Earlier today, I posted about the battle in New Mexico over the confirmation of Hanna Skandera. Skandera wants to import Jeb Bush’s “Florida Model” of testing, school grading, charters, vouchers, and online corporations to New Mexico. She worked for Bush, Spellings, and Schwarzenegger. Her views are identical to those of Romney. Yet as the linked article points out, Skandera was invited to the White House and warmly praised by Duncan. What gives?
I am reminded that Duncan hailed Bobby Jindal’s choice of John White as state superintendent and lavishly praised him as a “visionary leader.” I am reminded that he was a featured speaker at Jeb Bush’s “summit” last year for entrepreneurs. I am reminded of March 2011, when demonstrators encircled the state Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, and President Obama was in Miami, describing Jeb Bush as a “champion of education reform.” (The school they both saluted as a successful “turnaround,” Miami Central High, narrowly escaped closure by the state for poor performance only three months later.)
I don’t understand why Obama and Duncan have not taken a strong stand against the opening of for-profit charter schools–or for that matter, any stand at all. I don’t understand why they have not campaigned against the spread of vouchers. They may be against them, but only in a soft voice.
I truly don’t understand the loyalty that Duncan (and Obama) have to the policies of rightwing Republicans, those most eager to close public schools and privatize them.
I don’t understand why Obama and Duncan embrace the destructive anti-teacher, anti-community, anti-student policies of the corporate reformers. Why aren’t they fighting those who blame teachers for the ills of society, who make testing the goal of education, who shatter communities by closing their public schools, who see public schools as profit centers and children as commodities?
A reader from New Mexico sent the following, with a link to Duncan’s warm words about Skandera.
“Ms. Skandera, NM’s Secretary of Education, Designate brought several reforms from Flordia. Governor Martinez’ education platform was the Florida Model. During her campaign AFT-NM fought long and hard to inform their members on what this model looked like. However, a large number of teachers voted for her regardless her promise to make New Mexico’s education system the same as Florida’s.
It is difficult to comprehend why teachers voted against their profession.
However, even more difficult is to accept is the “love fest” between Skandera, Arne Duncan and President Obama. Duncan and Obama cannot praise Skandera enough. I am including one of many links to show this admiration: http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2011/09/24/news/nm-school-reform-efforts-get-boost.html.
Many New Mexico educators, myself included, find this admiration “club” extremely insulting.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane,
I really like your blog and I think that you are usually spot on. However, I cannot believe that you don’t already know the truth about Hanna Skandera. I thought everyone knew by now that she is really Miley Cyrus.
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Simple: theirs
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Aww man, I was gonna get into a abbreviated rant. Hmmm… two words and a colon will do.
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Do you mean the Research Based Colon Cancer they gave to education?
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AN abbreviated. Okay, look, check out all those appointments Obama is making. Yew, the con man from Citi at the helm of the Treasury? Oil friends in the EPA? Fugedaboudit. This must be the fuzzy, rhetorical post that some people out there need to begin to think about what’s going on all around them….. so how did they find this blog? Serendipity ? Whatever. Wall Street runs our government and is buying up what’s left of the public good. Period. End of story. Can we move on?
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This is in reply to your comment below, Kuhio. I agree–can we move on? Your question is answered in your next post, Diane. Obama has been raking in–and is going to rake in even more–money from his friends. Yes, WE can has to become yes, WE can. WE are the ones who have to change things, & WE have to start locally–school district by school district, town by town, city by city, and state by state. WE have to do it all where we live.
Forget about Obama–he’s also poised to pick Penny Pritzker Secretary of Commerce. It’s over–get over it, move on, and make the change happen in YOUR town.
“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world.
Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”–Margaret Mead
But–from that small group (Garfield H.S. Teachers, CORE– great examples), grow yourselves into the 100s and 1,000s (e.g.-CTU, Chicago parents and community leaders). Stop wondering & whining about Obama & Duncan–Duncan is NOT going anywhere, & the same 1% people keep obtaining appointments.
Yes, WE can (and WE will)!
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If you listen to the episode of This American Life called “Two Steps Back” you’ll learn everything you need to know about Arne Duncan. He does not get it. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/275/two-steps-back
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Oh, he gets it, all right. A lot of it.
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In 5 years there will hundreds of Obama Academies…that’s why they don’t openly oppose charters and privatization!
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Agreed, and I wish my education association (NEA) would have made President Obama work harder to earn its endorsement. Lesser of two evils? We need to set the bar higher.
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work harder? they didn’t make him work at all. I was shocked when he was endorsed 18 months before the election.
