Obama's schools czar heads to Sept summit

[HeresyLives]

Premier Dalton McGuinty is convening a September summit in Toronto of U.S. President Barack Obama's schools czar and other international experts to examine further education reforms, the Star has learned.

Timed to coincide with the start of Ontario's landmark all-day learning for 4- and 5-year-olds this coming school year, the "Building Blocks for Education: Whole System Reform" conference will push new initiatives to boost the system.

The summit, scheduled for Sept. 13-14, will be co-chaired by famed reformers Michael Fullan and Sir Michael Barber, gurus to McGuinty and instrumental in former British prime minister Tony Blair's revamp of public education.

Featured as a key presenter will be Obama's secretary of education, Arne Duncan, famed for a "tough love" approach that helped clean up Chicago's schools.

http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/education/schoolsandresources/article/781566--obama-s-schools-czar-tops-mcguinty-guest-list

[Catshrink]

1. Riiiiight

"Featured as a key presenter will be Obama's secretary of education, Arne Duncan, famed for a "tough love" approach that helped clean up Chicago's schools."

:crazy:

"Previous to becoming Secretary of Education, Duncan was head of public schools in Chicago where he closed 75 schools. And throughout his first year of service in the Obama administration he has championed his Chicago strategy nationwide. But research following up the effects of school closings in Chicago has found that Duncan's strategy "had no significant impact on performance for most students". The vast majority of the students affected by school closings were sent to schools that were low performing, just like those they left behind. Forty percent of the students were enrolled in schools that were on academic probation, 42 percent were enrolled in schools with test scores in the lowest quartile in the city, and just 6 percent ended up in schools that out-performed the schools where the students came from.

In addition to having dismal academic results, Duncan's school closings led to considerable social and economic problems for the families affected. Working-class families, many living in poverty, were thrown into disruption. Closings "led to a surge in violence" as reassignments sent students across gang lines and heightened long running disputes between neighborhood teens. And as students found themselves in chaotic, alienating surroundings the number of school expulsions soared to unprecedented heights."

http://www.openleft.com/diary/17602/wave-of-creative-destruction-swamping-us-schools

[HeresyLives]

3. And the 'other side' would be...?

[Fire1]

5. Oops! Wrong place.

[Catshrink]

8. I presented the "other side"

to counter the claim that Duncan "cleaned up Chicago schools." :rofl: If you want to present the pro-charter, pro-privatization "side" by all means, go for it. I'm just surprised that "she who must be ignored" hasn't chimed in yet.

[HeresyLives]

9. No, I meant the other side...opposite to yours.

He must be doing something right, and I'd like to have an objective look at it.

[Catshrink]

10. Why would I do your research for you?

But I will tell you this: his main qualification for the job, since he has never taught or worked in education until his Chicago scam, is laying basketball with Obama.

[HeresyLives]

11. No need, he's a world leader now.

Wikipedia entry and everything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arne_Duncan

Hmmmm Magna cum laude...not too shabby.

I like this quote: "I believe that the quality of our education system says as much about the long-term health of our economy as the stock market, the unemployment rate and the size of the gross domestic product."

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. ROFLMAO!!!!

Yep, wikipedia means success.

Good grief. You're talking to teachers. You could at least pretend you have some critical thinking skills.

:rofl:

[HeresyLives]

16. No, I'm talking to ideologues.

[Catshrink]

18. No, you're talking to people who know what they're talking about.

We're talking to someone with no clue.

[HeresyLives]

20. On ideology. LOL

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. By referring to wikipedia to prove Arne knows how to fix schools?

:rofl:

[HeresyLives]

23. No, wikipedia is an information source.

Did you think it was something else?

[tonysam]

17. Arne's dumber than a box of rocks. Not to mention he is a liar.

Exhibit A: Duncan Dumbed Down Chicago, Now Blames George W. Bush for It (Substance News is based in Chicago and goes into detail about how "great" Arne did--he was a fucking disaster)

One of the things that Chicago reporters who paid attention came to know within a year or two after Mayor Richard M. Daley made novice Arne Duncan the "Chief Executive Officer" of Chicago's public schools in July 2001 was that Duncan lied, almost all the time. When Duncan wasn't lying directly, we would simply make up facts or say "I'll get back to you on that" when asked a question he wanted to avoid when the TV cameras were on. No matter what the question, Duncan never got back, because he didn't have an answer. During the years Duncan was 'CEO' of Chicago's massive (400,000 students; 600 or more schools), the lies just grew, from budget claims to test score gains. It got to the point where when people would ask me about the latest outrageous claim, I'd just say "The best way to tell when Arne Duncan is lying is when his mouth opens and words come out."

