Last night's Daily Show interview subject was Arne Duncan, secretary of education. Duncan carries the ball for the "reform" cause in the Obama administration, particularly Race to the Top.
I had such high hopes for education change when Obama came into office, and I have to say it's one of the areas of the most disappointment for me. (Right after raiding the homes of antiwar activists on the pretense that they give aid and comfort to terrorists.)
John Stewart -- who, as he is wont to remind us -- has a mother who is a teacher, and she has friends who are teachers. And so it's not surprising that they call John about this education reform thing. And they call a lot, it seems, because he's very well informed.
Stewart did a great job of not letting Duncan get away with platitudes, much as he tried.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Exclusive - Arne Duncan Extended Interview Pt. 1 | ||||
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Some other recent education-related reading goodness:
Diane Ravitch giving a succinct primer on her critique of education "reform," plus a review of a new book on Finnish schools -- the right model for U.S. education.
A critique of the Chetty value-added study (that's the one that "proved" having just one great teacher leads to higher incomes).
A wonderful interview with Nancy Carlsson-Paige on what's wrong with testing mania and what kids need. (I know it's silly, but knowing that she's Matt Damon's mother made me wonder what she had to say. More importantly, she's a professor emerita of early childhood ed at Lesley University.)
Apologies for all of the air quotes.
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