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I know they’re not on the side of moral and social justice.
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Just study Barack and Michelle’s history in Chicago. Since at least 1995 Barack has been a corporatist privatizer considering schools. Michelle worked for Mayor Daley, was one of his $100,000 Club with $132,000/yr. to help him privatize education in Chicago. He has no correction factor as did FDR. Duncan was superintendent of Chicago and while he was that he wrote a letter to the California legislature lying about Chicago to push state unconstitutional mayoral control in California. Duncan stated that those before Daley took over the Chicago Schools in 1995 had run the school district into $1.8 billion in debt which they had to clean up. The fact is that I have the pertinent financial pages to the 1994 Chicago Superintendents Budget and amazingly enough it had a surplus in 1994. How does a surplus equals $1.8 billion in debt? New Math, must be. Straight from Gates and Broad to your city today. Total Corruption just as the trying to take out Steve Zimmer in this board race tomorrow.
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George–made me think of the phrase “the Gates of Hell.” We have entered, but WILL emerge unscathed, as the truth will out.
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Diane,
I’m wondering if the reason why insiders & those entrusted with education policy support for-profit education is because they are personally invested in the funds that make money on ‘personalized learning, college & career readiness, innovation.’ It’s not just the lobbyists’ pressure & campaign dollars.
And it’s easy to say you don’t know what’s in the fund.
Maybe they have a vested (invested) interest & need to stay close to make money. Isn’t that what the stimulus money is supposed to do. Stimulate the economy? I would imagine people inside could make some money in the stock market.
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The returns are higher investing in schools so why the stock market. That is just a part of the portfolio. In charter school buildings you can double your money in 7 years instead of 12 by using the tax advantages. This is making real money for investors. You buy the legal program you want and then use it. This is normal. Government for sale and for cheap if you are one of the 1/10 of 1/10 of 1%. You must remember that 1% includes income down to $350,000/year and that is not what is considered a Financial “PLAYER.” Political Player is another animal. You can have lots of influence without a lot of money especially in city, county and state government if you are really good at what you do and know policy and how to present and work the system. Very few are capable of doing this effectively. The point still is that it can be done. We just stopped a $90 billion dollar plan in L.A. County, Measure J, without big money and little time. Never say never unless totally impossible such as never dying.
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It’s fast money. Churning kiddie data. Less liability than a charter school. Gambling money. This is about how to leverage taxpayers money into a robust economy & some pocket change that adds up.
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By the way, would it be possible that any AFT/NEA pension fund monies find themselves invested in questionable dealings? Just wondering…
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They just seem to be into the money so the bean counters tell them what to invest in based solely on profit potential not what products they make and what social effect they will have even if they have good returns.
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Why the surprise. President Obama has clearly sided with the corporate agenda in education and other areas such as finance and medical care. How many bankers have been indicted/jailed? Even under Bush many were jailed for the Enron/financial criminal activities. How about the less-than-thorough investigation of the Washington D.C. school cheating scandal. It’s obvious that despite the occasional soaring populist rhetoric the President and Duncan are squarely behind corporate agendas. I wouldn’t be too surprised if they supported ALEC.
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I agree, no chance changing the minds of current admin, we will have to look toward 2016 and try to minimize damage. It’s going to be rough 3.5 more years.
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I remember when Obama was elected the first time and there was a discussion about him giving up his blackberry for reasons of messaging security or some other such nonsense. He said he’d hold onto it as it represented a connection to the outside world. It obviously didn’t work and now he’s totally encysted in the echo chamber, unwilling, subconsciously perhaps, to give up even the obviously false image of bipartisanship that the wholesale slaughter of public education represents. The oligarchy has made a Stockholm of him, compartmentalized or not.
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True and so right on…the more effective evil.
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He’s hardly an unwilling prisoner. His 2008 vote in favor of immunity for telecoms (which he had prommised to not only vote against, but to filibuster) should have told us all we needed to know. Unfortunately, I, like many others, was still too caught up in the hype to see it. However, fool me once….
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Answer: The money and power side.
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I noticed an article on huffington post today about Jeb Bush and possible education lobbying http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/03/jeb-bush-education-foundation_n_2802536.html?utm_hp_ref=@education123 . I do not understand why this is not a front page issue. It is bad enough that Duncan has no classroom experience. Now Obama is appointing a secretary who worked for Wallmart and the Gates foundation. This is not what I voted for.
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It’s ironic: voters reject Republican candidates to the point that the party is a decaying corpse, but Democrats keep their bad ideas alive.
