The Weintraubs, Robert and David, call out Arne Duncan in this article in Education Week.
They sharply chastise him for his constant refrain that American schools are failing, stagnating, falling behind.
He is like an abusive basketball coach who kicks his players and shrieks at them: LOSERS! You are LOSERS! You should ALL be FIRED!
He lacks the leadership skills–or for that matter, the knowledge of teaching and learning–to inspire students, teachers, principals, administrators, and school board members.
He, who led one of the nation’s lowest-performing districts and left it as a low-performing district, has the temerity to complain that everyone else is a slacker.
Does he understand that he is undermining American education and those who work in the schools every day by his nattering negativism?
One day, he says we should show teachers “respect,” but every other day, he says that we must judge teachers by the test scores of their students, and if the scores don’t go up, fire them.
When the superintendent of Central Falls, Rhode Island, threatened to fire every single employee of Central Falls High School, he cheered.
When he did that, he broke the hearts of teachers across the nation, and he heartened the yahoos who want to demonize teachers.
Let us all hope that he can start to think like a basketball coach who knows how to bring out the best in his team.
It won’t happen by tearing them down.
It will happen by thanking them for the hard work they do every day under difficult circumstances.
What is required from our Secretary of Education is humility:
Recognize your limitations; don’t assume you know more than you do; show respect, don’t just talk about it.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I agree with the authors. And… if Duncan were to recognize what is required for the job, and if he were not to assume he knew more than he did, he would have to resign!
LikeLike
Humility also requires a conscience and empathy for others. Duncan has neither of those. He is arrogant, oblivious, privileged, and spoiled.
LikeLike
Or to paraphrase Jamie Vollmer (“The Blueberry Story: The teacher gives the businessman a lesson”): Mr. Duncan is “perfectly balanced – equal parts ignorance and arrogance.”
(http://www.jamievollmer.com/blueberries.html)
LikeLike
That’s what existentialism will do for a person.
LikeLike
Joanna,
In what ways does existentialism do ??? for a person. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.
Thanks,
Duane
LikeLike
GE2L2R: excellent link!
Let me supplement that with an excellent quote from someone who actually led people in a winning cause:
“You don’t lead by hitting people over the head — that’s assault, not leadership.” [Dwight D. Eisenhower]
😎
LikeLike
Truly excellent quote of which I was unaware. I think I’ll post it on my bulletin board.
LikeLike
Well said!
LikeLike
Great Quote Krazy TZ….Thanks
LikeLike
I mean Krazy TA………4 degrees here…..Warming Up!
LikeLike
Eisenhower also supported and actively was involved in the overthrow of the democratically elected Iranian government, paving the way for the Shah (King) to return, who oppressed and murdered his people. He in turn was overthrown by the Islamic people who now rule. You can thank Eisenhower and Churchill for that one.
Funny how he talks about leadership with Americans but doesn’t follow his own quote with foreigners.
LikeLike
WE have the same problem in Louisiana with our governor, Bobby Jindal. If you make the faces invisible you don’t have to deal with children (or teachers) as human beings. They you can pass whatever draconian law you wish and feel no consequences. It is only when there are consequences for their behavior that people change.
LikeLike
The US has 15 Cabinet level Secretaries including: Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General.
The ONLY secretary who continually bashes the employees he should lead is the most unqualified – Arne Duncan.
Arne loves the limelight as demonstrated on MSNBC when he’s given the forum to bash teachers and our public schools. Arne celebrates when public schools are turned over to for-profit charters. He uses billions in federal tax dollars to divert funds from classrooms to corporations. His kids escape the common core since they attend school in Virginia.
Arne doesn’t have the common sense to hold his tongue about what he really thinks about “white suburban moms.” Arne thinks the best thing that happened to New Orleans was Katrina – people died. He admires Michelle Rhee, Jeb Bush, etc.
The USDOE is the billion dollar corporate playground for education entrepreneurs, data mining schemes, for-profit common core scripts, technology start-ups, high-stakes testing industry, ed. lobbyists, and certain “non-profits.”
Abolish the department, save billions and invest in local public schools with local decision making.
LikeLike
Best.Post.Ever.
LikeLike
You have spoken the Truth! Hope Arne is researching a job for 2016..Any President in their right minds are not going to allow this to continue!
LikeLike
We don’t have to worry–sure there’s some lucrative job just waiting for him at the College Board, Pear$on, the Broad Foundation…the list could go on & on…
LikeLike
Yes, a lot of people died in Katrina. Some were teachers. One was a teacher I knew who evacuated and her cancer came back, likely from the stress. But the worst thing that happened from Katrina was the destruction of the public schools and the unemployment of its teachers who had just begun a new school year. That first year in particular, when the first charters started, they did not want New Orleans’ teachers at all. Instead they hired a batch of TFAs and then had to hire security guards when the principals told the state department the TFAs couldn’t control the kids.
