January 13, 2019 7:00 pm
Glenn Sacks, a high school teacher, read Arne Duncan’s editorial blast at the UTLA teachers’ strike and concluded that the former Secretary of Education really knows nothing about conditions of teaching in the Los Angeles public schools.
Sacks begins:
“The closer we get to a strike, the more pressure is put on us to call it off. In a recent article in The Hill, pro-charter/anti-union former Education secretary Arne Duncan criticizes United Teachers of Los Angeles, citing the Los Angeles Unified School District’s alleged financial problems. Yet the neutral, state-appointed factfinder on the dispute contradicts many of LAUSD’s (and Duncan’s) claims.
“For example, Duncan tells us LAUSD “is headed toward insolvency in about two years if nothing changes…It simply does not have the money to fund UTLA’s demands.” But arbitrator David A. Weinberg, the Neutral Chair of the California Public Employment Relations Board fact-finding panel, while noting the challenges LAUSD faces, found that the District’s reserves skyrocketed from $500 million in 2013-2014 to $1.8 billion in 2017-2018. Three years ago LAUSD projected that their 2018-2019 reserve would be only $100 million—it’s actually $1.98 billion. We’ve heard these alarming claims for many years–for LAUSD, the sky is always falling, but somehow it never falls.
“Duncan tells us LAUSD “has an average of 26 students per class. Of the 10 largest school districts in California, only one has a smaller average class size than Los Angeles.” These numbers are disputed by UTLA. Moreover, even if 26 is correct on paper, Duncan should know that student-to-teacher ratios count special education and other specialized teachers who normally have much smaller classes than regular classroom teachers. Class sizes are significantly larger than standard student-teacher ratios indicate.
“At my high school, for example, we have over 30 academic classes with 41 or more students, including nine English/writing classes with as many as 49 students, and three AP classes with 46 or more students. One English teacher has well over 206 students—41+ per class. A US Government teacher has 52 students in his AP government class. Writing is a key component of both classes—the sizes make it is impossible for these teachers to properly review and help students with their essays.”
Duncan makes clear that he sides with management and against UTLA. Betsy DeVos and Duncan are on the same side. Why are we not surprised.
Posted by dianeravitch
Categories: Class size, Duncan, Arne, Education Reform, Los Angeles, Union
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Birds of a feather flock together. What do we call the flock Duncan belongs to?
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By Lloyd Lofthouse on January 13, 2019 at 7:50 pm
That’s easy: Flock of Dodo birds.
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 13, 2019 at 7:56 pm
Dodos, possibly, or Boobies. From what people used to call the Booby hatch.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 12:34 am
As long as the “flock” is from a extinct species so he and his other birds-of-a-feather become extinct too.
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By Lloyd Lofthouse on January 14, 2019 at 12:48 pm
The science popularizer Richard Dawkins describes creatures produced by genetic mutation as “Hopeful Monsters.” Here’s the thing: most mutations don’t serve the purpose of survival to reproduction. They aren’t viable because they don’t promote flourishing. And that’s the reality about Education Deform. The deforms don’t work. So, in the long run, they won’t prove viable. Testing kids to death? It doesn’t work. Turning schools over to private profiteers? Doesn’t work. The Common [sic] Core [sic] State [sic] Standards [sic]. They narrow and distort pedagogy and curricula and serve only the interests of those who want to market products “at scale.” They don’t work. All are Hopeful Monsters, but they fulfill the hopes only of the Plutocrats who have pushed them. They don’t deliver. They don’t work. And so, in time, after doing a LOT of damage, they will die out. This is inevitable.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 1:00 pm
Sometimes when the agenda of the deplorables dies out so does the host they were attacking. That’s called a Pyrrhic victory meaning the people win but to win we had to also lose.
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By Lloyd Lofthouse on January 14, 2019 at 1:02 pm
Yes, sometimes
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 1:51 pm
Arnie belongs to the basketball flock. Remember when Obama hired Arnie Duncan it was reported that basically Obama said Duncan was his basketball buddy from Chicago.
I am sorry but anyone in politics who is from or working in Chicago these days are scant corrupt people and Duncan is no different. One can argue that Duncan did more to separate and divide our school system than any other sec of education. Devos is quite possibly the only American who can be worse than Duncan.