What is the point of having a democracy if the worst ideas are supported by both major parties?
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We have a democracy?
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Why is there a disconnect between Obama and leadership. He comes into office in 2009 and the future of the federal involvement appears destined to move away from the death sentence of No Child Left Behind and instead of selecting Linda darling as Secretary of Ed. he caves and picks the hometown “hero” Arne Duncan. Perhaps there is a common knowledge that most education administrators spend little time educating before taking the plunge into the higher paying management of schools. Thus, they are often far removed from the education process. Perhaps it is time for teachers to collaborate and call for a petition to the White House calling for someone who understands the needs of our nation’s students to be placed as our nation’s educational leader.
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Tony, there’s been a petition for years–dumpduncan. Diane called for a national letter write-a-letter-to-Obama day. It was done, letters turned in. First National S.O.S. March, D.C., July, 2011. Media ignored it. Obama ignored it. Duncan ignored it.
Oh, wait–Matt Damon showed up in support of public schools, and Duncan got all nervous and wanted to meet with HIM. Otherwise, no meeting with Diane or with Jonathan Kozol or with anyone.
Tony, as Kuhio Kane said above–can we move on? Work on saving your schools in your neighborhoods. Obama does NOT care about our children.
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Obama did not cave.
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We can ask ‘why?’ but it is more important to recognize the fact:
President Obama has betrayed public education.
This is something that needs to be repeated and amplified.
The question ‘why?’ is hard to answer, but at this point it is besides the point.
The administration’s policies are clear — they want to reshape public education
and create publicly-funded charter schools, introduce pay-for-performance
whether their metrics work or not.
There may be some pollster out there telling them this is the popular thing
to do, it may be that they have campaign contributers who are salivating at
the prospect of opening up K-12 to private investors, they might have been
taken in by their own arrogance and really think this will make things better,
but we should not forget
1) Arne Duncan was this president’s choice.
2) Arne Duncan ran Chicago schools and initiated Renaissance 2010,
a plan to close 60-70 schools and reopen 100 new schools, at least two-thirds as charter or contract schools. (For background, see http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/gci/publications/workingpaperseries/pdfs/GCP-09-02_Lipman.pdf)
3) Davis Guggenheim not only directed WATING FOR SUPERMAN, he also directed the official Obama campaign biography in 2008.
4) If you listen to Arne Duncan, his quotes are precisely what you would here from the New Teacher Project, Michelle Rhee, StudentsFirst, Bill Gates, the MET project . . . maybe he honestly thinks they are right, but the quotes are often WORD FOR WORD the same, from ‘we are being outeducated’ to ‘everyone knows the teacher evaluation situation is broken.’
5) The US DOE is calling for a ‘transformation of the teaching profession.’ Count on it being like the transformation of all other professions in this country as teachers are reduced to 1099 contract workers.
Why? Maybe they are bunch of elitists who believe that because they went to Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, etc. that they deserve the lion’s share. Maybe it is because they have a false notion of meritocracy. Maybe they think creative destruction is better for education than institutional stability. Maybe they actually believe teacher quality is the problem. Maybe they go to brunch with Steve Brill and Whitney Tilson.
I don’t know and I barely care.
What I know now is that that sigh of relief I felt after GW Bush left office was misplaced.
The Obama administration has been pathetic in some regards, but here it is active, focused and has totally betrayed the American people.
Those of us who believe in public education need to state that again and again and again.
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You should have seen Steven Brill and Arne Duncan run when confronted in public with their foolishness. They cannot handle it when someone calls them on their lies. They totally freak out. When Duncan was in Pico Rivera recently and he tried to leave after only about 15-20 minutes I confronted him and said “He is leaving to go get money.” Which he was in going to fund raisers and to hell with those who drove for hours to tell him what they think. People were so disgusted that 1/2 of the about 1,200 walked out of the room. You certainly did not hear about this in the news did you?
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And he said something stupid yet again today, stating that teachers were getting their pink slips (due to the “sequestering”), & then had to apologize. Was his face red? No.
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“The US DOE is calling for a ‘transformation of the teaching profession.’ Count on it being like the transformation of all other professions in this country as teachers are reduced to 1099 contract workers.”
This is absolutely what is in store for P-12 teachers, if you do not take action immediately! You can see what is down the road for career educators, if you look at what has been happening in Higher Education across America. I’ve taught college for nearly 20 years and watched as the number of full time positions have plummeted dramatically over that time, so that 70% of professors are now hired as contingent faculty.
