May 2 through May 6 is Teacher Appreciation Week.
Across the United States, teachers are enjoying sincere expressions of
appreciation from students and parents. Many of these expressions come in the
form of edible treats, but above all teachers treasure the heartfelt notes,
messages and handwritten cards from students for whom they have made a
difference.
Into this week of appreciation stepped Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan with an “Open letter to America’s teachers” published on
Education Week. Duncan is well-known as the point man for the Obama
administration’s anti-teacher “Race to the Top” program, noted for its attacks
on teacher unions, tenure and seniority alongside promotion of merit pay,
charter schools and increased reliance on standardized testing.
Duncan writes with no apparent irony:
I have met with
thousands of teachers in great schools and struggling schools, in big cities
and small towns, and I have a deep and genuine appreciation for the work you
do. I know that most teachers did not enter the profession for the money. You
became teachers to make a difference in the lives of children, and for the hard
work you do each day, you deserve to be respected, valued, and supported.
I consider teaching an
honorable and important profession, and it is my goal to see that you are
treated with the dignity we award to other professionals in society. In too
many communities, the profession has been devalued. Many of the teachers I have
met object to the imposition of curriculum that reduces teaching to little more
than a paint-by-numbers exercise. I agree….
He concludes his epistle of “appreciation:”
In the next decade,
half of America’s teachers are likely to retire. What we do to recruit, train,
and retain our new teachers will shape public education in this country for a
generation. At the same time, how we recognize, honor, and show respect for our
experienced educators will reaffirm teaching as a profession of nation builders
and social leaders dedicated to our highest ideals. As that work proceeds, I
want you to know that I hear you, I value you, and I respect you.
Duncan then stepped back and waited for a grateful
nation of teachers to say, “Thanks Arne, wow, we feel so much better now that
we know you value and respect us.”
Instead, Duncan received a severe tongue-lashing
from educators and other concerned members of the community in the comments
section of Education Week, which published Duncan’s letter.
“This letter is hypocritical, condescending and
insulting to all teachers,” wrote Stetsonsmom. Commenter Plthomas added, “Few
commentaries could be more disrespectful to the field of teaching than this one
claiming to honor educators this week…” USER924599 put it very directly:
“Respect is appreciated – the pink slip is not.”
Commenter CEB wrote:
I don’t recall seeing
this volume of response to any EdWeek story before. The volume and
content–some really great comments–should send a message. I think the
comments demonstrate that teachers nationwide are seething with resentment from
the Obama administration’s education policies.
Rachel Levy, a former public school teacher and
current parent, wrote:
To put it simply, I
disagree with the neo-liberal education policies you promote: merit pay based
on test scores, accountability based on standardized test scores,
standardization of the curriculum, a punitive approach to struggling schools,
larger class sizes, and running schools and school districts as businesses. Nor
do I share your preference for mayoral control, top-down reforms, and for the
by-passing of democratic processes. I am also very disappointed by your
allowing corporate interests and the uninformed opinions of a few extremely
wealthy individuals to come before those of public school students and parents.
Commenter Tonatiuh attacked the “corporate model” of
education promoted by Duncan:
Duncan’s disingenuous
comments about the recruitment, training, and retention of teachers in the next
decade shows how ignorant, misinformed, or intellectually dishonest he is. His
support for a corporate model of education has resulted in the lay-offs and
dismissal of thousands of teachers across the nation, and these jobs will not
return, because of his support for increased class sizes (Last year I had an
average of 26 students per class, this year my average is 35). If this is the
way he shows honor and respect to real educators, we better be really afraid if
he ever decides to disrespect us….This man is one of the main reasons President
Obama has been a huge disappointment to many of us, who actively and
enthusiastically supported his candidacy across California.
Leonie Haimson laid out the hypocritical contradictions
in Duncan’s program:
As usual, Duncan
ignores the core of the critique from teachers (and parents.) …“There is not
enough focus on inadequate classroom conditions under which many teachers
struggle to teach — including excessive class sizes, especially in our highest
needs areas.
Yet Duncan has proposed
that class sizes should be allowed to further increase, showing a high level of
disrespect for the views of teachers, who overwhelmingly respond in surveys
that the best way to improve their effectiveness would be to reduce class size.
Patrickc45 summed it up:
After reading ALL of
the comments that have been posted for this story (by Arne Duncan), I must say
that I am impressed that real teachers are beginning to find their voices, and
seem to be calling all the rhetoric going around these days . . . what it is!
Mfriedman1 called for action beyond posting online
comments:
Until we bear witness
to serious, relevant changes in the direction of the Department of Education
under Arne Duncan’s leadership, our resistance in favor of effective
alternatives will continue and grow. … We must continue to organize and
mobilize locally, regionally and nationally until we have a powerful movement.
Duncan’s open letter and the reactions from
educators can be read on the Education Week website.