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By Basketball on January 14, 2019 at 10:49 am
We sure know how to choose them!
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 11:12 am
Why not turn Arnie into the basketball?
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By Lloyd Lofthouse on January 14, 2019 at 12:49 pm
Duncan is a total liar and a hypocrite:
First, here’s an op-ed he just wrote:
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-12-21-arne-duncan-6-lessons-i-ve-learned-from-my-time-in-education
First the money quote about his endless love affair with raising class size: (again, it’s 2010 all over again)
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
ARNE DUNCAN:
“What about when the spread moves to a class of 30 (-to-1)? Would you take the trade? I would. I’d go substantially higher (in his kids’ class’s size) to give my child access to a great educator.”
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
NO, NO, NO, NO, YOU WON’T!”
and
NO, NO, NO, NO, YOU DON’T!”
Arne wrote that with the right teacher, he would be perfectly fine with his own kids being taught in classrooms where the class sizes are “substantially higher” than “30-to-1”.
(What would that “substantially higher” class size be, I presume? 35-to-1? 40-to-1? 45-to-1?
Really now?
Arne would be okay with that … just as long as some hypothetical “Super Teacher” was standing at the front of the room?
Sweet Jesus! What a bunch o’ baloney?
Arne, did you ever think that one of the reasons that that a certain teacher is a “Super Teacher” is because of his/her low class size, and that if you remove that variable and jack up the class size, that those “Super Teachers” won’t be so “super” anymore, nor will that teachers’ students’ scores be “super’ either … those same dubious scores which you value above all else.)
That is a total friggin’ lie! I can’t believe he wrote that.
Hmmm, what about the school where Duncan now sends his own kids — The Chicago Lab School? Well, it has class sizes of 10-15 per teacher.
I wonder:
How many times has Arne and/or his wife barged into the Chicago Lab School Office and demanded that administrators institute higher class sizes. And then insisted that those newly-high-class-size classes will then be staffed by higher-paid but better teachers?
Oh, I don’t know. How about NEVER?
Here’s the full Duncan quote, where he trots out his stock “false dichotomy” fallacious logic … you only get these two choices, and no others:
“As a parent, would you rather … or … would you rather … ?”
ARNE DUNCAN:
“We’ve had a lot of debate about class size. Creating small classes is a politically popular move and is popular with parents. But the quality of the teacher, I’ll argue, matters more than the size of the class. We need to pay our teachers more to attract great talent. Giving teachers more time to engage in professional development is also important.
“But think about this, parents: if you were given a choice between having your child go to a teacher who is mediocre but in charge of a class of, say, 20 students—versus going to a great teacher who has a class of 25—which option would you take?
“I’d take the bigger class.
“What about when the spread moves to a class of 30? Would you take the trade? I would. I’d go substantially higher (in class size) to give my child access to a great educator.”
Why are there only those two alternatives, dumbass?!
How about well-compensated teachers AND low class size?
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By Jack on January 14, 2019 at 11:32 am
“Duncan is a total liar and a hypocrite”
I think you left out two words: corrupt and minion/puppet
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By Lloyd Lofthouse on January 14, 2019 at 12:50 pm
This is the kind of thing said by an education “expert” who has never taught. This crap has long been espoused, for example, by Mike Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Utter poppycock, and every teacher knows it. The claim that class size doesn’t matter is a tell. It demonstrates conclusively that the person speaking hasn’t a freaking clue about educating kids.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 1:02 pm
Here is what liars like Duncan and other education reformers never ask:
Would you rather have your child taught in a class of 30 with an inexperienced mediocre teacher where every child in the class comes from an affluent family and has college educated parents with the means to pay for private tutors?
Would you rather have your child taught in a class of 30 with an inexperienced mediocre teacher where any child who struggles to learn is ceremoniously shown the door and any child who can’t sit quietly and learn is ceremoniously shown the door?
Or would you rather have your child taught in a class of 30 with a “master teacher” but 25 of those students are severely at-risk and have learning issues and behaviorial issues and this “master” teacher must make sure all 25 of those students who are all at different levels of abilities are all performing at grade level?
Very few parents would choose the last option. I challenge Arne Duncan to put his two kids in a class of 30 with a ‘master’ teacher where the other “non-master” teachers in the school get to send the 28 most struggling, at-risk, hungry, disruptive kids to be the other children in the class with Arne’s kids.