In the past five years, I’ve sought full time positions but could find none and had to settle for working at two universities that hired me as a 1099 contract worker. One I’ve taught at for the past five years and all faculty there are 1099 contract workers, receive extremely low pay and no benefits whatsoever (because we don’t qualify for minimum wage, unemployment insurance, etc.)
I’ve written about this here before, so I’ll spare the details. Suffice it to say that, truly, if my health problems don’t kill me first (since they’re being treated with OTC meds because I have no insurance), the toxicity from the extreme daily stress of just trying to survive a life in poverty is probably going to be the death of me.
Too many politicians don’t care about the commons anymore. If you want to alter the course of this trajectory, you must be the change agent yourself. Keep working in the best interests of children, families and communities. Collaborate with colleagues and parents. Work diligently towards saving your schools and your jobs. Thereby, you can and will become the hero of your own life.
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Yes, Other, you are absolutely correct.
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He is a republican in sheep’s clothing.
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He and Michelle have always been right wing republicans in democratic disguise. He is just a better devil than Romney-Ryan which is total tragedy instead of 1/2. Wake up people to what is being played off of your and your children’s future. They say they do “Research Based” and it isn’t. All I do is research and cross comparison to see if someone is lying and often they are. They have “Research Based Lies.”
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I would say it goes beyond that. The Republican Party has gone so far off the deep end that people who might otherwise be moderate republicans have taken over the Democratic Party. Today’s establishment democrats are yesterday’s moderate republicans, with a pro-corporate mindset, but fewer battle scars from the culture wars.
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By the way, those of you who think this is a new thing — that somehow the President changed his views once he got inside the White House — are just wrong.
There is a long history to his views on education that go back over a decade.
He — and the Democratic party in general — have abandoned our greatest achievement, the creation of a universal education system by the several governments that run the territories we call the United States.
Rahm Emanuel’s famous maxim was one should never let a crisis go to waste.
One corollary to that is, “if there is not a crisis, invent one.”
So we now have a crisis of teacher quality and the teacher evaluation system.
Another corollary is “Use problems that stem from one cause to advance your
agenda in other areas.” So the real problems schools in high poverty areas face
are used as a general indictment of a public education system.
Finally, “Use data to get the public to think there is a crisis through careful
presentation, misrepresentation and omission.” So we are being ‘outeducated’
even though we’re not.
Some sources:
Fairtest.org, Richard Rothstein http://www.epi.org/people/richard-rothstein/,
for those who like ideological analyses instead of statistical charts,
Henry Giroux, http://www.truth-out.org/article/item/4327:the-public-intellectual-henry-a-giroux
But on the issue of the manufactured crisis,
David Berliner has been writing on this for a long time. See his http://www.schoolbriefing.com/1967/the-manufactured-crisis-revisited/
My own work, somewhat different, but in a similar vein, examines specific claims that are presented as fact by education reformers, such as the idea that a top quartile teacher can close the achievement gap, and documents the flimsy data used to
support these claims.
The title, which is ironic, comes from President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union speech:
Respect for Teachers
or
The Rhetoric Gap and How Research on Schools is Laying the Ground for New Business Model in Education
At Amazon, or better yet, at
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475802078
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I have been reading this blog, but I have to say that as a charter school owner, I am appalled by some of these comments. My school is very successful and saves the tax payers lots of money. I can get 100 kids into one classroom with my new innovations. Every year I select ten kids in each class to become “advocates.” These kids help ensure good learning environments. If a student is distracting others, my student-advocates will gently but firmly escort the troubled student to an individualized learning pod. In this individualized learning environment the student is able to focus better. This is especially effective with those ADHD types. Once we get them in the cell, they stop struggling. We then help them put on their own helmet that plays Khan Academy Videos. No matter where they turn, there is the input. They really enjoy the solitude and quiet of the pod. The student advocates in turn will get additional “perks” such as one ten minute period in our small courtyard. If they look up at the right angle, they are able to see the sun and a cloud or two through the metal mesh. It is a real treat for them. You should see the respect these advocates get from their peers over time. Eventually just a look or frown from an advocate and the reluctant learner gets back on task. This system gives our students a real sense of ownership of their school We only teach English and Math. You don’t more common core than that! Also, in English we are 100% nonfiction. Our kids don’t have to struggle with that Shakespeare guy or any of that stuff- so elitist! Our students read approved common-core texts like bicycle and lawnmower repair guides, practical stuff that will help them get jobs and stuff. The private sector knows how to get the job done! You people have to keep an open mind!
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“Once we get them in the cell, they stop struggling.”
You actually had me going until this point. Good job!
