Duncan patronizes teachers
"I have a deep and genuine appreciation for the work you do. ... You deserve to be respected, valued, and supported. ... It is my goal to see that you are treated with the dignity we award to other professionals in society," reads theletter from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.Arne Duncan's open letter, "In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week," is symptomatic of the administration's poor relationship with the nation's teachers. In response, many teachers have pointed out the contradiction between the administration's words and deed, between ideals and policies (See comments below Duncan's Open Letter).
Many of the issues date back to Duncan/Obama's support for the mass teachers firings at Central Falls High School. Since then, teachers have felt the full impact of Duncan's shock-and-awepolicies embodied in Race To The Top, violation of collective-bargaining agreements, merit pay, evaluating
