Education Secretary Arne Duncan Says School Principals Must Act Like CEOs

[Karmadillo]

There's a brief podcast at the site if you have the stomach for it.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/best-leaders/2009/12/04/education-secretary-arne-duncan-says-school-principals-must-act-like-ceos.html

As a former pro basketball player in Australia, Arne Duncan knows that teamwork is essential for success. As secretary of education, he's faced with the challenge of turning the nation's millions of teachers, principals, and administrators into a team of innovators all working toward the same goal: to transform the American public school system.

Duncan says that one of the major ways to get this done is to make sure that principals have the same skills as CEOs. "We have to treat them as such, and we have to train them as such," he says in this new podcast, the second in a series of interviews with some of the nation's brightest leaders.

more...

[rfranklin]

1. Sure, let them fire the students who don't measure up!

What total hogwash! This is part of the effort to corporatize our public schools.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Let's fire the parents instead

[FBaggins]

16. Well... THAT sure explains a lot -

:-)

[waterscalm]

5. As the media focuses on health care and the war, Duncan has

set in place the machine of corporate works in our schools. Most comes from his funding of charter schools and corporate money coming into districts.

[Dinger]

66. Welcome To DU!!!!

And I mean that in a good way!:hi: :thumbsup: :patriot:

[waterscalm]

78. Thank you Dinger.

[marshall]

18. I wish they would stop trying to push every single student into the same sausage grinder

Come up with different tracks and different diplomas to mirror the different talents and interests, somewhat like the A levels and O levels that Britain has.

[madrchsod]

22. i`d say they do fire the students.....

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Time once again for the Blueberry Story

http://www.jamievollmer.com/blue_story.html

[donco6]

4. He has no idea of the role of a principal.

And using the example of a CEO in this day and age? After all we've been through with CEOs? Fuck that.

[QC]

6. He might well be Obama's single most outrageously bad appointment,

and the competition for that title is stiff indeed.

[tonysam]

8. And perhaps the most destructive of all, for schools are deteriorating

right before our eyes now with this push for privatization and charters by a so-called "Democratic" administration.

[QC]

9. Only Nixon could go to China...

and only a "Democrat" could get us RomneyCare, and privatized public schools, and Social Security and Medicare privatization and...

[tonysam]

10. People were warned in the primaries about Obama's neoliberal tendencies,

but they were caught up in the media-inspired excitement. Now we're going to pay the price.

[QC]

12. Yes, and those who warned them got hounded out of here by a shrieking mob.

Then the hounded-out turned out to be right.

[Fumesucker]

29. Same as it ever was, eh?

"Being right too soon is socially unacceptable" -Heinlein

[QC]

30. Yeah, it's like all those people who supported the Iraq War

and then turned against it once it was clearly a disaster being treated like prophets (Andrew Sullivan, anyone) while those who knew it would be a disaster are just dirty fucking hippies.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

36. It is indeed stiff

But living in Chicago I knew what this guy was all about when he appointed him, horrible choice.

[QC]

38. As someone else said, many tried to warn the adoring throngs around here

that Obama and those around him were neolib corporate types, but such people were accused of hating hope and having no pony and such.

[tonysam]

7. What an asshole

There is already a huge problem with administrators who are either tyrants or incompetents, and they are supported no matter what by school districts. We don't need more horseshit being spewed by an idiot in the Department of Education.

[Craftsman]

11. Act like CEO's, IOW lying, cheating, ammoral scum?

[tonysam]

13. I hate to tell people, but many principals are that now

They have full support of their districts should teachers challenge them. Nobody closely supervises principals except in the tiniest of school districts; their bosses are typically clear across town. Principals basically do whatever the hell they want. Teachers have no power at all.

[Fire1]

24. The least of which includes supporting their teachers. n/t

[earthside]

27. My Daughter's High School Principal ...

... is an example.

Every other sentence out of his mouth is about "the data." He must spend hours and hours in front of his computer crunching data so that he can decide what to do with the students and teachers (and to prove what a great school he is running).

But you know what Mark Twain said about statistics ...

I don't think he has actually taught in a classroom even for an hour, for years. In other words, he doesn't really have a clue as to what his own teachers and students are doing -- he knows it all because of the 'data' gleaned from the multiplicity of tests that are given every term.

The other sentences out of his mouth are about competing for awards and rewards and propagandizing students to compete on the federally mandated NCLB standardized tests.

Oh ... yup, he was awarded 'Principal of the Year' for 2008-09.

[tonysam]

28. Superintendents are infected with the "data" as well

This is Eli Broad Academy speak, and Broad makes no bones about his attempt to destroy public education.

[proud2BlibKansan]

59. We have to put up data walls

At an elementary school. They list test scores, attendance, etc. For the kindergarteners, they list immunization records.

It's repulsive.

[FBaggins]

14. There's a difference between a chief executive and a chief administrator

And you can't just train one into the other.