LikeLike
Interesting. That must have been a tough year for the principals with all those newbies. What happened to the teachers? Was it legal to replace them or are they suing for breaking the contract.
LikeLike
“Abolish the department, save billions and invest in local public schools with local decision making.”
Perhaps it is time to abolish the UDDOEduc – including prohibiting all federal funding for state- and locally-controlled K-12 education, right?
Let far-thinking extremely-qualified local school board members bring their own most impressive pedagogical expertise to bear on students’ lives and futures and let the chips fall where they may, eh?
LikeLike
Bashing Arne Duncan is a waste of time if you don’t include Barack and Michelle Obama in the mix, two of the most influential charter school advocates in this country.
Obama is Arne’s boss; the right plutocrats and left wing neo liberals are Obama’s boss.
Let’s not just point fingers at Duncan, who can stand some very intense speech therapy.
LikeLike
Wait a minute…..didn’t this mess all start with “No Child Left Behind”??? The current president has a hand in this, but I believe it started with George Bush.
LikeLike
Ellen, you are right. The mess started with George W. Bush and No Child Left Behind. Unfortunately, President Obama and Secretary Duncan’s Race to the Top is built firmly on that foundation. Both are failed policies and should be consigned to the junk heap of history.
LikeLike
Anyone know who arne’s college advisor was? Evaluating and describing quantitative data should have been a core competency for his BA degree. It’s rather embarrassing for Harvard.
LikeLike
I think his only experience with quantitative data was basketball stats.
LikeLike
You mean he knows how to count from 1 to 100? I had no idea . . . . . . .
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
Looks like William Julius Wilson may have advised him on his thesis along with someone at Harvard. Perhaps as a professional courtesy to his dad. It is rather interesting that Arne would go on to fire more black teachers than any other superintendent to date, thus furthering the decline of the middle class in the very neighborhoods Wilson studied.
LikeLike
* before the 2013 closings perhaps
LikeLike
Duncan should have been run out of his job when he made the “white suburban mother” comments!
LikeLike
He got away with it by his “expert twisting of the tongue”!
I hope it is not too late to sue this man…I am a “white soccer mom”
LikeLike
As someone write previously, Duncan is just doing what his boss wants.
LikeLike
True. Makes. Me.Ill.
LikeLike
Duncan is incapable of being Secretary of Education. And WHO chose Duncan? Don’t forget where the buck stops.
LikeLike
Excellent post. The comments by Weintraub were accurate and nicely worded, without resorting to name calling.
I looked at a few posts about Duncan using Wikipedia and his own site. On paper, he looks like an excellent candidate, but, except for the dates and titles of his positions, I’m not sure what is true. Did he really graduate Magna Cum Laude from Harvard? His recent actions don’t reflect this level of intelligence.
So, I’m going to go with my gut on this topic. Arne Duncan is in over his head. He’s acting out the same way a student acts out when they don’t have a clue to what is going on in the classroom. Even though his parents were educators, his privileged lifestyle and private schooling make it impossible for Arne to relate to the struggles in the public school system. It is obvious from his policies.
He is also using the technique – “the louder you roar, the truer the statement.” In the inner city, you might see a kid throw a wadded piece of paper at another child, but when you chastise that student, he will argue so loudly and passionately that it wasn’t him, you will start to wonder if your eyes had deceived you. Same MO.
The other deceptive method is to keep repeating the same lie over and over until the listener starts to believe it. “Yeah, where did I hear that before?” You start wondering. “Oh, it must be true.” Fox News and the Republican Party use this technique a lot, but it is obviously also a favorite with the Democrats.
The Weintraubs nicely countered the statistical data which is driving CCSS. It is hard to believe that Arne has not had the results explained to him by a statistician. (He obviously has difficulty analyzing the numbers himself – perhaps his degree didn’t require any math). Regardless, by now I’m sure his faulty use of data points must have been pointed out, unless he is wearing blinders and refuses to listen to any voices other than his own. I know this is not true, because he made derogatory remarks about suburban housewives – so he must have known they were complainIng. Duncan would be wise to listen. After all, suburban housewives vote and so do their husbands. And nothing riles parents up more then when they see their children suffer. Arne should not ignore this reality. If he predicts that 82% (or even if it is 50, 60, or 70% ) of the schools fail, that is a major number of angry parents and grandparents.
So my final analysis is that Mr. Duncan is not ignorant, but that his ego keeps him from conceding. He makes the rounds, spews out insults, entertains the audiences with his witty putdowns, and, ultimately, creates a wide swatch of enemies to his educational reforms.
