I did not go to the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Francisco, so was not aware of what is described in this post. Jennifer Jennings says that Arne Duncan was booed when he spoke, and she apologized to Secretary Duncan for the behavior of her fellow researchers.
Why was Secretary Duncan booed, and should AERA (or anyone else) apologize for the booing?
Booing is the behavior of the powerless. Educators are angry–and Jennings knows this–because of the top-down, authoritarian way in which Duncan has imposed policies that are bad for children, ruinous for teachers, and harmful to the quality of education. Jennings also knows that Duncan holds all the power. Educators may write blogs, opinion pieces, books, and research studies, and they will be completely ignored by Duncan. To say the least, he is uninterested in dialogue and unwilling to change his hardened belief that his policies are successful, no matter what anyone says.
In New York City, our mayor proudly announced that the public should hold him accountable for improving the public schools. After he spent $100 million or so to win a new term, someone in the press asked Mayor Bloomberg how the public could hold him accountable. He answered: “They can boo me at parades.”
How can we hold Secretary Duncan accountable?
He is silent as teachers and principals are fired based on test scores. He is silent as beloved schools are closed because of test scores. He is silent as cities turn their public schools over to entrepreneurs. He is silent as for-profit businesses take over public school districts and as for-profit charters proliferate. He is silent as more and more states adopt vouchers to send public money to religious schools. He is actively abetting the misuse of testing. He is actively supporting the forces of privatization.
We know now he will not change course. The only question is whether public education will survive Arne Duncan.
I condemn his misguided and harmful policies, not the researchers who used the only means of protest available to them. What he is doing to our children, our teachers, and our schools is far more offensive than booing. Will Arne Duncan ever apologize to the children, parents, and educators of America for what he has done and continues to do?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
My response to Jennings
http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/a-call-for-non-cooperation-so-that-teachers-are-not-foreigners-in-their-own-profession/
That, sir, is an excellent response. May I distribute it?
Thanks,
Duane
Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled minutes ago that voucher funding that takes public school money for private schools and “edupreneurs” is unconstitutional. Educators and parents are fighting back and Mr. Duncan needs to listen.
Re: Will Arne Duncan ever apologize?
It could happen, but I wouldn’t hold my breath — look how long it took Sandra Day O’Connor.
Arne, like all those with delusions of grandeur will never apologize. Saving face is more important than the truth.
It reminds me of the Panel for Education Policy “hearings” in NYC. We, the parents in the audience, have no other option than to yell and boo, since the panel does not listen to the parents. Makes me laugh when Walcott asks for “respectful” behavior at these bogus hearings when he and the mayor do not do the same.
Not only would I boo him, I’d make sure we found the other Sith Lord as they always travel in pairs. (That would be David Coleman, of course.)
Michael, May the Force be with you.
It’s all part of oppression – the oppressors do everything with a smile and charm, so that when the oppressed (rightfully) react angrily, then they’re the ones being “disrespectful” or whatnot.
To a certain extent Jennings is right, but not for the reasons she says. Not falling into the oppressors’ trap is the only way to fight oppression. It’s why King and Gandhi were two of the most successful freedom fighters in history.
Charm… you got.
Duncan should be booed and the booing needs to get louder and louder. Bill Gates should be booed. Eli Broad should be booed. The Walton family members should be booed. People are catching on. I look forward to more protests like the ones both inside and outside the Hilton at the AERA meeting in SF. It’s about time. Here’s the protest outside.
See below …
I attended AERA as well as Mr. Duncan’s speech. No one mentioned that someone put the music to the exorcist on prior to Duncan’s coming onto the podium. I was shocked by that; at the same time, I understood the cause. The tension in the room and the anger that permeated it were palpable. I was also shocked by the standing room only response to his speech. Yes, there were silent protests from many in the room, but at the same time, we all sat there, silent, listening to a man lecture us, educators and educational researchers, on the need for testing, accountability and reform. When challenged by a current professor (who was a former superintendent, principal and public school teacher), Duncan used political, evasive rhetoric to avoid his questions [Will you promise to put a moratorium on testing until the problems are resolved?]. Personally, I was disgusted with the entire event. While I am opposed to our current education reform regime, I am also perplexed at how many of us in higher education fail to take active steps, like boycotting Duncan’s speech and presence at AERA, to ameliorate what is occurring in education.
Ignore that video! My apologies.The link had advanced. This is the right one.
Last try. So sorry, Diane. I don’t know why the correct link didn’t transfer, but I thought people might want to see the protest. Google this to find the video:
“Picket&Protest Against US Ed Sec. Arnie Duncan In SF At AERA Conf By US & International Educators”
I actually watched one and I assume it is the one you are talking about. I just got it on you tube and it was very interesting. Someone was outside interviewing the protesters and asking them certain questions. There were teachers from all over the world and the country giving their views on what is going on today in education. Thank you for letting us know about it, because it was really interesting.
Duncan is not responsive to parents, either, so ultimately all of these grand plans will fail.
One can’t make a major national change like the Common Core with no public debate or discussion. It’s arrogant and clueless. Duncan is being dishonest on the assessment portion of the Common Core. The testing will involve a huge investment from our already strapped public schools, and it doubles the time our children will spend prepping and then taking standardized tests.
I honestly do not believe that President Obama or Arne Duncan understand the essential nature of public education. Our schools aren’t private schools. Parents aren’t going to accept orders from Mr. Duncan, particularly because he has completely ignored the public school funding crisis that has occurred on his watch.
Perhaps Duncan should spend more time running a competent agency and paying attention to facts on the ground, and less time espousing his market-driven reform ideas.
He’s not just an ideologue. He’s an incompetent ideologue.
The only thing Duncan and Obama understand is money for themselves and their friends – corporations.
