The Upside of Arne Duncan
So what are we to make of Arne Duncan's surprise departure from his cabinet position, where he dutifully played POTUS Basketball Bud and less-than-articulate mouthpiece for the extremely well-heeled Democrats for Education Reform?
Does anyone else wonder about the timing of this? Why was John B. King waiting in the wings? What's the policy-making strategy here--and who's calling the shots?
I have heard Arne Duncan speak--live, in a roomful of educators or ed-policy folk--perhaps a dozen times. Once, when he was the young, enthusiastic CEO of Chicago Public Schools, and flacking a (successful, meaningful) National Board Certification program in his district. Once, when he was speaking to state Teachers of the Year at an elegant banquet in a D.C. hotel--he had just been named Secretary of Education--and he spoke with great sincerity about a good public education as civil right for all children, and got an honest, unprompted standing ovation from some of the nation's best teachers.
Later, I heard him speak to National Board Certified Teachers, suggesting that they (rather than "ordinary" teachers), ought to be making six-figure salaries. That speech went embarrassingly flat. I have also heard him make terrible, rote, off-the-prompter speeches where he couldn't wait to get out of the room. No time for questions, thanks.
I have spoken to Arne Duncan in a tightly orchestrated and managed conference call, where he was supposed to be "listening." I can testify: he's fairly awful at candid dialogue or off-the-cuff Q & A, and that quality has not improved with time.
Perhaps Arne Duncan is just tired of being the Joe Biden of the Department of Education, kept on a short leash should he deliver another gaffe about suburban moms or the benefits of killer hurricanes. Perhaps he really does long to go home and spend more time with his family. Seven years is long enough--although the hands-down best Secretary of Education ever, Richard Riley, served all eight years of the Clinton administration.
I was never on the "Dump Duncan" bandwagon. I heartily disagree with the "NCLB on steroids" policy thrust of the current Department of Education, but I never saw Duncan as effective spokesperson for the behind-the-scenes big guns he for whom was fronting: Gates. Walton. Broad. DFER. He could dish out memorized talking points, sort of, but skilled interviewers have run circles around the Secretary of Education.
Furthermore, getting rid of a hapless Secretary doesn't mean the policy-making will improve, just as getting rid of an incompetent President hasn't meant smooth sailing for the Republic. Arne's The Upside of Arne Duncan - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: