Comments on: Parental Engagement Twitter Chat: Arne Duncan’s #EpicFail

By: Why Arne Duncan Has Been A Monumental Flop As Education Secretary

Why Arne Duncan Has Been A Monumental Flop As Education Secretary — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 13:24:09 +0000

[…] showed off his tin ear again during a Twitter chat. As one participant in that dialogue observed on her blog, the chat was entitled “Parental engagement,” but “he didn’t ‘engage’ much with the […]

By: Jane Feldman

Jane Feldman — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 21:02:05 +0000

Arne Duncan only wants engagement from people who agree with him. At a recent speech in Denver, the participants were screened so that parents and teachers who do not support his “reform” efforts were not invited. Parent engagement is important, but the Secretary dismisses the views and comments and people who think he and the Administration are on the wrong track. That is not engagement.

By: Strauss: Arne Duncan pushes for ‘parent engagement’ — and gets some angry feedback | Local National News

Sat, 04 Jul 2015 18:02:13 +0000

[…] Duncan, as noted above, made his July Twitter chat all about parents rights, and he sure heard from some engaged parents. He just didn’t appear to know what to do with them. Here is an account of that chat, by Kathleen Jasper. She is an educator who created the ConversationED Web site, which offers a platform for conversations about education and courses for schools, districts and companies on action research, leadership and technology. This appeared on the Web site’s blog. […]

By: Arne Duncan pushes for ‘parent engagement’ — and gets some angry feedback - The Washington Post

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 15:24:22 +0000

[…] “I want to describe a set of educational rights that I firmly believe must belong to every family in America—and I hope you’ll demand that your leaders in elected and appointed offices deliver on them. They come together as a set of rights that students must have at three pivotal stages of their life, to prepare them for success in college and careers and as engaged, productive citizens.” First, every child should have the right to attend a free, high-quality preschool…. Second, I believe all children have the right to high, challenging standards and engaging teaching and leadership in a safe, supportive, well-resourced school….[And] I believe we must see an affordable, high-quality college degree as every child’s right.” The announcement, according to the Education Department, “complements work by the Education Department to reach out to parents—from the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, to tools that can help families and students select the best colleges for their needs, to support of Parent Training and Information Centers and Resource Centers.” Who would argue with those rights? (Nobody I know.) The question for Duncan is what, over seven years, he has done to ensure those rights for parents. Were his policies geared to achieving educational equity for each student? (No.) Or was his chief policy initiative something called Race to the Top, which forced states to compete for federal funds by promising to implement specific reforms Duncan favored, such as expanding charter schools and requiring that teachers be evaluated in part by student test scores. (Yes.) Did he take any important steps to bring about a change in the way public schools are funded so that the poorest schools don’t wind up with the fewest resources? (No.) Did his department talk about the need for high-quality teachers but then support with many millions of dollars a program called Teach For America, which recruits new college graduates, gives them five weeks of training and then sends them into the neediest public schools? (Yes.) Did he make a major push on early childhood education and quality preschool in the first term of the Obama administration, given that it is the No. 1 right of parents? (No.) Etc., etc. Duncan, as noted above, made his July Twitter chat all about parents rights, and he sure heard from some engaged parents. He just didn’t appear to know what to do with them. Here is an account of that chat, by Kathleen Jasper. She is an educator who created the ConversationED Web site, which offers a platform for conversations about education and courses for schools, districts and companies on action research, leadership and technology. This appeared on the Web site’s blog. […]

By: Renee Masilon

Renee Masilon — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 14:56:06 +0000

When I was in high school, we took some tests but not SOLs. Just to present one example of what worked, my senior year was amazing. They offered remedial English, regular English, GT and AP. That was when there were no children left behind. Those who are in charge now of many things have, I think, made it so that all children are left behind and belong to a group of mediocre students / future adults. So ask yourself, why? What is to be gained by this?