Arne would never put his kids in a class of 30 if the other 28 kids were severely at-risk, way below grade level, no involved parent in those other 28 severely at-risk children’s lives. Especially if his child’s teacher was ordered to bring all of those 28 severely at-risk kids to grade level on her own. That’s why he and the billilonaires who pay his salary will pay tens of thousands of dollars to have less experienced private school teachers and happily pay thousands more in private tutoring when their kid struggles to learn.
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By NYC public school parent on January 14, 2019 at 2:19 pm
Glenn Sacks, a high school teacher, read Arne Duncan’s editorial blast at the UTLA teachers’ strike and concluded that the former Secretary of Education really knows nothing…
Enough said
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 13, 2019 at 7:54 pm
Duncan’s brain “is headed toward dissolvency in about two years if nothing changes…
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 13, 2019 at 7:59 pm
SomeDAM, that ship sailed loooooooong ago.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 12:57 am
Ha ha ha.
You re right.
Arne’s brain (aka Peter Cunningham) left long ago.
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 8:20 am
One of my favorite books is Jesse Scheidlower’s The F Word. This book is an actual dictionary that explores every iteration of the F Word. He was (is?) one of the editors of the Oxford Dictionary. One of the things that’s apparent after reading it—yes, one can read a dictionary—is that virtually all profanity has roots in war or injustice. So, in that spirit, may I say, “F**k you, Arne, you maw-dicker.” (This one’s for you, Duane.)
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By GregB on January 13, 2019 at 8:06 pm
…may I say… Someday I’ll learn how to proofread before I click Post Comment.
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By GregB on January 13, 2019 at 8:08 pm
Dunan’s comments on class size are naive. Many districts calculate their numbers based on the total number of teachers divided into the total number of students. This can lead to a lower student to teacher ratio because speech, reading, ESL, bilingual, guidance, art, music, P.E., library, psychologists and other ancillary teachers are calculated in the total. However, the actual number of students in many classes may be much higher than the reported average.
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By retired teacher on January 13, 2019 at 8:19 pm
Today’s LA Times had an incredibly misleading chart on their front page claiming 92% of elementary classrooms had 29 or fewer students. They must count ALL credentialed staff on campus to get the ratio. My granddaughter started LAUSD two years ago in 4th grade. She has yet to have a class with under 35 kids. Another student just showed up last week – now they have 38.
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By Melissa Walsh on January 14, 2019 at 1:33 pm
The dismantling of democracy, extolled by Duncan and others is exposed in an article posted at Stanford Social Innovation Review, “Making Better Big Bets”, by Grant and Culwell. The strategy is an oligarchical demand that the exclusive means to advancement is through the decisions and funding of philanthropy by the richest 0.1%. The intent of the venture “philanthropy” is profit taking.
Carnegie’s free libraries would be anathema to men like Duncan.
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By Linda on January 13, 2019 at 8:34 pm
Anathema to all of the investors who want to make money by the means being promulgated by the Social Innovations experts who have no respect for the common good or principles of governance you the consent of the governed..
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By Laura H. Chapman on January 14, 2019 at 10:15 am
Stanford is a think tank with students and, it is an abomination, if judged by SSRI’s inclusion of an article that promotes social impact bonds as if they were philanthropy. And, if judged by the ed. department’s omission of professor c.v.’s with grants listed.
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By Linda on January 14, 2019 at 1:43 pm
Annie- will you please leave us all alone ? You have already done your disservice to the country. You have no idea – trade places with any of us for a week and then make your pronouncements. Class size ? Tell me your opinion on that one after the week is up.
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By Caligirl on January 14, 2019 at 12:03 am
Far too logical and honest an answer for Arne to comprehend.
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By GregB on January 14, 2019 at 12:06 am
OMG. Can we please stop hearing from this moron? He had his time and has done enough damage. Arnie, buddy, give it a rest.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 12:26 am
My grandmother told me, “If you can’t say anything nice, . . . ”
So, here: As Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan was a reasonably good basketball player.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 12:28 am
Sec. Dunk
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 12:54 am
My grandmother used to say
If you can’t say anything nice, at least make sure everything you say is not nice.