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“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” Lyndon Baines Johnson
We have a new breed of “the lowest white man.” Give him somebody to look down on and he’ll charge the government a fortune if you let him control them, and then he’ll convince the world how what he’s doing is not racist and for the common good.
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You’re goood…veeery good! Perhaps you can do stand-up in the evenings. Thanks for the satire!
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It’s good to laugh here once in awhile!
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Obama is the leader of the Republicrat party. Their motto: “Nobody but us is free!” These are the folks who chant the party line during the day to placate the masses and keep the illusion of a two party system alive a;; the while gathering in smoke-filled back rooms by night to divvy up their share of the spoils of Neoliberalism. Have you noticed that NOBODY is grousing over the Sequester??? This is because when the social fabric is further shredded, the Republicrat Oligarchs will be ready to mop up the remaining profits. After all – the money to buy all these politicians must come from someone. Devised at the Bohemian Grove, crafted by ALEC, introduced by Reagan, championed by Clinton and the Bushes, and now brought home for the kill by the cabal of Obama, Duncan, Gates & Rhee…..Education reform – It’s not a fad, it’s a long term strategy.
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From what I have read, Obama seems to understand many of of the problems facing education. It may be politically advantageous to reach out to the right to develop the rare bipartisan support.
In any event, I don’t see any significant changes except there are an awful lot of grants for innovation being granted to major research institutions .
If the public only had full disclosure about our tax dollars, what a different world we would live in.
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With all due respect, Angela, I cannot imagine what materials you’ve read that would show that “Obama seems to understand many of the problems facing education.” First of all, our poverty level is enormous for a country with our wealth. WHEN has THAT been addressed in conjunction with its detrimental affect on a child’s education by the Obama administration? It is being said that, in fact, as far apart as the Dems & Reps might be on budgetary matters, the one area in which they are in lockstep is…
education. Yep, the agreement to privatize public education is the ONE area upon which the Reps & Dems agree.
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Grants from DoEd to public research universities that conduct legitimate peer reviewed research have been significantly diminished by Obama & Duncan. Duncan’s DoEd has given millions of taxpayer dollars in the form of education grants to organizations resistant to peer review: TfA, Wall St fraudster Michael Milken’s teacher evaluation & school ‘turn-around’ foundation- NIET, and many private right wing religious foundations.
Face it. Duncan and Obama are not interested in research based solutions to public education. They are interested in changing the culture of public education to a private contract and consulting business model. Problem 1 for business profits is labor, therefore teachers contracts & retirement are the targets. I am more disgusted that our first Black President’s initial privatization targets are poor, inner city schools- those with the least power and resources to fight the juggernaut of influence peddling and campaign donations.
Listen to Bruce Dixon on Black Agenda Radio expose Chicago public schools privatization model and the reasons corporate media will not use the word privatization to characterize Duncan’s education plans:
http://blackagendareport.com/content/why-isnt-closing-129-chicago-public-schools-national-news
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To Diane’s serious series of questions, I hear only the standard demonization, “they are as bad as Republicans,” but no substantive answers. I have had the same questions. Their education program seems directly counter to what they are attempting in the rest of the economy, which is an effort gain greater and greater control through regulation, as with Obamacare. It may be, as someone has already suggested, just crony capitalism, the educational version of Solyndra, corporate contributions being easier to come by than contributions from members of the unions.
Perhaps they think they have nothing to fear politically from the unionized public school teachers who identify with social democracy and the working class and would rather die than be caught voting for a Republican. Like blacks and Hispanics, teachers are a secure liberal constituency.
Meanwhile Republicans are running a lot of states, and they like the idea of destroying the public school teachers unions by closing public schools and opening charters where the staff will not be unionized. Union opposition to Republican candidates will thus be diminished.
I wish I knew what they were really trying to achieve. To think that the Waltons, Gates, and Rhee are in bed with Obama and Duncan just boggles the mind. If Romney were doing it, I could understand it, but I suspect he would have gutted NCLB, RTTT, CCS[sic]S, and possibly even eliminated the education department the way Reagan wanted to, and let educational policy revert to the states, where it constitutionally belongs.
Life gets curiouser and curiouser.
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“Perhaps they think they have nothing to fear politically from the unionized public school teachers who identify with social democracy and the working class and would rather die than be caught voting for a Republican. Like blacks and Hispanics, teachers are a secure liberal constituency.”
BINGO!
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Although I would disagree with the notion that Hispanics are a secure liberal constituency. Gay marriage?
In any event, teachers are going to have to start voting Republican at some point if they want anyone to actually listen to them.
