Monday, August 29, 2011

Report: Duncan tried to stop Matt Damon teacher speech | The Lookout - Yahoo! News

Report: Duncan tried to stop Matt Damon teacher speech | The Lookout - Yahoo! News:

Report: Duncan tried to stop Matt Damon teacher speech

The Washington Post's Valerie Strauss reports that the Obama administration tried several times to meet with actor Matt Damon before he was scheduled to speak at a rally last month held to protest the federal focus on test scores.

"[Education Secretary Arne] Duncan was willing to meet Damon at the airport when he flew into the Washington region and talk to him on the drive into the city," Strauss reports. "Damon declined all of the requests."

At the Save our Schools rally, Damon slammed standardized testing and what he described as the influence of "corporate reformers" on the education system. His speech brought a lot of media