What Arne Duncan was (maybe) thinking in his letter to teachers

By Aaron Pallas

As part of Teacher Appreciation Week, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan published an open letter to America’s teachers. Perhaps Secretary Duncan writes his own speeches—but the fact that the U.S. Department of Education lists 124 employees for the Office of Communications and Outreach suggests otherwise. Perhaps the secretary’s mind wanders as he reads the texts prepared for him—and perhaps he inserts his own thoughts as he reads along. Here’s Duncan’s letter, along with what I imagine just what those thoughts might be.


I have worked in education for much of my life. I have met with thousands of teachers in great schools and struggling schools, in big cities and small towns, and I have a deep and genuine appreciation for the work you do. I know that most teachers did not enter the profession for the money. (That’s why I’m such a strong supporter of basing merit pay on growth in students’ test scores.) You became teachers to make a difference in the lives of children, and for the hard work you do each day, you deserve to be respected, valued, and supported. (And as long as it doesn’t get in the way of raising test scores, I’m committed to that goal.)

I consider teaching an honorable and important profession, and it is my goal to see that you are treated with the dignity we award to other professionals in society. (Recall how outspoken I’ve been in the face of portrayals of teachers as incompetent in forums such as the film ‘Waiting for Superman.’) In too many communities, the profession has been devalued. (Perhaps you’ve heard of Central Falls, R.I., which did the right thing for kids by firing every teacher in the district.) Many of the teachers I have met object to the imposition of curriculum that reduces teaching to little more than a paint-by-numbers exercise. I agree. (Given the narrowing of the curriculum that our policies continue to promote, though, it’s more like paint-by-a-single-number. And who decided that the number should be 6?)

Inside your classroom, you exercise a high degree of autonomy. (Unless, of course, you want to be able to hold onto a job in which the performance of teachers and schools is based almost entirely on students’ standardized test scores.) You decide when to slow down to make sure all of your students fully understand a concept, or when a different instructional strategy is needed to meet the needs of a few who are struggling to keep up. (You also have a great deal of control over how many hours a day you devote to test preparation.) You build relationships with students from a variety of backgrounds and with a diverse array of needs, and you find ways to motivate and engage them. I appreciate the challenge and skill involved in the work you do and applaud those of you who have dedicated your lives to teaching. (Of course, I also applaud those of you who have dedicated the first two years of your lives after college to teaching before moving on to your real careers, which is why we awarded Teach for America $50 million in our Investing in Innovation competition.)

more . . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/what-arne-duncan-was-maybe-thinking-in-his-letter-to-teachers/2011/05/04/AFdX3urF_blog.html#pagebreak

Hitler congratulating you on your bar mitzvah.

This is the only letter of appreciation a lot of teachers got this week.

He is totally clueless, isn't he!

dedicating your lives crap? Whatever happened to just being a good professional? Oh that's right. Flunkin' Duncan wouldn't know a professional if he saw one.

When oh when will education get a REAL educator with leadership skills for this post?

cheezus