My advice to Arne Duncan – start listening and act accordingly.
LikeLike
And his spiritual motivation, as an existentialist, can’t be helping.
Don’t existentialists worship themselves?
We all worship something. And it impacts the work we do.
LikeLike
“Empty Barrels make the loudest Noises”….Listening Arne? Not likely..You just keep rolling down the hill to nowhere.
LikeLike
NO!
And no we don’t “all worship something”.
Can you please cite a source for your statement “. . . his spiritual motivation, as an existentialist.”
LikeLike
“On paper, he looks like an excellent candidate. . . ”
In what ways?
Teaching experience-none.
Public school guidance experience-negative
Public school AP, principal, asst. sup, or superintendent-nope
Certification as a teacher, administrator-no
three point shooter-yes
basketball buddy of Obomber-yes
Toady and shill for the edudeformers-yes
LikeLike
Duane – on paper:
His parents were both educators
He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard
He worked for a year with his mother at the Duncan Children Center
With inner city youth
He wrote his senior Thesis about his above experiences
Director of the Ariel Education Initiative
Mentoring inner city elementary school children
Reopened the school as a charter – Ariel Community Academy
Deputy Chief of Staff Chicago Public Schools
Chief Executive Officer Chicago Public Schools
US Secretary of Education
Now, here’s my take. He was born in an upscale neighborhood, went to an elite private school connected to the University where his father worked and he was able to make connections. His father was able to get him into Harvard. I’m not sure if he graduated Magna Cum Laude like it says, but he only got an undergraduate degree in sociology. (And it took him at least 5 years). Working with his mom was a way to make money (and she could keep her eye on him and help him with his research for his senior paper), then he finished college. His claim to fame is that he was a good basketball player, but not good enough for the MBA, so he played pro ball in Australia. For some reason he stopped playing basketball after four years. This seems to be a pattern, as he flits from job to job after four years or less. Maybe an incident occurred. He used his connections to get his first job and it snowballed from there. He was one of the good old boys. I think in each of his jobs he bluffed his way through. I’m sure his current position should require more than an undergraduate degree in sociology. Actually, he wasn’t qualified for any of his positions. (Ironically, the teachers he bad mouths have more education than he does). Now he is in over his head. He’s had some bad advice along the way and his standard of bluffing his way through is not working. He probably has a history of foot in mouth disease. His ego, from the basketball days, is huge. Plus, he was brought up as a privileged male elitist. For his wife and children’s sake, I hope he’s a good dad. He doesn’t have the skills to do his current job – maybe someone is pulling the strings.
Am I close?
LikeLike
One of the basic skills we learn in life is to avoid toxic personalities; staying away from negative people is one of the things on lists for good health like drinking water, exercising and eating well.
So?? We stay away from him as best we can. And anyone whose motivation or drive is negative. And we protect our children from it. The focus should be in how to do that. The fact that we should is a basic survival skill.
LikeLike
Well said Joanna…..and while this man “Spews his Poison”…we must remember to Consider the Source…or you will fall flat on your face..
When you lose respect for a person..their words mean nothing…This man has no respect from the Teaching community..NONE…
LikeLike
Okay everyone check out Obama’s pick for Duncan’s new undersecretary: Duncan on Steroids
http://www.newschools.org/team
Contact your senators during this confirmation hearing; if there will be one.
LikeLike
Duncan is not bright enough or well connected enough to speed the reform.
Obama is THE devil when it comes to education reform. He is one of its top three masterminds . . . . .
In this regard, the president is pure dreck . . . .
LikeLike
He decided to visit NC during the week of Chicago hell. Read him loud and clear.
LikeLike
Check out the donors to his venture capitalist company: Broad, Wasserman, Pearson, Carnegie, the list goes on and on C’mon Obama: Really?
LikeLike
It is 4 degrees and We have yet to take out our trash…..Have to have it out by 7….Now the question is..”Is it worth taking out to the curb?” or “Are we going to let it sit in a garage for the next week”….This scenario reminds me of the next 2 years of this man.
LikeLike
That is an INSULT to dirty, rotting garbage. Think about how many feelings you have hurt, and for what?
🙂
LikeLike
This may seem like a digression, but I don’t think so. Rather, I think it suggests a similarity between what is “being done to education” and what has happened in the military.
I listened to “Army Takes On Its Own Toxic Leaders” on NPR’s All Things Considered (1/6/14), and I was reminded of it when I read this post on Dr. Ravitch’s blog.
“So in 2012, the Army revised its leadership bible, Army Doctrine Publication 6-22, to detail what toxic leadership means for the first time.
