The lack-of-wit and lack-of-wisdom of Arne Duncan
I became aware of Arne Duncan when I sat and watched his keynote address
at the Teach For America 20 year alumni summit on February 13th 2011. In that speech he made a claim about how he helped turn around a school in Chicago by firing the teachers and turning it into a charter school. Researching this claim was my first in a series of blog posts ‘debunking’ miracle schools.
at the Teach For America 20 year alumni summit on February 13th 2011. In that speech he made a claim about how he helped turn around a school in Chicago by firing the teachers and turning it into a charter school. Researching this claim was my first in a series of blog posts ‘debunking’ miracle schools.Over the past two and a half years I have immersed myself in the way education is being ‘reformed’ in this country and I am always baffled the way that Arne Duncan finds new ways to demonstrate how unqualified he is for any job in education, let alone U.S. Secretary of Education. In this post, I’ll present six of my favorite examples.
“I see extraordinary schools where 95 percent of children live below the poverty line, where 95 percent are graduating, and 90 percent of those who graduate are going on to college.“
This is from the September 2009 NEA Today magazine, in which Duncan attempts to answer questions from teachers. Since then, the claims of the 90-90-90 schools (or 95-95-90 schools, in this case) have been challenged so much that we rarely hear about them anymore. But Duncan didn’t just hear about them, but he apparently saw them with his own eyes.
, in which Duncan attempts to answer questions from teachers. Since then, the claims of the 90-90-90 schools (or 95-95-90 schools, in this case) have been challenged so much that we rarely hear about them anymore. But Duncan didn’t just hear about them, but he apparently saw them with his own eyes.“The vast majority who drop out of high school drop out not because it’s too hard but
Will TNTP demand accountability from itself?
The New Teacher Project (TNTP) was a spin-off of TFA and originally led by Michelle Rhee. Having worked as a trainer for both organizations, I generally liked working for TNTP more than TFA. I found the TNTP trainees to be more mature and more committed to education as many of them were ‘career changers’ and planned to be long term teachers. I’ve trained about six cohorts of TNTP teachers and s