Don’t turn teachers into scapegoats

[Tigress DEM]

6. No answer about Rahm. I think of him and I say to myself, "What kind of crack is he smoking?"

I don't understand about Arne Duncan.... Has he done a 180 since Feb 2012 or is there something I'm missing?

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2012/0215/The-next-Race-to-the-Top-Arne-Duncan-outlines-vision-for-teacher-reform
By Amanda Paulson, Staff writer / February 15, 2012
<snip>
On Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke to teachers at a town-hall meeting to launch a $5 billion proposal that would try to improve the teaching profession at every level, from the recruitment and training process to the career ladder and pay and tenure systems.

“Our goal is to support teachers in rebuilding their profession – and to elevate the teacher voice in shaping federal, state, and local education policy,” Secretary Duncan told the teachers, according to prepared remarks. “Our larger goal is to make teaching not only America’s most important profession – [but also] America’s most respected profession.”


Ahhhhh, ok, so it's more about Duncan and Rhee creating a system where some teachers and children LOSE because the reform is more important than the education itself or the teachers.

I get it.


http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/how-michelle-rhee-is-taking-over-the-democratic-party/262082/

<snip>
head of the American Federation for Teachers, Randi Weingarten, to get her take, she insists that it's the unions who are leading efforts to reform education.

"Does public education need to change? Yes," she said. "Do we not change fast enough? Yes. But Democrats are united about the aspiration of ensuring that every single child gets a decent education and that the investment is there to do that."

As evidence that the unions are part of the new solution, Weingarten noted that was invited to speak at a panel at the convention hosted by Democrats for Education Reform. And as evidence that their influence in the party hasn't waned, she pointed out that she was on the Democratic platform committee.

Rhee, however, remains a lightning rod, and Weingarten is eager to depict her as the one who's out of the Democratic mainstream, calling her an "outlier" who "seems to work a lot more with right-wing Republicans than with Democrats." Nor have the unions reconciled themselves with Race to the Top, which Weingarten said "creates winners and losers at a time when we need to be about all kids, not some kids."