Arne Duncan calls "Waiting for Superman" premiere a "Rosa Parks moment"

[madfloridian]

The documentary, Waiting for Superman, is a pro-charter school advertisement basically. Those in attendance included prominent politicians, many of whom are part of Arne Duncan's "reform" movement.

I can't say it better than this blogger did about why that is such an outrageous thing to say.

Arne Duncan's "Rosa Parks Moment"

What Arne said:

Calling it a "Rosa Parks moment," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan put a momentous stamp on the upcoming release of Davis Guggenheim's education-reform documentary "Waiting for Superman."

That is an absurd comparison.

I can think of a couple of ways that this feature-length marketing tool for Eli Broad is not a Rosa Parks moment. First, the person taking the big risk of defying the racist policy that would put black people at the back of the bus was a black person--Rosa Parks. Who is risking what in this present charade crusade? Well, some philanthro-capitalists are risking many millions of dollars, some would say, even though 33 cents on every dollar invested is given back in tax credits. The payoffs could be astronomical, too, if the charterites prevail and end up replacing public schools in urban areas. But Bill Gates or Eli Broad will never go to jail for their efforts or have their livelihoods or lives put in jeopardy.

Another difference between Rosa Parks and the Walton Foundation (it's too absurd a juxtaposition to even be funny) is that Rosa Parks actually had the support of the civil rights community behind her. In the present instance that Arne thinks is a "Rosa Parks moment," the following organizations have offered withering criticism of Arne's Blueprint:

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
National Council for Educating Black Children
National Urban League
Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Schott Foundation for Public Education

Trouble is that Arne Duncan managed to steal the spotlight from the civil rights groups by scheduling a meeting with them at the very same time they had scheduled their announcement of their criticisms.

In late July, the nation's leading civil rights organizations issued a withering critique of the Obama administration's education policies. Did you see it? It would be understandable if most people never even heard about it because of the circumstances under which it was released. The statement was issued by the NAACP, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Urban League, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the National Coalition for Educating Black Children, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the Schott Foundation for Public Education. The press briefing was canceled at the last minute, when the leaders were invited to meet with Secretary Arne Duncan at the very hour they had scheduled their press briefing.

The statement—titled "Framework for Providing All Students an Opportunity to Learn"—got little media coverage, but its detractors got plenty. Columnist Ruth Marcus in The Washington Post castigated the civil rights groups for daring to challenge President Obama, as did an editorial in The Wall Street Journal titled "Civil rights groups choose the teachers unions over black kids." (Subscription required for full text.) A hedge-fund manager associated with the pro-charter group "Democrats for Education Reform" called the civil rights leaders "gutless weasels" and accused them of putting the interests of the teachers' unions over the future of minority children.

The only thoughtful reprise of the 17-page document was in Valerie Strauss's blog in The Washington Post, The Answer Sheet, where she explained its main points ("Civil Rights Groups Skewer Obama Education Policy")

The report was pretty well ignored after that. Here is more about their backing down from a strong stance.

Seven civil rights groups which criticized Arne's education agenda apparently fall in line.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan defended the Obama administration's education reform agenda before the National Urban League today, declaring that some of the arguments being made to justify a new framework that several civil rights groups released on Monday were flat out wrong.

The Urban League, which joined at least six other civil rights groups in calling for Duncan to reverse course on Race to the Top, charter schools, and turnaround models for low-performing schools, welcomed him with open arms. They interrupted his 30-minute speech several times with applause. Hugh B. Price, the former president of the Urban League, even called the Obama-Duncan education agenda the "most muscular federal education policy I've ever seen," adding, "We've got your back."

This is a fairly dramatic about-face from the run-up to Monday's release of the highly critical framework, which was supposed to be unleashed with a public relations boom—complete with a press conference featuring prominent black leaders such as the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson calling for a new education direction. Instead, the whole thing fizzled, and left this blogger puzzled as to how strongly the groups still support their own framework.

The whole thing "fizzled", they did not stand behind their declaration and were pre-empted by an Arne press conference in which they applauded him.