Duncan was a novice at running a school system, but a master at repeating the lies he was fed as part of his programming. He was eventually warned never to go off script, because when he did (as the country recently learned with his remarks about Hurricane Katrina being good for New Orleans) anything was possible. The only prominent Chicagoan who would be more ludicrous off script was the man who created Arne Duncan, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

So it was no surprise on March 9, 2010, to learn that Arne Duncan, accompanied by former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett, was on CNN News, lying.

...

On March 9, 2010, as U.S. Secretary of Education and Bennett's successor (at a distance) Arne Duncan appeared on CNN and told the nation that it was time to "stop lying" about test scores.

Like Bennett before him, Duncan left out most of the facts. And the most important facts left out by Duncan — and ignored by CNN — was that Duncan had been the main liar on behalf of those test scores that had gone "up" all but one of the years when Duncan headed Chicago's school system.

Substance News

Arne is a dumb, destructive bureaucrat.

[HeresyLives]

19. Magna cum laude isn't dumb.

And opinion isn't fact.

[tonysam]

22. Well, you don't have any. Pathetic you are so invested in Obama

that facts can't change it.

Arne's a fucking idiot, stupider than Bush. I am not fucking impressed with his academic credentials. Besides, that's NOT why Obama picked him; it's because he played basketball with him.

You are pathetic.

[HeresyLives]

24. You guys gonna come up with some facts

any time soon?

Because I don't care about your opinion...on Arne, Obama or me.

[Fire1]

2. Whoppi. n/t

[HeresyLives]

4. LOL is that a good or a bad whoppi?

[Fire1]

6. Definitely sarcasm with as little excitement as possible. n/t

[HeresyLives]

7. World expert now. Leading the way.

[madfloridian]

12. So....we get to share Arne with the Canadians.

They are so lucky. :eyes:

[HeresyLives]

13. Brits too. And anything that will work is fine with us.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Clean up?

Arne's pushing a broom now?

I am still waiting for anyone to explain how firing everyone, even the custodians, benefits the kids. :shrug:

Also still waiting for those test scores in Chicago to go up . . . . . . . . Not holding my breath though.

[Catshrink]

25. Posting for bucks?

Think we have another one?

[HeresyLives]

26. If you were actually teachers,

you could have answered my questions with facts, quickly and easily, 20 posts ago.

[Catshrink]

27. What are you?

[HeresyLives]

29. Better educated, obviously.

[Catshrink]

30. I doubt it.

You can't even craft a question.

[HeresyLives]

32. You know it.

[Catshrink]

33. Oh, another post, more $$$

Just what is this question you want answered. Don't be coy now, repeat your question. More money, just think$!$!$!$!

[HeresyLives]

35. I can see why teachers are a problem in the US

[Catshrink]

36. Bye, bye, idiot.

[HeresyLives]

38. Hmmm, professional language too.

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. yes

[Catshrink]

28. Let me summarize this for you:

You posted something about Arne speaking in Canada with the remark about his "approach that helped clean up Chicago's schools."

I responded with evidence questioning that assertion.

You asked me for the "other side." Here's the question: the other side of what? Do you want me to dig up information singing Arne's praises? There isn't any. He himself admits that what he did didn't have much effect.

And you continue to say "answer the question." I don't know what you want answered and I doubt you do either. Sounds to me like you're either playing a game or posting for dollars, just like a telemarketer that has to keep the person on the line for so many minutes. Which is it?

[HeresyLives]

31. Mmm no, I posted an article.

I expected a discussion.

Seeing as I'm supposedly talking to teachers...a learned discussion.

So far what I've gotten is personal attacks and ideological opinions.

I've seen no facts to show that he is right or wrong in his approach.

Really, you should be ashamed.

[Catshrink]

34. No, this much is clear.

You're a fucking idiot.

[HeresyLives]

37. Oh...the state of teaching today?

Well that explains his job.