The manual now states:
“Toxic leadership is a combination of self-centered attitudes, motivations, and behaviors that have adverse effects on subordinates, the organization, and mission performance. This leader lacks concern for others and the climate of the organization, which leads to short- and long-term negative effects. The toxic leader operates with an inflated sense of self-worth and from acute self-interest. Toxic leaders consistently use dysfunctional behaviors to deceive, intimidate, coerce, or unfairly punish others to get what they want for themselves. The negative leader completes short-term requirements by operating at the bottom of the continuum of commitment, where followers respond to the positional power of their leader to fulfill requests. This may achieve results in the short term, but ignores the other leader competency categories of leads and develops. Prolonged use of negative leadership to influence followers undermines the followers’ will, initiative, and potential and destroys unit morale.”
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/06/259422776/army-takes-on-its-own-toxic-leaders
Somehow it seems relevant in the context of Mr. Duncan’s leadership style.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina and commented:
Why our Governor worships Arne Duncan’s policies is beyond me. Truly.
LikeLike
This excellent post notes the remarkable fact that Duncan led one of the most low performing districts in the nation and left it that way. The fact that he has been an obstruction rather than a support to hardworking educators should be no surprise.
LikeLike
In this connection, see David Bloomfield’s 2010 post, Skunk ’em Dunk ’em, in the Huffington Post. Witty and sadly true that our Secretary of Education is “playing with the Republicans, not against them” to crush the unions and create hedge fund/owner managers.
LikeLike
“. . . nattering negativism.”
Shades of Spiro T!!
“pusillanimous pussyfooters,”
“nattering nabobs of negativism”
“hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.”
“an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals.
LikeLike
I love and support President Obama in every area except his Education agenda. Otherwise he is a great President. As typical non-teachers neither he nor Arne Duncan know what makes schools and teachers tick. Continuing No Child was his first big mistake. Bush already had screwed up American education and he just made it worse. Hiring Duncan, who is not a teacher is his second. Recognizing, condoning, and encouraging Teach for America his third, and thinking teachers would respond to financial incentives by performing better his fourth.
There really needs to be a federal law that says that anyone who desires to be a principal, a local or state Superintendent or head a state or federal education agency must first be a certified teacher with at least a M.Ed, preferably higher degree, and a minimum of 5-10 years of public school teaching. If systems or states refuse to cooperate, they get no federal funding but still have to have the same quality programs cooperative states do. A tree with no roots does not bear fruit. Maybe when the House gets repaired such a law can be passed.
LikeLike
Looking over the list of past Secretaries of Education, only a couple have actually been educators – one of them was #2, T H Bell, expected to preside over the dismantling of the DOE under Reagan, instead commissioned the study resulting in “A Nation At Risk”… Another was Paige, who, under GWB, helped write NCLB… A non-educator, Richard Riley, was supposedly singled out by Clinton because of his ed-improvement efforts as SC gov. His 8 yrs look to actually have had some positive fed-ed impact here & there (funding to expand computers/internet in ps; improvements to disability ed act).
It may be naïve to expect secretaries of the DOE to be anything other than politicians [i.e., power brokers], given the low priority (talking MONEY) placed on education in American society. This is not a technical position, nor can it be, given that the fed is not supposed to impose curriculum on the states. When I see how DOE under both GWB and Obama have skirted that law to create clout over national curriculum at the fed level– and how little was done for public ed during DOE ’79-present, it makes me say: get rid of it!
LikeLike
You bring up some new and good points, S&FF. My very favorite
(sarcasm alert) Sec. of Ed. used to be William (pointing the finger
when in Chicago & yelling, “Chicago has the WORST public schools in the nation!” Bennett, and then leaving. Oh–excuse me–I seem to have the mistaken idea that the Sec. of Ed. & the D.O.Ed. should be coming up with SOLUTIONS to educational problems in the U.S., helping teachers, parents & communities? Historically, these people have been paid for doing absolutely NOTHING. Except, in Arne’s case, it’s be worse than nothing–he’s eviscerated (with Obama’s blessings) public education in the U.S.
LikeLike
I suppose the real issue is that, even if they are political appointees, they should be competent. Arne falls way short of the mark – with or without a background in education. The majority of people who blog here would do a better job (even Harlan – despite our difference of opinions). That says it all.
LikeLike
I suggest Arne Duncan knows exactly what he is doing. I further suggest that he is paid very well to do it. That is, destroy public education and replace it with corporate machines that view our schools as profit centers and our children as data points.
LikeLike
You are right on, willis737.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Naked Teaching and commented:
I suggest Arne Duncan knows exactly what he is doing. I further suggest that he is paid very well to do it. That is, destroy public education and replace it with corporate machines that view our schools as profit centers and our children as data points.
LikeLike