And Arne calls the premiere of a movie financed and publicized by billionaires and charter school advocates.....a "Rosa Parks moment."

That kind of arrogance stuns me.

[Starry Messenger]

1. Barf!

:puke: Is it against the law for white people to make movies?? wtf is he even talking about?

[speppin]

2. its a stupid analogy.

[Starry Messenger]

8. The whole premise is amazingly dumb.

[madfloridian]

14. He speaks in meaningless talking points.

And this one makes no sense at all.

[Starry Messenger]

15. Maybe he and Tony Robbins were separated at birth.

How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to?
Tony Robbins




Hurricane Katrina Was The 'Best Thing' For New Orleans Schools
Arne Duncan

:crazy:

[n2doc]

3. Kind of like Glenn Beck claiming MLK jr's legacy

What is it with these folks trying to scam off of the Civil Rights heros?

[LWolf]

10. I don't know what's with them, but they make me sick.

:puke:

[madfloridian]

20. And Arne put a damper on their press release moment.

Took it over for himself.

[defendandprotect]

32. RW propaganda trading on the public's positive reaction to Rosa Parks, MLK, Jr. ...

Civil Rights Era!!

It's intended to shortcuit any real thinking on the part of the listener --

and cover up the crime being committed by those involved in this money-making

Charter school/testing monster which Obama -- and all Democrats -- should be

fighting against rather than abetting!!

and, more than likely children "of color" will be the most seriously hurt in

this Obama/Duncan scam.

[Supersedeas]

51. the potential business and movement of capital potential associated with privitizing every public

school....must be a boon for his 'collegues' and "associates"

[Jakes Progress]

38. Not kind of like - just like.

Someone whose whole program will set back minorities for decades claiming the mantle of a real hero.

The fact that Obama can't see through this snake-oil liar and falls for his crap tells me he lacks the perception and judgement to be president. We screwed up big time.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. I want to be a terrorist again

I miss Rod Paige more and more every day.

[madfloridian]

5. Yup...Paige called teachers' unions terrorist organizations.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/6583

"Education Secretary Rod Paige says he chose poor words in calling the nation's largest teachers union a "terrorist organization," but he stands by his claim that the group uses "obstructionist scare tactics" in its fight over the nation's education law.

Paige used the terrorist reference Monday in a private White House meeting with governors while answering a question about the National Education Association, which has 2.7 million members. His words startled members of his audience, triggered outrage from prominent Democrats and deepened the divide between the country's top education official and its largest union.

Paige told The Associated Press in an interview that he made the comment in jest.

"I was making what I now know was a bad joke; it was a poor choice of words," Paige said. "I was referencing the Washington-based organization in general, not teachers."



The more he explained the worse it got.

[Fumesucker]

6. I'm sure Arne and Rod are on the same Paige...err... page.. n/t

[madfloridian]

7. lol

:rofl:

[defendandprotect]

33. Think we all know who the "terrorists" are in government and corporations .... NOT teachers union!!

not the teachers --

But obviously this gang of corporates in the White House are after that union!!

Total destrustion of our system of public education can't really be under way

until the teachers and their union are disappeared!

[MichiganVote]

9. Haven't seen the movie. HAVE seen negativity that oozes from Duncan toward public school employees

Imagine if Gates talked about people in the military the way Duncan and Obama slam public education employees.

Or how about the FEMA Director crapping all over their people?

Maybe the FBI should call out their "bad" people....

Just obscene. That's what this administration is doing to educators in the name of "progress".

[madfloridian]

11. Arne is arrogant toward public school teachers.

Period. He does not care what we think. And Democrats are allowing him to dismantle public education, brag about it, and then they fall in line.

[Overseas]

12. K&R! //nt

[madfloridian]

13. More from the report of the civil rights groups.

"The report also takes issue with the Obama administration's reliance on charter schools: "...we are concerned about the overrepresentation of charter schools in low-income and predominantly minority communities. There is no evidence that charter operators are systematically more effective in creating higher student outcomes nationwide...while some charter schools can and do work for some students, they are not a universal solution for systemic change for all students, especially those with the highest needs."

