Arne again used a basketball star to push education reforms. In NOLA last week.

madfloridian

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Sun Apr-10-11 12:45 PM
Original message

Arne again used a basketball star to push education reforms. In NOLA last week.

One would think that education and basketball are connected by the way Arne's basketball ties have been used to make him a credible education reformer. The fact that he plays basketball with the president and is 6' 5" does not carry over to expertise in the field of education.

Education chief, CP3 tout teaching

Posted: Friday, 08 April 2011 7:17AM Associated Press Reporting

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and basketball star Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets are among the participants in a Loyola University "town hall" aimed at honoring good teachers and encouraging more people to enter the profession.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Congressman Cedric Richmond also were set to take part in the Friday afternoon meeting.

Loyola says the event is part of the national "TEACH Campaign," which seeks to increase the number, quality and diversity of candidates seeking to become teachers.

Here is more on Arne's visit to New Orleans to discuss the need for great teachers, even as experienced teachers are being laid off all over the country.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visits New Orleans

Three fourths of all students in New Orleans are attending charters now. I guess the 28 million is to "turnaround" the remaining fourth. And combining the basketball theme with education again. I would love to know whose idea that was.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan began his visit to New Orleans today with a panel discussion about the $28 million "Investing in Innovation" grant that will be used to turn around failing schools in the city.

At 2 p.m., Duncan will appear with Mayor Mitch Landrieu, U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond and New Orleans Hornets player Chris Paul at a town hall meeting at Loyola University to discuss the importance of great teachers.

Not long ago Valerie Strauss pointed out how Arne Duncan used the same basketball theme when he was touring Europe.

Is Duncan out of bounds?

From the UNESCO website. "�The Vision of Education Reform in the United States: Keeping the Eye on the Ball!�

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is in Europe this week, visiting first London and then Paris, where he will visit UNESCO headquarters and deliver a speech on Thursday called �The Vision of Education Reform in the United States: Keeping the Eye on the Ball!�

Below is the poster designed to promote the Paris speech.

No. It's not a joke.

I have just one question: Who thought that showing Duncan playing basketball with President Obama was a good idea?

Also here comes Jonathan Alter practically drooling about Arne's 6' 5" frame and his basketball ability...making it seem as though it really matters in the realm of education.

Jonathan Alter's puff piece on Arne Duncan

Matthias Clamer for Newsweek

Alter says Obama wanted Duncan on his team "partly because Duncan is tall (6 foot 5), a former pro player in Australia, and such a good passer that Michael Jordan asked Duncan to help him train for his legendary comeback in 1995."

On Duncan�s left, teachers� unions (especially the National Education Association) try to impede common-sense reform ideas like tenure reform and merit pay. But the liberal chorus that slimes many reasonable reformers as �anti-teacher� can�t do that with Duncan. His lavish praise of teachers (�unsung heroes�) and support for new-teacher training give him cover to push essential reform that the unions don�t like.

And Republicans love Duncan, he says.

His record of achievement is already secure. After talking about national standards for decades, the U.S. has finally adopted them. This is an example of Duncan�s quiet skills. By deleting the word �national� and working through the governors, he bested conservatives who have long refused to accept standards from Washington. Using the lever of Race to the Top, 41 states have adopted �common core� standards in just two years. �For the first time, a child in Mississippi and a child in Massachusetts will be judged by the same yardstick,� he says.

Duncan�s passion is evident every day. �I�m in two, three, four schools a week. I totally need it,� he says. �It gives you energy and lets you know why you�re fighting.� He shoots hoops often with students and brings each school a signed ball.

Actually the reason they are getting "reform" is because they offer large sums of money to districts that do as Arne says to do. They pay them for doing what they want them to do.

And Alter ends his article with another bunch of words about basketball.

Arne Duncan knows this debate won�t be ended with a three-pointer at the buzzer. It�s about energetic and imaginative play that changes the flow of the game.

The constant references to basketball are embarrassing to those of us who are/were teachers and took our profession seriously. We cared about the children, we cared about teaching them. Enough of Arne's basketball themes.

Teachers all over the country are fearful and uneasy....just plain scared. There is no excuse for this to be happening. Someone in our party needs to gather up all their courage and apologize to teachers for deliberately using propaganda to jeopardize their careers.