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 12:30 pm
This just in: The Emerson Collective has announced that it will be establishing new offices in the empty space between Sec. Duncan’s ears.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 12:37 am
OMG, Bob, that is THE BEST–laughed till I cried!!!
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By retiredbutmissthekids on January 14, 2019 at 2:39 am
Ha ha ha
The Emerson Vacuum Collective
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 8:37 am
Great quip and much appreciated.
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By Linda on January 14, 2019 at 9:13 am
Perfect, Bob, really. How does this man enjoy any credibility at this point?
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By markstextterminal on January 14, 2019 at 12:37 pm
He’s a Legend in his own mind.
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 1:50 pm
And THIS is one of the reasons why we have a “President Trump.” Arne, you helped create what is our REAL national emergency.
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By JohnOgozalek on January 14, 2019 at 4:30 am
Yes. This last week, for a time, there was indeed a National Emergency at our Southern Border. Donald Trump was there.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 11:08 am
A craven of one
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 12:31 pm
HA. Yes.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 12:52 pm
And no that’s not a mistake in spelling.
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 12:32 pm
Another non-educator neo-lib privatizer – blech – enough of these atavistic grifters already. Dude only has a bachelors and he’s given the keys to national ed policy? This is the 1% club that denigrates the values of the FDR/AOC dem. They’re almost identical to republicans except they’re owned by big pharma, Wall Street and tech whereas the GOP is controlled largely by oil companies.
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By Callisto on January 14, 2019 at 6:28 am
EXACTLY: ” This is the 1% club that denigrates the values of the FDR/AOC dem.”
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By ciedie aech on January 14, 2019 at 1:46 pm
Hey Arne? How about sitting this one out, big guy.
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By markstextterminal on January 14, 2019 at 6:58 am
Duncan and the pirate crew of Emerson Collective and the Gates Foundation should do more than “sit it out”. If they must be allowed to live they should be isolated from decent society, among others who contribute nothing to GDP while thieving. Russian oligarchs legalized stealing and so have the ed deformers.
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By Linda on January 14, 2019 at 9:27 am
Mark: OMG, that’s funny. Thanks!
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 11:09 am
Arne insists on being the All Star, even if it’s among people who never played basketball before.
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 12:34 pm
Arne Duncan was one of the biggest promoter of the “skills gap”:
“Five or six years ago, everyone from the US Chamber of Commerce to the Obama White House was talking about a “skills gap.”
Now along comes a new paper from Alicia Sasser Modestino, Daniel Shoag, and Joshua Ballance presented this week at the American Economics Association’s annual conference that shows the skeptics were right all along — employers responded to high unemployment by making their job descriptions more stringent. When unemployment went down thanks to the demand-side recovery, suddenly employers got more relaxed again.”
This, along with his inflating charter school successes by not understanding how percentages work should discredit him, but it doesn’t seem to matter how often he’s wrong- he’s still considered an “expert”.
Politicians and CEO’s liked the “skills gap” theory because it shifted responsibility from them TO working people. That’s why they all jumped on it like lemmings and promoted it as fact without reading or considering any of the dissenters to the theory, and there were a lot of dissenters. They’re still doing it. The career and technical education policy in DC is driven by the discredited “skills gap” theory.
They believe and promote this stuff not because of “science” or “data” but because it fits their preexisting views of the quality of the workforce. They believe working people are the problem- not managers, not leaders, but rank and file workers.
https://www.vox.com/2019/1/7/18166951/skills-gap-modestino-shoag-ballance
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By Chiara on January 14, 2019 at 7:36 am
Thanks for providing the link. Anything associated with the Chamber of Commerce is suspect.
Pew established a reputation for research that should be ignored in light of information about the organization described in “Making Better Big Bets” at Stanford Social Innovation Review. Some of Pew’s work may be legit but Pew expanded from a private operation so that it could get money from men like John Arnold. Pew has a policy division, which the public only found out about when Pew propagandized with John Arnold on pension alarmism.
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By Linda on January 14, 2019 at 9:39 am
Here’s something to watch for in the coming days: will ANY of the POTUS wannabes in the Democratic Party come out in support for the UTLA? This should be a litmus test for both the NEA and the AFT when they decide which candidate they should support in the 2020 election.