Nor do the civil rights groups support the idea of using test scores as a "sole or primary measure of teacher effectiveness." They believe that schools in low-income and minority communities need a stable and effective staff that is committed to schools over the long haul, and they propose that "any measure of teacher effectiveness must account for the degree of difficulty of the teaching environment so that high-quality teachers will not be deterred from working in high-need schools."

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/2010/09/dear_deborah_in_late_july.html

[laughingliberal]

16. +1 nt

[madfloridian]

17. Interesting paragraph from Huff post on the premiere.

"Waiting for Superman accepts a theory of learning that is embarrassing in its stupidity. In one of its many little cartoon segments, it purports to show how kids learn. The top of a child's head is cut open and a jumble of factoids is poured in. Ouch! Oh, and then the evil teacher union and regulations stop this productive pouring project. The film-makers betray no understanding of how people actually learn, the active and agentive participation of students in the learning process. They ignore the social construction of knowledge, the difference between deep learning and rote memorization. The film unquestioningly bows down to standardized tests as the measure of student knowledge, school success. Such a testing regime bullies aside deeper learning, authentic assessment, portfolio and project based learning. Yes, deeper learning like this is difficult to measure with simple numbers -- but we can't let the desire for simple numbers simplify the educational project. Extensive research has demonstrated definitively that standardized testing reproduces inequities, marginalizes English Language Learners and those who do not grow up speaking a middle class vernacular, dumbs down the curriculum, and misinform policy. It is the wisdom of the misinformed, accepted against educational evidence and research. Never mind, they declare: we will define the future of education anyway."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rick-ayers-/an-inconvenient-superman-_b_716420.html

[RandomThoughts]

18. They know those things.

It is about control, if you make people teach to a test, then who writes the test can set what is taught.

Also it is about hierarchical systems.


The rest is probably disingenuous spin.

[madfloridian]

19. Yep, the test makers set the agenda.

No spin. I don't do that.

[defendandprotect]

30. This is the "Just say NO to education" version of public education....

Thank you for the Huffington comments -- brilliant!

People who think like THAT should be mapping out our education goals -- !!




"Just say YES to testing as a substitute for education" should be thrown

out of the White House!

Unfortunately, we can see the $$$$$$$$$$$$ rolling in for elites -- and the

benefit to the Obama administration for its support of business and opening

new areas of business!!!

Disgusting!!


PS: For a long time now we've been trying to get rid of the standarized tests

for college and rating students -- and law entry, etal -- they are not a test

of anything but one's already existing experiences - most based on opportunities

for travel, education and wealthy parents! And those tests have also been make

huge profits for the test makers!!

It's all garbage --

[girl gone mad]

21. All that money..

and he still can't buy himself a clue.

[madfloridian]

25. ....

More money than any education secretary in history of our country.

[dkf]

22. All I know is allowing a kid to drop out of high school is condemning them to a life of poverty.

And some parents are pretty worthless partners in the goal to educate all our kids. We must find a way to get kids interested in learning despite their parents and despite bad peer pressure.

This is the superwoman/man we need to teach our kids. At the same time, we cannot afford to keep those who can't make the grade.

What does it take to achieve these goals? We need to be more selective in our teachers and compensate them accordingly. But without a screening out process, we are dead in the water.

[madfloridian]

23. Well, then turn it all over to Gates and Broad and Walton Foundations...

And Skillman as well.

Oh,wait, I forgot...Arne has already done that with the blessing of the president.

They really care deeply about the children, I am sure. They will be their supermen. As long as it is profitable.

[madfloridian]

24. Oh, and stop with the pretense that teachers are not "screened" or evaluated.

It is simply not true, and it is so obviously propaganda.

And stop with letting parents and kids off the hook. They have each other for what 4 to 6 years before teachers get them?

If our president does not respect teachers then the students won't either.

