Det News op-ed: ‘Mayoral control isn’t the answer for Detroit schools’
A recent op-ed of mine appeared in one of the big Michigan papers, the Detroit News, not too long ago. It’s about why mayoral control—a bad idea in the first place, I believe—is an even worse idea in a city like Detroit. Education Secretary Arne Duncan came to the Motor City in May to peddle his mayoral-control message to Detroit Public School leaders that, quite frankly, are so shellshocked at this point they might buy into anything for their crumbling city and schools. Hold... Read More
Why you should be worried about Arne Duncan
I’ve got a new piece published at Truthout.org titled “The Corporatization of Public Education” about a recent indication made by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to put more mayors in charge of underperforming urban school districts. Something must be done in many of our urban school districts—to decrease drop-out rates, to boost student achievement, to provide underprivileged students with some stability, to give them the best education available with the... Read More
On education reform, Obama administration (sadly) looks an awful lot like the Bush admininstration
Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. It’s beginning to look like the only difference between the Obama administration’s vision for public education standards — most notably, No Child Left Behind — and the Bush administration’s positions is the name. In today’s New York Times, Sam Dillon reports that President Obama and his shaky point man on education, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, appear poised to continue many of the same test score-based,... Read More
Can merit pay boost Michigan’s ailing schools? Or, why I think Big Ten football could provide a clue to teacher merit pay
That’s the question asked in an article in today’s Detroit Free Press. Let the age-old teacher merit pay commence. After the jump, I break down the fors and againsts of the merit pay debate and put it into context of the Obama administration and Ed. Secretary Arne Duncan. I also offer a few fresh new ideas regarding merit pay. (Think bowl games and Big Ten football.) Join the conversation—let me know what you think. Read More Read More