The role would need to be changed... And a high percentage of the people.

[yurbud]

20. at the college level, administrators already are paid and act like CEO's with predictably

bad consequences of overpayment, questionable priorities, and sense of entitlement to the opulent life.

[FBaggins]

25. I can see it at the university level

You may very well benefit from a "CEO" for a university... the role is a better fit.

Of course, just as administrators and executives are not the same... the consequences of hiring a bad administrator are not always the same as hiring a bad executive.

[yurbud]

33. we had a bad one the district paid a million dollars to go away

he was heavy handed and abusive with faculty, and played fast and loose with expense accounts, but instead of calling the cops, the trustees paid him to go away because they had benefited from some of the money he was throwing around. Corruption is the hardest thing to weed out of any public system.

[yurbud]

15. because the corporate model is working out so well for Wall Street, banks, and manufacturing jobs...

[GreenPartyVoter]

23. Yep, and because well-educated children are just so many products to churn out of

factory schools.

[yurbud]

34. I was being sarcastic

[GreenPartyVoter]

35. So was I. :^) I really think Arne believes what I said above.

[yurbud]

61. touche! you over-dry humored me.

[izquierdista]

17. No, the students are the "customers"

They get fed toxic lunch from China. The teachers all get pink slips and get replaced with Indians who may, or may not have a command of spoken English.

[QC]

19. The customer service model has been a deadly curse in higher ed.

It's destroying the few standards that are left. Now, if students are unhappy about something, like having to do work and meet deadlines, we are not adequately meeting the needs of our customers.

[Karmadillo]

21. I assume that explains the reduction in required reading?

Many customers at the local high school resent that sort of thing and I'm guessing that doesn't change when they go to college and purchase a degree.

[QC]

26. Well, in many cases they just don't do the reading,

and then they express shock at their lousy grades.

[Catshrink]

32. +1

[janx]

41. After that, they generally do the reading.

;-)

[Catshrink]

43. No they don't

They just keep doing -- or not doing -- the same thing and expect a miracle and then are shocked that they end up with a D or worse.

Some of course, do get it and do the assignment but most are miracle-seekers and are grossly disappointed.

[janx]

44. That was my point.

I'm speaking of higher ed. Yes, if they don't do the required assignments (and where I teach this isn't the norm) they get a bad grade.

When they have to take the course again the next semester, they generally do what is required.

[QC]

46. Yes, like the ones who come to your office in a panic two weeks before the exam

thinking that surely there is something they can do to make up for the last twelve weeks of idleness.

Or the ones who have made Fs on every assignment all semester but think that getting a good grade on the final will save them.

Let no one ever say that America's young people are not optimistic ;-)

[Catshrink]

48. "Can I do some extra credit?"

My answer is "extra credit for you means extra work for me. Where have you been the past three months?"

I always show my students a video of the Tortoise and the Hare at the beginning of the semester as an introduction to my "philosophy." I tell them I have a great deal of respect for those who plod away slowly and steadily, doing their work on time even if it isn't perfect. At least they're making an effort. But those who fly in at the last and try to safe their sorry butts? Sorry. I've got a life lesson for you.

[QC]

49. You know, I seldom offer extra credit anymore,

because I have found that the only ones who do it are those who already have an A but just want to be sure, while those who really *need* extra credit can't be bothered to do it--an attitude toward work that explains why they are failing to start with.

[Catshrink]

51. Ditto

The only time I give extra credit is if a student really does a great job on an assignment or if I screw something up I'll reward students who try. Or... if I'm absent (which I rarely am -- my only absence this year was for jury duty) and the sub shows a video I'll sometimes give extra credit for the video guide or notes. But I'm very stingy with it.

[QC]

68. Yeah, I'm a sucker for the ones who try hard,

and I hate the thought that I might have caused some kind of problem for a student, so I always end up giving in and giving extra credit in situations like those.

[QC]

45. Some. Others still don't figure it out. n/t

[janx]

53. Then they flunk again. n/t

[Lydia Leftcoast]

58. Yes, the "academic" dean at my last teaching position had that attitude

Some of us faculty members were complaining about the increasing number of students who didn't do the assigned work and griped about it at great length if they did condescend to complete an assignment.

The dean's reaction? "You have to remember that you professors are all academic success stories. You have to gear your presentations to your customer base."

The growing prevalence of that kind of nonsense is one of the reasons I'm glad to be out of academia.

In just the 11 years of my college teaching career, I saw more administrative bloat, more treating the students as customers who had to be pleased, more money wasted on fancy but unnecessary facilities while more necessary facilities (like the library?) were below par, and more use of underpaid adjuncts instead of full-time professors.

[QC]

64. Your story is a very familiar one for me.

Faculty are in their third year without raises, but our president (who likes calling himself the CEO) recently ran a big fundraiser for the athletic department--God forbid they should feel the same budget pressures as everyone else in the institution.