[defendandprotect]

31. We don't have a "teacher" or a "student" problem... we have a GREED problem...

exploitation of children the nearest means of money making OPENED UP BY OBAMA!!

Also benefits elites down the line when these kids can't later figure out what's

wrong. This is just more evidence of how cheaply the lives of our children are held --

and how ill equipped we are from keeping this corporate monster from going forward!!

Thought we had some protection from this when we put a Dem president in the White House --

obviously I was wrong!!

We need a new liberal/progressive presidential candidate in 2012!!

[defendandprotect]

26. An outrageous bit of right wing sloganeering ....and doubly outrageous if Arne Duncan happens

to be AA????

[Catshrink]

27. Arne Duncan is full of shit.

Someone had to say it.

[defendandprotect]

29. Absolutely correct -- but how do we find a way to fight back on all of this ...!!???

and when I say "all of this" I mean that this attack on public education is

really similar to everything Obama/team are doing to "people's" government --

PRIVATIZING it !!

Ugh!

[defendandprotect]

28. Don't know how anyone here could defend what Obama/Arne are doing to public education!!!

Thanks for keeping us informed -- though the news is ever more frightening with

each new report on it!

Haven't read all of this yet -- back later!



And just a PS on this ... I think it's very emblematic of what Obama is doing to

everything else in government they are touching -- PRIVATIZING IT --!!

[RandomThoughts]

34. They wont get away with it if that is there intent.

Letting those that might do that fail, if that is there intent, it is the fair thing to do.

They might not be doing that, how would you know, the news? heh...

[defendandprotect]

48. Clarify ... are you saying Obama/Arne aren't supporting Charter schools vs public?

[Jakes Progress]

39. What do you mean you don't know how some here defend it.

Haven't you seen that man in a bathing suit? That's all they need.

[defendandprotect]

47. Ah ... yes ... the beautiful pictures ....

amazing how desperate so many DU'ers are to try to have confidence in this

man and avoid recognizing what he is actually doing!!

Frightening!!

[Jefferson23]

35. Duncan should be ashamed of himself, I can't stand this freaking guy. n/t

[defendandprotect]

49. But ... how can you ignore that this is Obama/Duncan policy ... that Obama picked Duncan????

[Jefferson23]

53. Hi ya defendandprotect! Trust me, I haven't ignored. Sad to

say there more than a few other key players I carry a low opinion of that Obama has picked.

[defendandprotect]

56. Evidently, he just picked Lew...an ex Citicorp Exec to head OMB... Office management/budget???

OUCH !!! again ... and again ... and again ...

[Bossy Monkey]

36. Sure it was a Rosa Parks moment. She was taken from the bus and arrested n/t

[sulphurdunn]

37. Duncan is just another corporatist

predator. Like any good predator, he feeds on those least able to defend themselves. In this case, poor, inner city kids. When wolves are eating the sheep, the shepherd must become a hunter, Little Cricket.

[defendandprotect]

50. And . . . OBAMA picked him ... let's stop ignoring that ... PLEASE ...!!

[sulphurdunn]

52. Yes, another inconvenient truth.

[EFerrari]

40. Kick

Stunned is the right description.

[Radical Activist]

41. I didn't have much interest in this movie but I'll have to see it after all these posts.

It obviously ruffled some feathers.

Looking at the links, it appears that the concerns of civil rights groups were overblown by a few pundits at first, and were at least partially addressed. I find it extremely insulting to those groups to suggest that their position is based on nothing but the fact that Duncan had a press conference. I don't take such a patronizing view of civil rights leaders. Perhaps they realize that the status quo is unacceptable for struggling schools in urban areas. It doesn't appear that most civil rights groups agree with all the positions taken by NEA.

[chervilant]

42. Durn...

Obama and Arne Duncan--under the guise of 'fixing' public education--are vilifying teachers and teachers' unions. According to both men, the problem du jour in public education is 'bad teachers' who cannot be fired because they have tenure. According to both men, teachers' unions are rabidly protecting a plethora of bad teachers.

