More Important Than Biden's Ed Secretary Pick
There are plenty of reasons to focus attention and concern on President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Secretary of Education. After all, VP Biden was part of the administration that gave us Arne Duncan as secretary, a choice universally panned by teachers. Public education advocates are hoping that Biden will give us a career educator with the leadership chops to manage a federal department that has been up against the ropes for a few years.But the department needs more than just a solid secretary at the helm. It needs a mechanism in place that will help it hear teachers.
Education policy discussions in this country suffer from too many loud voices of education amateurs. Yes, the department needs the benefit of people who understand the system in DC, as well as the massive financial business of student loans and grants. The world of higher ed needs to be represented. But the education department also needs to benefit from the insights of actual education experts, the practitioners in the field. Public school teachers. And not just one at the top—lots of them.
The future secretary, whoever she might be, should have ready access to a panel of actual public CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: More Important Than Biden's Ed Secretary Pick