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Many of us voted 3rd party in the last election for the first time in our lives, because we could not in good conscience vote for anyone responsible for selling public education to corporate sponsors.
It might just be time to establish a viable third party, because as deceptive and self-serving as the Democrats have become, Republicans are just off the charts greedy and serve only corporations and the ultra extreme right, so a lot of us could never vote for them either. If more of the 99% were aware of the income disparity and inequitable distribution of wealth in this nation, and how the policies of both the Democratic and Republican parties have perpetuated that over the past 40 years, they might seriously consider voting 3rd party.
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I’ve been thinking third party today too.
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I was disgusted with Obama’s appointments from the very beginning- Duncan, Emmanuel, etc. I, along with others posting here, think that Obama is just a socially liberal Republican. There appears to be less and less distinction between the two parties. Obama has even offered to cut SS and Medicare, all in the name of “bipartisanship!” Let us not forget, either, that he APPLAUDED the firing of the teachers in RI! He didn’t offer any support for our union brothers and sisters FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES in WI. *sigh* Today I read that my senator, Barbara Boxer, is banging the drums of war against Iran. To trust any of these people is ridiculous. (The same goes for the up-and-coming Cory Booker!) Diane, I’ve been a California delegate to the NEA Rep Assembly for the past three years. The year after you spoke before us, we threw our support behind Obama’s bid for re-election. I voted against this, saying we needed to make him work for it, but was voted down. They’re doing the same thing in NM (I can’t stand their governor either), and many other places around the country. Not all teachers think the same. I, however, will not sell out my profession, my colleagues or unions! I have a (loud) voice and I intend to keep on using it!
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Feeling pretty duped myself. Also on a side note, Michelle has backed off her garden, then she’d have to address GMO’s which are being supported/promoted by the Obama Admin.
Sorry for getting off topic. Can’t believe I’m actually writing this, I fought so hard for Obama in 2008, the discussions/arguments I had with others…..
Still better than Romney.
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“Still better than Romney.”
Yeah, if Romney had been elected, he’d be doing some crazy right-wing stunt like nominating Sylvia Mathews Burwell to become the head of the Office of Management and Budget.
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Can we officially start calling Obama a DINO now?
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“Let us not forget, either, that he APPLAUDED the firing of the teachers in RI!”
In the same breath, he LAUDED the “accomplishments” of the Met charter school, which has test scores that were actually LOWER than those of the public school in Central Falls where the teachers were fired!
For those of us in RI who were paying attention, that was the moment when Obama tipped his hand.
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He tipped his hand LONG before that, when he was running for president.
Most people didn’t pay attention to this fraud early on. He never should have gotten anywhere near the Democratic nomination.
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Stop the Obama/Duncan bashing. It was educators and state legislators who accepted NCLB. It is educators and state legislators who have accepted RTTT. To paraphrase Tip O’neill, all education is local. Obama was reelected and Duncan is his friend who will remain. Locals need to take back our schools,
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Yes, it’s locals who need to take back schools. However, suggesting that the Feds have limited say in such matters is the disingenuous cry of Duncan, when he exploited and coerced cash strapped states into accepting his RTTT agenda. It will not be easy for locals to take back schools everywhere and Obama and Duncan both know that very well. Not all school districts are locally controlled, since many cities are under mayoral control, as Chicago has been for the past 18 years, which is how Duncan got his appointment as a non-educator superintendent in Chicago –and there has never been an elected school board in Chicago.
Educators are not responsible for NCLB either. When NCLB became the law of the land, I attended meetings in my state capitol conducted by educators employed with my state school board who raged about not being consulted about that law. Some even decided to take early retirement, because they could not believe politicians had handed them that hot mess to enforce. This is about politicians and, today, their corporate sponsors, who have been calling all the shots in education, not educators.
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It’s not local when they say “you want get this funding?” “well then do as I say”
How does local fight Bloomberg’s millions? How does local fight Gates? How does local fight tax caps with no millionaires one percent tax? How does local fight obscene health care costs?
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the first term of Barack Obama, though his Education Secretary Arne Duncan, has been a real puzzler. It’s clear that the President’s rhetoric, which is lofty and soaring and unassailable in its aims and dreams, just does not match the on-the-ground, in-the-classroom realities playing out as a result of his administration’s policies. This dynamic needs to change, and fast, in the second term. But it won’t that os pretty clear. We risk losing out on the historic promise of public education as a major unfying force in our society– and the most reliable path for those of modest beginnings to transcend into the American middle class. And we wil be poorer as a nation for it.