What a load of El Toro PooPoo!!

With a 40% illiteracy rate in our adult population, it's clear there's something amiss with public education. However, distilling public education's myriad challenges into a 'bad teacher' meme is both simplistic and misleading.

Our children deserve our heartfelt dedication to providing them an exemplary education. Our society MUST become truly child-centric in order to achieve this. Expanded funding, parental participation, and contemporary technology are a fair start in the right direction. Healthy, palatable meals should be a given. Physical activity (and not just competitive sports) should punctuate the lengthy school day, and habituate exercising. These are but a few of the essential elements of exemplary education.

The corporatists (with whom both Obama and Duncan are in collusion) would like to 'privatize' education, which is just 'corporatist-speak' for slashing costs and increasing profitability. The corporatists' ubiquitous red herring strategies are manifest in their 'bad teacher' meme. And, if they have their way, monied charter schools will predominate in 'wealthier' neighborhoods, and our low-income children won't stand a chance of getting a good education.

Please, don't be complicit and don't let them destroy public education.

[cjbgreen]

43. Really

And I suppose you hold Doctors accountable for the failure of our medical system? Seriously, do you know anything about what it takes to education children?
And poverty has nothing to do with the lives of children?
Have you ever worked with children who have headaches because they haven't eaten for two days, were up all night because of gunshots or were raped.
Oh I want to turn my education over to those honorable effective free market bankers. Or yes lets give Mayoral control to Sarah Palin.
RTTT is a horrible, dangerous fraud. Take a look at the Economic Policy Institute's paper on Value-Added teacher evaluation systems. August 29th 2010.

[chervilant]

44. Oh, dear,

please reread what I posted herein above. You've either misunderstood, or you might want to work on your comprehension skills. Also, please check out my myriad posts denigrating the 'bad teacher' meme promulgated by Obama, Duncan, and the corporatists who seem bent on vilifying teachers and destroying teachers' unions.

Again, blaming the myriad problems in public education on 'bad teachers' is simplistic and misleading. It is a RUSE. It is patently ABSURD. It is WRONG.

I don't know how to be clearer about my position in defense of teachers.

(The ability to READ is meaningless if you cannot COMPREHEND what you read...)

[cjbgreen]

45. Defending teachers

Yes your position is clear and we agree.

[KamaAina]

46. Was this the same premiere at which charter darling Michelle Rhee dissed DC voters?

the majority of whom are African American.

Arne needs a hot, steaming cup of STFU. :grr:

[Pisces]

54. It is so sad that many on this board cannot admit that inner city schools are failing and

that we have a serious problem. Some are trying to do something about it and other just want to sit on their hands. The education union is similar to the postal union. It is hard to fire the bad people.
This is not an advertisement for charter schools, they want to close bad charters. It is pointing out that we are failing the poor kids. Rich kids are going to private schools or the best charters.

I already know this dance and my kids are barely going to be in kindergarden. We are on the wait list for the best charter school in our area. The numbers between the public school and the charter are
staggering. There are also other charters in are area that I am not interested in. This is about getting the best for your kids. Politics aside that is all anyone should care about. The KIDS.

Unfortunately many on this board are invested in teachers being victims. The kids are on the losing end. As a parent I am disgusted by the entrenched thinking of so many.

[ibegurpard]

55. NO ONE is suggesting there aren't problems in inner city schools

the main problem, among many, for inner city schools is the lack of a tax base and lack of parental and community support for MANY of the kids (and I'm not suggesting they don't WANT to support them...they CAN'T).
However, we have corporate vultures that want to take advantage of this to swoop in and set up their private charter schools.
Why don't they donate that money to the starved school systems and to set up supplemental support programs for inner city kids?
Because they want to control the schools and the curriculum to churn out unquestioning little corporate drones.

[Freddie Stubbs]

57. It won the Audience award for Best Documentary at Sundance:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance_10_awards_in_progress/P1/

[Dappleganger]

58. Highly offensive.

He should be torn a new one over this statement.