anyone explain how that would help kids? Pay teachers more to teach more kids, each of which would get less attention and support and a lower quality of education?
Meanwhile, the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the US Department of Education (which he heads) points out that class size reduction is one of only a handful of reforms that have been proven to work through rigorous evidence.
Duncan, whose speech was peppered with references to “you guys”… is popular even with many