Will Arne Duncan Shake Up America's Schools?

[babylonsister]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1866783,00.html?iid=tsmodule

Will Arne Duncan Shake Up America's Schools?
By Kathleen Kingsbury Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008

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If confirmed by the Senate, Duncan will have to hit the ground running. One of Congress's first acts of business in 2009 will likely be negotiating the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, the Bush Administration's landmark education legislation, which has managed to rankle both Republicans (for interfering with state initiatives) and Democrats (for placing so much emphasis on standardized testing). Duncan supports the law's overall mission of accountability, and two years ago called on Congress to double the funding for it. "In an education landscape filled with strong and often sharply contrasting ideas, I believe that he will provide the leadership needed to bring diverse stakeholders together and break through the political gridlock," says California Representative George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

In recent years, the U.S. education sector has roughly divided into two camps: unions that support more traditional views on teacher tenure and other issues vs. hard-line reformers such as district chiefs Michelle Rhee in Washington and Joel Klein in New York City, who stress accountability. This past summer, both sides circulated competing education manifestos laying out their views. Duncan was the only big-city superintendent to sign each.

In straddling these camps, Duncan echoes Obama's frustration with what the President-elect has called "tired educational debates." In his announcement of Duncan's nomination, Obama made clear that he wants to move past such standoffs. "It's been Democrat vs. Republican, vouchers vs. the status quo, more money vs. more reform," he said. "There's partisanship and there's bickering, but no understanding that both sides have good ideas and good intentions."

In a testament to Duncan's entrepreneurial spirit, Obama chose to introduce his new schools chief at the Dodge Renaissance Academy on Chicago's West Side. Duncan shuttered the failing school in 2002 and reopened it in 2005 as a laboratory for teachers seeking advanced degrees in education. The school has since been hailed as a model for teacher-residency programs. Dodge is "helping us rethink the way we train teachers in this country, and the way we run schools," says Ted Mitchell, president of the California board of education. "We're delighted that the President-elect has recognized that promise. It fits with his vision of positive change."

How much change are schools in for? Duncan, who is particularly attuned to the achievement gap between high- and low-income students, has hinted that he does not approve of the way Illinois schools receive the bulk of their funding from local tax revenue. "It's morally inexcusable that children who happen to be born in wealthier communities, white ones, get a better education than those who live in poor communities," Duncan told TIME last August. "Clearly, as a state, we've lacked the political courage to fundamentally challenge the status quo, not just tweak it at its edges." He added, "It doesn't need a tweak. It needs a fundamental change."

[MineralMan]

1. It's a huge job and there are few common factors

among schools in different states and cities, and even within individual states and cities. NCLB was one of those attempts to do something on a national basis. It failed miserably, even at its misconceived goals.

I don't think a Secretary of Education can do anything that will "shake up" public education. That's going to have to be a district-by-district, city-by-city, and state-by-state deal. We have plenty of models of what works, and an excess of models that don't work.

I just hope he can encourage our schools to look at and enact the examples that do work.

I'm not optimistic in most localities, frankly.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

2. I am not optimistic either

NCLB has been a complete failure and unfortunately Arne Duncan doesn't share that sentiment. He is a champion of NCLB and although I respect some of the things he has done in the Chicago Public School system, like his idea of a gays only school, if you are working with a failed model you are bound to fail.

[elleng]

3. I'm with you,

unfortunately.

[MissMarple]

5. I don't understand why so many districts keep trying to recreate the wheel.

There are models that work. As with so many things it is a serious lack of leadership and political will that keep our low performing schools from improving. I have taught in city schools and rural schools, have been a member of AFT, have volunteered, served on various committees, have substitute taught, and have been elected to a rural school board. My children attended public schools. I support them, but I remain extremely frustrated at the lack of progress in our most challenging schools, as well as in our mediocre schools. Overall, in my experience schools tend to reflect the communities they serve. This must change.

