Duncan's Race

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has 4 billion dollars at his disposal to offer states who want to join the Race to the Top competition for education reform. What’s new? Duncan can call it whatever he wants, but what he has is 4 billion dollars that was taken from taxpayers in the various states or secured by indebtedness, and is now under the control of the education czar to redistribute to those states that due his bidding. The arrogance displayed by Duncan and the DOE to dictate that they know better how to improve education over the states and localities is pathetic. Duncan’s comment: “A low-income, middle class student in San Antonio should not be held to a lower standard in algebra than a student in Shaker Heights or a student in Shanghai,” may resonate with the hope crowd, but these platitudes are hollow where reality occurs. Did Duncan mean low-income and middle class students or did the DOE create a whole new tracking category called low-income, middle class? Is a new sub-population created for NCLB accountability? Probably not, but it shows either misplaced words or his misunderstanding of SES groupings. Additionally, it shows his ignorance of variation in student’s learning abilities. Sure, low and middle income students can learn algebra at a specific standard, but not all. Just the same as upper income children can learn algebra, but not necessarily at the same standard. So this begs the question; what is the standard, and does he really believe that all students can learn algebra at the same “high” standard?

Come on Duncan, this is the same regurgitated mantra that we hear all the time. How about letting the states keep their money to run schools and treat students as individuals; instead of, the federal government violating the 9th and 10th amendments and treating students like an automobile on the production line?