Arne Duncan says Obama agrees with NJ GOP thug Gov. Christie on education

[yurbud]

Chris Christie is something straight out of 19th century Thomas Nast cartoon, so obviously a corrupt thug without even the normal Republican pretense of religiosity that the mere mention of his name should be an indictment of the GOP.

Instead, Obama's Secretary of Education is saying his president agrees this moral filth.

A talking point like this is probably meant to reassure the rich that Obama will carry their water as far and as faithfully on breaking teachers unions and privatizing public education to funnel our tax dollars into their already wealthy pockets, but it demoralizes teachers who are going to vote for him because he's better than Romney but still kicking them in the nuts.

It is also worth noting what the interview asked and Duncan couldn't answer: why are you continuing with this set of policies even though they don't seem to work?

The obvious answer is because they are being paid to since the research and even common sense don't support the conservative education reform agenda at all.

Additionally, every time the two parties agree on something like this, it effectively deprives us of democracy on the issue since we get the same thing however we vote.

Here is the latest interview with the Secretary of Education. It begins with a stomach-turning but accurate admission that education is the one thing that President Obama and the teacher-bashing governor of New Jersey Chris Christie agree on. How's that for a reassuring opening?

When asked why the evidence for the reforms he is pushing seems weak, Duncan replies it is because they are new and therefore don't have a 50-year track record. Oh, please, they don't have any track record at all, yet he is pushing these untested, invalid measures on schools across the nation. Of course, everyone wants great teachers and great principals and great schools, but nothing he is doing is producing those results.

The questioner gently asks why there were no "dramatic" improvements in New York City or Washington, D.C. or Chicago, where Duncan was in charge for eight years. The answer is so vague as to be indecipherable. Ten years of Duncan-style reform in New York City, six years in D.C., twelve years in Chicago, and nothing to show for it. Just have faith! Believe!

http://wp.me/p2odLa-1f7

[Orlandodem]

1. Arne Duncan is why I may not vote.

nt.

[Angry Dragon]

2. a non-vote solves nothing

[yurbud]

3. and a vote will be taken as an endorsement for business as usual

it's kind of a catch-22 for those of us taken for granted.

[seanpencil]

4. Arne Duncan is a professional phony

[yurbud]

5. more like a professional thief.

[seanpencil]

8. "feeding at the public trough"

[DionDem]

6. Education is just as easy to demagogue as Religion

Putting education in the hands of politicians is like putting religion in their hands. They will never be truly accountable for their actions, and can say pretty much anything and it won't really matter.

Duncan is the perfect middle-of-the-roader for a President like Obama who sees little political advantage in making any bold moves on education.

The best alternative to this crappy system is to homeschool our kids.

[seanpencil]

7. middle of the road?

[DionDem]

9. Yes, as far as the current "debate" on "school reform" goes

Compared to my own philosophy of education, of course, he's a stark raving mad extremist.

But then I've felt that way about most of my teachers, too.

[seanpencil]

10. it's privatization, that's all

forget "philosophy." That's window dressing.

[yurbud]

11. it's hard to see him as "middle of the road" when conservative praised his selection

anything "middle of the road" about Obama's K-12 ed policy seems to come from Obama himself not Duncan.

[DionDem]

12. Yes,

and isn't that the convenient thing about being in Obama's position? He can play warm and fuzzy to the masses while his underlings pursue tough policies. See, also, medical marijuana.

[yurbud]

13. that's using the word "tough" the way it's used in DC. Most of us would call it

corrupt.

In DC, "making the tough decisions" is code for screwing the people who voted for you in favor of those who can get you re-elected and make you rich (or richer).