Many of our high schools are too big, middle schools treat children like high schoolers in how they move those children around. Teachers have too many students. In elementary school simple things like adequate nutrition with healthy breakfast programs and ridding the cafeteria of fatty, overly salted food, putting lunch recess before lunch, retaining cogent music, art and P.E classes seem to be beyond comprehension. Adequate classroom management is not a reliable skill, and administrative back up is spotty. Suspending students is used too much and is more like sweeping a problem under the rug than a viable behavior strategy.

Academically, many high schools seem clueless about what is required for college bound students. Thirty percent of entering freshmen from all high schools need remedial help. Our educational systems have many strengths, but way too many inefficiencies that actually have available remedies.

Paying teachers much more is a necessary component, but training knowledgeable and effective principals and backing them up is necessary as well. The teacher's unions need to advocate for their members, but they also need to stress adequate training, and help inadequate teachers find places out of the classroom. Social and community services need to be actively involved, as well. But the politics in the education world are dicey and fraught with misinformation and lack of political will to tackle these tough issues.

We can do a much better job with this educational dilemma. I'm just wondering when or if we will finally get out various acts together to make the changes that must happen.

OK, who dragged in the soap box I just commandeered?

[MineralMan]

7. I'm not in the educational field, and don't have children,

so I'm not as in touch as I might be. For me, the problem seems to be administrative. The system is overweight at the top, and the primary and secondary school administrators I've met have not been what they might have been. They seem unqualified to administer something as complex and important as an educational institution.

I do not know an answer, but it might be that shifting school administration to people who are not tied to educational "values" might be of great help.

Schools are not operated like the businesses they are, and I think that's the groundwork for the mess they're in.

Further, local school boards are populated not by the people who have the skills to govern education but, rather, whomever bothers to run for those unpaid and unloved offices. That means there are far too many people on school boards who have agendas that are not compatible with educational needs.

The Christian Right, for example, has made a strong effort to load school boards with their members...most of whom wish the public schools would simply disappear. In some places, they appear to be working to make the schools as bad as possible, in order to achieve their goal of separating schools from government and giving them to the churches.

It's too bad.

[MissMarple]

8. Those are excellent points.

The quality, power and politicizing of school boards coupled with and the inadequacy of administration have been lethal for our public schools. There is a saying that the fish rots from the head down....I think there is some validity in that.

We can do better, we deserve better.

I do believe that the federal government can help with the focus, the resources, the knowledge. They, however, have no one prescription for all schools. The models for different school communities exist, and we must utilize them. Leadership is key.

NCLB has some validity but many flaws. It is more punitive than instructive. Too sad.

[Myrina]

4. ... another from the "Chicago Circle" ...

:( ... I hate to say it but the new Administration is sounding like "Crawford North" .... all pals and cronies.

Certainly there are available experts across the country who are more than qualified and able to fill some of these seats??

[MasonJar]

6. The NCLB set-up was designed to make money for one of W's brothers.

In addition, it was never properly funded. It is not the teachers who are culpable; I have taught in many schools over several decades and teachers in general are not only competent, but also dedicated far beyond their compensation, working long hours and under often uncompromisingly unfair circumstances. The same cannot be said for the administrators, the parents and the American public, whose attitude toward education is typical of the "have a beer with GWB" phenomenon. The populace which elected W twice are the parents of which I speak. Need one say more? No pressure to succeed is put on public school students. In high schools cars/jobs are more significant. In Europe, Japan, etc. the failure to learn at a certain level of expertise in each individual countries' equivalent of our high school limits the students' future. The students,therefore, take their situation very seriously; so do parents. No D students go to college there...especially not on scholarship/government money. That may seem harsh, but it is crucial knowledge if we are to compete. Let those who goof and float do public service or military service to see if they grow to the level of responsible student/citizen. Some of course never do as W has exemplified.

[Doctor_J]

9. If they are going to double the funding, they should first put Neil Bush in prison

"Fredo" has made enough off of NCLB to keep him in Singapore hookers for the rest of his miserable life. That loser took us off for a few billion during his old man's S&L looting, and has been raping the treasury again ever since NCLB was rammed through. Come to think of it, all assets of the entire Bush family should be seized on Jan21.

[yurbud]

10. the time article was meant to make Rhee look like a reformer and instead made her look like a

fascist crank.

It's time to call bullshit on GOP education reforms too.