President Obama’s victory speech in Chicago is a case in point. In it he spoke of an America where our children have “access to the best schools, the best teachers,” and who would argue with that as a goal– good schools for all kids? But under our current education policies, that is not where we are headed, not by a long shot. Why are our laws not working to restore our nation’s schools, investing in resources and practices designed to produce positive learning environments for all students– reasonable class sizes, a well-trained and professionally fulfilled teaching corps, involved parents, adequate facilities and an atmosphere of respect and support for teachers and learners alike? Why instead are we designing incentives for creating lifeboats for the lucky few and privileged, relegating so many children to underfunded test factories with glorified test-prep monitors in the role of teacher? Why are we blaming our teachers for so many of the problems not of their making, resulting in their morale being at such low levels?
Sadly, truly Obama.Duncan are right there with Rhee/ALEC/Broad et al. Shouldn’t be but get away with it and give nice soaring speeches. But talk is cheap and their actions are doing real damage to the nation’s public schools.
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It isn’t a puzzler if you had been listening to Obama’s rhetoric during the 2007-2008 primary campaign.
The man was always a fraud, a Trojan Horse for the neoliberals. He is NOT a Democrat, and he has destroyed the party’s brand, let alone the African American political community, for decades.
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I will NEVER stop bashing those two–it is BECAUSE of those two the privatization movement has proceeded with blinding speed.
This isn’t Bush who did this–but Obama and his teacher-hating rhetoric.
A letter after a politician’s name means NOTHING these days.
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RTTT is a thousand times worse than NCLB. You do know that, don’t you?
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How the Bipartisan Education Reform Party (forget right-wing vs left-wing; it’s a distraction) hijacked the social justice movement.
Here are just a few and their statutory icons:
Barack Obama & Arne Duncan & George Bush & Michelle Rhee & Joel Klein & Jeb Bush & the Broad Foundation & the Walmart Foundation & the Walton Family Foundation & the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation & Gov. Christie & Gov. Cuomo & Gov. Walker & Al Sharpton & Mitt Romney & NCLB & ESEA & RttT & Common Core, etc. & et al. (i.e. the bipartisan consensus)
In your “Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms” (2000), you wrote:
“Throughout the twentieth century, progressives claimed that the schools had the power and responsibility to reconstruct society. They took their cue from John Dewey, who in 1897 had proclaimed that the school was the primary means of social reform …”
“This messianic belief (more recently, “the social justice movement”) in the school and the teacher actually worked to the disadvantage of both, because it raised unrealistic expectations. It also put the schools squarely into the political arena, thereby encouraging ideologues of every stripe to try to impose their social, religious, cultural and political agendas on the schools. What was sacrificed over the decades … was a clear definition of what schools can realistically and appropriately accomplish for children and for society. (p. 459)
If teachers’ decades-long claim that every up-from-poverty success “can thank a teacher,” then persistent school failure, the reformers say, must be teachers’ fault. This simple message reversal was available for any politician in need of a campaign slogan couched in civil rights language. Deregulation, the new cyber-wealth, hostile takeovers, restructuring, leveraged buy-outs, etc. created concentrated super-wealth in search of investment that would appear socially progressive and a class of managers and politicians eager to adapt the business model to restructure public education. The siren song of Reform immobilized normal caution.
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Obama will not change course on education: he has no reason to do so.
Stop the whining and “letter” writing appeals and just out him for the stands he has taken.
Otherwise, wannabes like Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie will have no reason to give a damn what educators think.
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fascinating comment thread– the backlash is local and is being chronicled. In every corner of the country, thank God. One place that’s doing so and pushing out a weekly email blast is the Education Opportunity Network– a very good way to not miss anything and stay motivated: http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/
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How excited I once was about President Obama. I remember his original campaign and how I, and other supporters, were filled with hope for the future. Talk to these same individuals today, and they, like me, feel fooled and demoralized by his disregard for hard working educators, children and families. Destroying public education is not the legacy I ever expected from his presidency.
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Obama is The Great Imposter, vetted and chosen years ago by the Overclass to divert and neutralize opposition to Neoliberalism run amok.
Whether it was the destruction of public housing in Chicago earlier in his career, the kid-glove treatment of banksters, or the hostile takeover of the public schools, he is the false front of the vicious S.O.B. capitalism that now misrules the country.
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I’m not sure I understand what the problem is with school choice. Obama has school choice. He has not chosen to send his children to public school. Why should only the people who have money be allowed to have school choice? It is clear that while perhaps not all schools are failing – our public schools are not the best. And many are horrific.