And now our student evals are being used to make tenure and promotion decisions--though we were told just a few months ago they would not be. Gotta keep those customers happy.

[janx]

67. When standards slide, a college or university eventually

pays the price. It may not seem so since it takes such a long time, but it happens.

[eppur_se_muova]

72. Indeed. Accepting the corporate model was the beginning of the downfall.

And we have not only Gingrich, but sadly, Bill Clinton to thank for letting this idea get undeserved traction.

[QC]

75. Very true. n/t

[surrealAmerican]

31. This would work if the students were ...

... either products or customers. The fact that they aren't will cause problems.

[anonymous171]

37. Too many stupid corporate buzzwords for me to even take seriously

I can't believe Obama nominated this guy

[izquierdista]

39. Fits right in there

With Mr. NewYork Fed for Treasury and Mr. Sameold Sameold for Defense.

[HelenWheels]

40. Another bad Obama choice

My, god, when is Obama going to wake up? This guy is a disaster and will really ruin the school system.

[QC]

47. I think he's wide awake.

Once the election was over and he was relieved of the need to please the voters, he was free to do as he pleased, and things like appointing the likes of Geithner, Summers, and Duncan were what he pleased.

Such actions are who he really is.

[Nikki Stone1]

42. Why do athletes end up in charge of education? They know NOTHING about it.

Are you listening Chancellor Reed?

[omega minimo]

50. They want to privatize and charterize the public school system.

[Catshrink]

52. Yep. His language betrays him.

[tonysam]

54. I might be flamed for this, but if anybody is dumber than GWB,

it's Arne Duncan.

[Catshrink]

56. If not dumber, equal.

and just as inept when it comes to edumacating.

[Jakes Progress]

73. God, I wish he were stupid.

But the problem is that corporate america is his god. Obama is surrounded by corporatists. The only question is whether he did this appointing our of ignorance and naivete or because he is or wishes to be a part of that class.

On good days I lean toward the first. But if I read too much of what is happening, I lean toward the latter.

[omega minimo]

55. Kevin Johnson, Gerald Walpin, Michelle Rhee

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124511811033017539.html

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Gerald-Walpin-speaks-the-inside-story-of-the-AmeriCorps-firing-48030697.html

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Exclusive-Congressional-Report-Rhee-did-damage-control-after-sex-charges-against-fiancee-Kevin-Johnson.html

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

57. Hell, that'd be preferable to what I had in high school.

Our principal was CEO of the liquor cabinet and not much else.

[arcadian]

60. What does that mean, loot the petty cash and shit on the teachers?

They already do that.

Rec, because this needs to be seen.

[LWolf]

62. Education is not a business,

and will never be successful trying to run like one.

Of course, Duncan, as a CEO and not an educator, is ignorant of that simple fact.

I'm not a single-issue voter. I have others that are equal in importance to education: peace as an organizing principle, and universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care, for example.

Obama fails spectacularly on all of the top 3.

If Duncan and the current ed agenda aren't replaced RIGHT NOW, though, I don't see myself casting a vote for Barack Obama EVER in this lifetime.

[struggle4progress]

63. "Let's pay somebody $500 million a year to turn our our school into a burned out empty shell!"

[Dinger]

65. Oh God, Fuck Arne Already

What a complete asshole.

[ljm2002]

69. So he's saying they need to be greedy bastards?

Because in my experience, that is the one common thread among CEOs.

[Jakes Progress]

70. Since his goal is to end public education

and turn the system into corporate education, I guess Principals as CEO's is a logical step.

Took Nixon to go to China. Taking a Democratic administration to corporatize education.

[eppur_se_muova]

71. That's ridiculous! Principals can't sink the world economy while garnering multimillion $$$ bonuses!

I sometimes wonder if Duncan knows what he's talking about. :(

[Brickbat]

74. You mean, like CEOs who pocket lots of money and run companies into the ground, all the while

slashing customer service and shitting on those who consume their products and services? The ones who get lots of money for making the "hard decisions" to gut contracts and lay a bunch of people off? Those kind of CEOS? Because those are pretty much the CEOs I hear about. WTF? BUSINESS IS BROKEN, ACROSS THE BOARD. THERE IS NO REASON TO RUN ANYTHING LIKE A GODDAMN BUSINESS.

[Zomby Woof]

76. I think we should abolish all school administrators

Then again, I think we should abolish all CEO's, so maybe he is on to something there.

[MellowDem]

77. Global competition is why this is the case...

It used to be that the US education system was just about creating an informed citizenry. Citizen being the important thing. That was when the economy relied little on the education of the work force as it was mostly just manufacturing, things that didn't necessarily require an extensive education. Now, schools are trying to prepare kids for the global economy rather than American citizenship.

[omega minimo]

80. They don't care about the kids. They want to privatize and profit from the school system.

[DailyGrind51]

79. In Chicago, he transferred gangbangers from rival gangs into the same schools,

resulting in unrelenting gang violence.