Autotuned Arne Begins Bus Tour Across America
The "Education Drives America" bus arrives in Sacramento. Official Department of Education photo by Joshua Hoover.You might not think that a panel discussion on education technology with the Secretary of Education and the Chairman of the FCC would excite an auditorium of high school students, but at this morning’s kick-off event at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, Calif., the air was electric.
Alejandro Castro Pena, an honors student who recently moved to the U.S. from El Salvador, previewed his video “We Are The Future.” Castro Pena made the video in conjunction with the John Lennon Educational bus, and with a little help from a few members of the Black Eyed Peas. The video, which included segments of Arne autotuned, brought down the house. Watch the entire event here.
Castro Pena introduced Secretary Duncan, who then moderated a panel discussion on education technology with Khan Academy Founder Sal Khan, English teacher Catlin Tucker, and co-founder of Coursera, Andrew Ng. One of Tucker’s statements really stuck out to me. She said, “I don’t think tech is going to save education. I think great teachers with great tools are going to save education.” Arne often echoes this when he says that all the tech in the world won’t replace a great teacher at the front of the class.
Sacramento
Secretary Duncan held a town hall on college affordability at the University of Nevada Reno. Official Department of Education photo by Joshua Hoover.Arne spoke about the importance of parental engagement and said that the Department of Education has “underinvested in parental engagement.” He noted that ED’s Promise Neighborhoods program is one step, but he also said that he has requested for Congress to double the amount of money for parental engagement. Rather than dictate family engagement programs from Washington, Arne wants the Department to find programs that work at the local level and provide them with the resources they need.
Reno
After making our way through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Arne joined community members for a town hall on college affordability and issues impacting Hispanic Americans at the University of Nevada Reno.
The panel, moderated by Univision anchor Anya Arechiga, also included Associate Vice Provost of the University of Washington Luis Fraga.
The questions for Duncan and Fraga were diverse, ranging from career and technical training, to how to pay for college. Some of the highlights include Duncan reiterating that “we desperately need to pass the DREAM Act,” and that education is the best investment our country can make. He also gave a shout out to ED’s new studentaid.gov.
After a great first day on the road, I could go on, but I’ll let the Secretary wrap up the day. So enjoy this video as theEducation Drives America bus keeps rolling across America:
Cameron Brenchley is director of digital engagement and is blogging and tweeting his way from coast-to-coast during on the E
Report Card: Duncan meets with mayors and school superintendents
Report Card: Duncan meets with mayors and school superintendents:
While in Sacramento during a national bus tour, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the biggest challenge facing public education is complacency and he challenged parents and students to demand more of those in charge.
While in Sacramento during a national bus tour, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the biggest challenge facing public education is complacency and he challenged parents and students to demand more of those in charge.
Duncan spoke Wednesday to a group of more than 40 mayors and school superintendents from across the state, who met in Sacramento for a panel discussion on education issues, such as California's No Child Left Behind waiver and the hot button topic of tying test scores to teacher evaluations.
