Education Secretary Hears from Teachers and Students
Tomorrow Education Secretary Arne Duncan is visiting Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA for a national town hall for students.
The town hall will be a special edition of the Department of Education’s television program, Education News Parents Can Use. It will take place November 24, at 2 p.m.
Throughout the hour-long event, Duncan will take comments and questions from the students in the studio audience and around the nation via telephone, email, and video. Students can contribute to the conversation right now by submitting a question or they may also call the show during the live broadcast at 1-888-493-9382, between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. Eastern. More information here.
Secretary Hears from Teachers Too
Duncan visited Connecticut on his Listening Tour recently and CEA President Phil Apruzzese had the opportunity to meet with him. Below are President Apruzzese’s reflections on the event.
When Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stopped in Connecticut recently on his national “Listening and Learning” tour I met with him to discuss our concerns as classroom teachers.
His primary purpose in traveling to various states is to create a national dialogue about some of the best ways to deliver a complete and competitive education to all children.
During a roundtable discussion at Norwalk Community College in early November, Secretary Duncan talked about early childhood education, accountability, teacher training, funding and other proposals from the Obama administration on how to make the U.S. the world leader in college completion rates by 2020.
Our CEA Executive Director Dr. John Yrchik, as well as a number of local education officials, were invited to participate in this event. To drive the education reform he discussed in Norwalk, Secretary Duncan said he wants to hear directly from classroom teachers about how the federal government can support educators, school districts, and states.
I am encouraged that we have a Secretary of Education who seeks input from educators, asks for out-of-the box thinking, and is willing to challenge us to make education better for our students.
From my perspective, when the Secretary talks about higher standards as a focus of education improvement, he should model his approach after that of most states: feedback, input, and guidance from experienced teacher across all content all areas. Teachers have the knowledge to develop effective standards that can improve our students’ learning.
When a person from the audience asked the Secretary about being a fan of charter schools, he said, “I support good charter schools and good magnet schools that invest in best practices.”
I stressed to the Secretary that while teachers support investing in those best practices he talks about, he and other Washington policymakers need to understand the local impact. Expanding the number of charter schools, extending the school day, school week or school year, and other proposed initiatives will have many ramifications at local and state levels – so it’s important to know what is being proposed before implementing any drastic changes.
My message to Secretary Duncan was very straightforward: Teachers are willing to work with federal policymakers to help set guidelines to ensure that our students get the quality education they deserve. However, as the professionals who deliver the learning, we have perhaps the best perspective on what works and what doesn’t.
Sound reform proposals must be sustainable over the long term both educationally and fiscally. That’s why our input into Secretary Duncan’s and President Obama’s reform proposals are so important — and why our voices must be heard.
Creative Commons image by Center for American Progress