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By wgersen on January 14, 2019 at 7:56 am
I agree.
And regardless of who the AFT and NEA endorse, no politician who does not support the teachers in LA right now in an unequivocal manner deserves our vote.
This is about much more than education.
It’s about whether politicians truly support democracy or whether they actually support the 1%.
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 8:24 am
Sanders has said he supports the LA teachers on this.
But the real question is, Will he join the picket lines with them?
Not sure where Elizabeth Warren stands.
Talk is Cheap
Clock is ticking
Window closing
Talk is fricking
Simply posing
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 8:35 am
What a GREAT question!!!
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 11:10 am
Richard Ojeda will be at the strike on Tuesday & is currently asking LA teachers to post comments about working conditions in the district on his twitter feed: @VoteOjeda2020.
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By Suspicious Onlooker on January 14, 2019 at 11:18 am
Flunkin dunkin Duncan.
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By Ted on January 14, 2019 at 10:48 am
Arnie Duncan I challenge you to take over a classroom, teach for 2 weeks, then perhaps you can comment on what teachers should do.
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By Marian Cruz on January 14, 2019 at 11:42 am
Amen
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By Bob Shepherd on January 14, 2019 at 1:04 pm
to marktexterminal up there at 6:58 AM: Arne is not going to “sit” ANYTHING out…ever.
His name was even brought up as a Chicago mayoral candidate. Believe me, he has political aspirations. He even said nearly as much in his non-book–since I don’t have it (took it out of the library & returned it a looong time ago), he’d said something about Paul Vallas leaving when he was “well-liked” (really-?!), or something to that effect &, when one does that, the next step is political office (again, something close to that).
He is surrounded by sycophants, & he truly believes that he, Arne, is well-liked. He fashions himself here, in Chicago, as some kind of a hero, insofar as “he” is “solving” the youth violence problem in the city. !!!!! (&, unfortunately, many others believe he is, as well.)
Why, oh why, does Chicago get stuck w/these people? Paul Vallas & Gery Chico (former Chgo. Public Schools appointed school board president, who has, I believe, the 3rd biggest war chest, & so has been one of 3 airing tv ads, & is claiming that as CPS Board Pres., he did so much good for CPS) running for mayor.
And anyone want to bet me that Arne will follow the political path sometime in the near future?
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By retiredbutmissthekids on January 14, 2019 at 1:11 pm
“Chicago gets stuck with them” because the right wing makes plays from establishment Dem. circles like the Center for American Progress, whose favorite candidate is hedge fund-loved Cory Booker.
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By Linda on January 14, 2019 at 1:47 pm
We have plenty of them in Newark.
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By Abigail Shure on January 14, 2019 at 5:54 pm
Oooo–LIKE Arne “Dun-can’t” (those who can’t…dunk {as in basketball})!!!
Have been using Arne DumbOne as of late…
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By retiredbutmissthekids on January 14, 2019 at 11:11 pm
It might have something to do w/the (not so great) Chicago Dem Machine, but I think that’s a different animal altogether.
Perhaps because Chicago has been home of neoliberalism (i.e., DINOs).
We are not just the “Windy City”–we are the city filled w/pols who blow hot air.
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By retiredbutmissthekids on January 14, 2019 at 11:17 pm
Chicago has been stuck with these people forever.
Maybe it’s something in Lake Michigan.
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By SomeDAM Poet on January 14, 2019 at 1:54 pm
“These people” were groomed along with the far right, at the fresh lake school of economics, where David Axelrod retired to bask in the hypocrisy of his concern for anyone but the richest 0.1%.
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By Linda on January 14, 2019 at 7:16 pm
Arne Dun-can’t was the gateway drug dealer that gave us the Betsy DeVos figurehead and as such has less than zero credibility. Two maggot infested peas in the same festering deformy pod.
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By Jon Lubar on January 14, 2019 at 4:25 pm
Perfect imagery, Lubar.
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By Linda on January 14, 2019 at 7:17 pm
Jon, you are being too kind to them.
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By Bob Shepherd on January 15, 2019 at 7:45 pm
Sorry–my comment, above, was in reply to Jon Lubar’s clever name.
A misplaced modifier on my part…
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By retiredbutmissthekids on January 14, 2019 at 11:12 pm