Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Education Secretary to Memphis, Shelby County: Go for the Gold
Posted by Jackson Baker on Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 1:19 AM
- JB
- Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (left) and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander listen to Memphis schools superintendent Criner Cash
Duncan and Alexander met on Monday with the others at two local venues — the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering, where STEM education (for science, technology, engineering, and math) was the subject, and the Soulsville Charter School on McLemore, where the future of charter schools formed the core of a wide-ranging discussion of education.
. Both stops were part of what Duncan has billed as his “Listening and Learning Tour.”
Summing up after the Soulsville conversation, Duncan told the media, “Because of the leadership of the president and the support of the Congress, we’ve got unprecedented discretion and resources. We’ve been able to see dramatic changes around the country in the past seven months, whether it’s 47 states coming together to think about common standards or a number of states, including Tennessee, removing restrictions on innovations, like charter laws.”
Calling himself a “huge fan” of Alexander’s, whose tenure as governor a generation ago was characterized by an a focus on educational change, Duncan, said, “We’d love to see the city and state compete vigorously for funding. We’re looking for dramatic change, not incremental change.” He said more than $10 billion would shortly be available under such sources as “Race to the Top, Teacher Incentive Funds, and Investment in Innovation funds.”
During the discussion at Soulsville, Alexander had recalled the Master Teacher program introduced under his administration as governor 25 years ago to reward innovative teachers and suggested that a local version of it might well qualify for Teacher Incentive Funds.
Comments (3)
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How about focusing on the basics first? When kids graduating high school are not proficient in basic English and math skills, there really isn't much need to pour money into advanced learning programs.
Also, what ever happened to vocational training? The thought that EVERY person should go to college is just plain stupid. College is great for some people, but not for everyone. When I was in high school, MCS had a fairly decent vo-tech program. Providing skilled training that allows students to enter the workforce as an apprentice in a trade would do far more to help this city and the nation overall, then trying to guide every single soul to college.
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Despite past federal support directed toward the needs of low income students, most 4th and 8th graders did not make noticeable progress on the National Assessment of Educational Progress between 2005-2007. Most federal dollars merely keep past programs intact with nothing new. In the past 40 years, we have quadrupled our per-pupil spending, but student performance remains essentially at the same level as in 1970 according to the NAEP, the ‘nation’s report card’. Lastly, there is nowhere in the US Constitution that allows federal entanglement or subsidy in the area of education. Whatever the feds subsidize, they always control; as in dictating whatever ideology they choose into the textbooks. Interestingly, hardly any political supporters of public schools send their children there. They mainly select private schools, i.e. Kennedy's, Clinton's, et al.
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