So why shouldn’t parents be able to organize to make things better?
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There are other ways to provide choices to parents without giving public schools away to private management companies, including by expanding magnet schools and magnet programs at neighborhood schools.
The “school choice” mantra is an effort to privatize public education by politicians and opportunistic corporations and entrepreneurs, who have discovered that public education dollars are a tremendous new source of revenue with little accountability, since charter schools are largely unregulated. Those tax dollars are siphoned off to charters while traditional schools are under-resourced, typically those in the neediest neighborhoods. Resource starved schools are then ready candidates for being closed and handed off to private management companies, so the cycle can easily continue. School districts cannot afford to pay for a dual system of education though, so this practice threatens the continued existence of public education.
The private management firms may be for-profits, including large corporations accountable to shareholders, such as K12 Inc, non-profits or, in states that don’t permit for-profits, for-profits with non-profit fronts. In any case, they typically pay their executives six figure salaries for managing one or a handful of schools that rival or excede the salaries of superintendents of large urban school districts who manage hundreds of schools. It’s a very lucrative venture for privatizers, but not without graft, as that has been found in both for-profits and non-profits alike, such as when charters award no-bid contracts to relatives and cronies, paid at taxpayer expense. See, “How Charter Schools Fleece Taxpayers” http://www.newrepublic.com/blog/plank/110355/its-easy-fleece-charter-schools
Meanwhile, the closure of neighborhood schools that were the hubs of communities for decades is devastating to many, and the protests of parents against the closing of their neighborhood schools often fall on deaf ears, so those families don’t feel they have a “choice.” There is no guarantee that the charter schools they must now apply to will be better for their children. The CREDO research study on charters has indicated that only 17% of charter schools perform better on standardized tests than traditional public schools, while 37% perform worse and the rest are about the same.
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The reason is Obama and Duncan aren’t Democrats at all. They are far right Republicans who have been infiltrating the Democratic Party to veer it to near fascistic levels. The GOP, meanwhile, has gone into crazy territory.
Obama is indeed a neoliberal impostor put in by those interests to get what they want anyway.
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I agree.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362992/I-longer-hope-audacity-Matt-Damon-slams-Obama-running-country.html
“During the interview on CNN, the actor talked about his feelings on the first two years of Mr Obama’s administration, among other things.
When asked if he was happy about the way he is running the country, Damon, without hesitation, said ‘no’, continuing: ‘I really think he misinterpreted his mandate. A friend of mine said to me the other day, which I thought was a great line, “I no longer hope for audacity”.
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Thank goodness for Matt Damon and his continued commitment to education advocacy, as well as his wonderful mom, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, child development expert and Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education!
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Thank you. You are correct.
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It would be good in someone in the White House — especially a political operative — could see these comments.
To remind everyone, you can write:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Or call:
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Or send a comment via their webpage:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments
Don’t know if lines are open 24/7, but call before midnight tonight . . .
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Brian, everyone who reads this blog has tried. You might be late to the party–Diane had a National Write to the President Day in October–Anthony Cody helped her, and over 400 responses were collected and sent. Some writers received form letters or form e-mails. In other words, no real response to DO anything. It’s March–has anything changed since 2008? He does NOT care. As someone said on an earlier post, “Can we get over it?” It’s done. In terms of affecting change–work for it at home–in your school, in your district, in your town. Look at what the CTU did! Look at what the Chicago parents, community members, students and teachers/faculties are doing–originally, over 500 schools were on a school closing list. Then, big-time protests. Down to 330 closings.
More protests. Down to 129. Yet again–more protests–down to 80.
The protesters have yet another protest planned on March 27th-
“Close Our Schools & We’ll Shut Down the City.”
Look at Philadelphia (sit-in in the mayor’s office). Look at L.A.–dark horse school board not funded by billions wins!
Forget about writing the POTUS letters. We will take back our schools and professions through our actions–school by school, district by district, town by town, state by state. Yes, WE can!
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Correction: actually, Kuhio Kane said, “Can we get over it?” in an earlier comment in this very post. Also, Brian, in re-reading your comment, I see that you were suggesting that “someone in the White House–especially a political operative…see these comments, ” and not the President. However, exactly who in the White House is going to read these, gasp, and change the whole course of the Obama Administration with regard to their education policies? I have no doubt that would be…no one.
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The Republicans and Democrats are together on this one. The Repubs see this (attacking public education and school teachers salaries, benefits and tenure) as a way to cut costs, while the Dems see this as a way to gain greater control over the curriculum and what is taught and how it is taught.
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