by But wait, there’s more! All of the test-crazy, data-obsessed, name-calling, teacher-shaming, kid-harming, fact-manufacturing, union-busting, privatization schemes of the Bush Administration are on track for another four years under the leadership of President-Elect Barack Obama and his unqualified basketball buddy nominee for Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.
Make no mistake. The education policies of Arne Duncan and No Child Left Behind are indistinguishable. In fact, President Bush’s trainwreck of an Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, practically nominated Duncan to be her successor four days ago.
Joking that she doesn’t want to "hurt his chances," Spellings nevertheless put in a plug for Duncan during a trip to Chicago to help Mayor Daley dole out $350,000 in merit pay to outstanding teachers and school employees.
"He’s a terrific school leader. I consider him a fellow reformer and someone who cares deeply about students. He’d be a great choice," Spellings said in a news conference at Westcott Elementary School, 409 W. 80th St.
Pressed on what makes Duncan special, Spellings said, "You all know. I mean–you live here with the guy, for goodness sake. He’s a visionary leader. He’s a guy who looks at results. He cares a lot about kids. He’s focused and on point. He has a lot of support from this community."
Merit pay? Now that’s change you can believe in!
Labels: Arne Duncan, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Margaret Spellings, nclb
Veteran educator Gary Stager, Ph.D. is the author of Twenty Things to Do with a Computer – Forward 50, co-author of Invent To Learn — Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, publisher at Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, and the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute. He led professional development in the world’s first 1:1 laptop schools thirty years ago and designed one of the oldest online graduate school programs. Gary is also the curator of The Seymour Papert archives at DailyPapert.com. Learn more about Gary here.