Duncan is simply Obama’s dog. He is carrying out the President’s destructive and foolish program. While Duncan should certainly be booed at every opportunity, we shouldn’t delude ourselves: these are the President’s policies, and he has also earned our contempt
Too bad the researchers didn’t hav bean pot luck an hour before the speech. Booing is far to polite.
There are VERY few public officials I would boo. I wouldn’t even necessarily boo our beloved Governor Christie. Secretary Duncan, on the other hand, lost my respect and his credibility long ago.
Date: Tue, 7 May 2013 16:25:06 +0000 To: mkaufman27@msn.com
Booing makes the boo- er feel better – did the boo-er meet with their local congressional representative, call their office, contribute to a campaign? We should listen to Joe Hill, “organize.”
Life on a college campus mimics real life: if you do things that are not popular with students and then show up at their fraternity party, you might not get served a drink. “Play yard” mentality eventually plays into most things. It’s like musicians in a bar–you either know how to hang or you don’t. And if you show up with fancy equipment acting like you own the joint when you’ve never darkened the door, the regulars will let you know you are not welcome. And they will laugh when beer gets spilled on the shiny new keyboard you can’t even play that well. Regulars put their money and faith in the guy with a dented up horn who actually comes around even when his name is not the headliner. Leaders need to spend time in bars or at frat parties if they didn’t learn these lessons on the playground.
So maybe someone just needs to start taking reformers out for drinks–and see how they fit in at the bar before putting them up in front of a crowd who frequents that bar (so to speak).
Good for them. When idiots like Duncan do not want to listen like his boss the Prez. you have to do something. Throughout history people have booed. Duncan deserves no less. After all he lied to us when he came to Pico Rivera last year. He asked us to bring all we could to the event so that he could hear from the public. He was there a whole 15 minutes after he had a fund raiser in a side room just before he came out to talk for 15 minutes. When he said ” I have to leave now” I loudly said “He does not care about you, he is going to go get money.” In fact, he was scheduled for a fund raiser and knew he would not stay there. The place went crazy with police, staff, press, students and the attendees. They asked me to go outside and I did. Then for about 15 minutes I lambasted his staff with the facts of life on Obama and Duncan in Chicago and afterwards. They were so ignorant of reality they did not know what to do. The police started laughing while a large crowd of which many were students. Finally, the staff left and the students stayed and had questions. We stayed for more than another hour with the students while Duncan and his staff went to go make money. Not only that when California tried to pass mayoral control (AB 1381) which is California State unconstitutional both Duncan, superintendent of Chicago at the time, and Senator Feinstein both wrote letters to the California Legislature stating that those who ran the Chicago Schools before Daley and Vallas took over in 1995 had put the Chicago Schools into $1.8 billion in debt which Daley, Vallas and Duncan had to clean up. The fact is that according to the 1994 Chicago Schools Budget there was a surplus. I have the pertinent financial pages. If Rod Paige lost his job for lying about the dropout rate in Houston to get Sec. of Ed. why not Duncan? Are you all serious about getting Duncan out? Then publish these letters and documents and let’s get him out and send Obama a message “NO MORE OF THIS!!!!!!!”
Not just Arne, it is the POTUS.
And these are the folks who when time for election are fighting for the little guy
I am in Chicago, the epicenter for these veiled, racist policies.
Racism, isn’t just you calling a Black or African-American the infamous N-word.
Racism is a system which continues to promote and advocate policies that hurt African-American communities. Not greater evidence is this happening than in Chicago’s south and west side.
We have protested and used the democratic process to talk and act against these disastrous policies. To no avail. The power of the rich to influence and control the debate is a tale-tell sign for the future of this concept called ‘America’
It is a land grab, in 30-40 years these communities will be mostly white and affluent, if our ‘friends’ continue to advocate for us.
This whole P3 (public-private partnerships) model was the compromise. This was the continuation of Reganomics without the attachment of the bad ‘republican’ guy.
With many poor communities; which are often largely African American and people of color left without adequate services, and institutions. And these are our friends?
The black community has a lot of racist friends.
Yes, we’ve all been had. However, no one has been betrayed more than African Americans. It’s not just that Obama turned out to be a corporatist, but all of the traditional civil rights organizations have been bought, too, like Urban League and NAACP, so they never even advocated for blacks to Obama. See Glen Ford and Bruce Dixon’s Black Agenda Report: http://blackagendareport.com/content/big-nausea-waking-obama-ache
One other thing “You have to earn respect when a public official, you are not to just be given it especially after this long.” Go watch what I do to “Sleazy Deasy” and “Queen Monica” at LAUSD. It is effective. After all he has a phony PHD and work record. How is this OK at the second largest school district in the U.S. and the only large school district still run by a board of education. Are you all supporting Monica Ratliff to make a 4-3 vote of reasonable people? If not, you should. Election is just around the corner and LAUSD is on the chopping block. You can see some of it on George1la along with uncut of Rhee in L.A. and Gloria Romero of DFER trying to answer real questions and students after “Sleazy Deasy” runs from their questions at El Camino High School. Very educational as to who these people are.
FWIW: The #11 and the #16 school districts in America are run by elected boards of education.
There is something really amiss in this “apology” article. The author seems to ignore the fact that for over 4 years we have approached him with our thoughts and ideas. yet she states, “I’m sorry that a faceless minority of the educational research community lacked the courage to meet you with ideas…” Does she not know how Duncan ignored each and every thought and idea presented to him?? She then ends with, “You had the grace, the guts, and the patience not to reciprocate…” He didn’t have to. He has been bullying teachers since his tenure in Chicago. His constant belittling remarks are a BIG BOO to the education community. “Katrina was the best thing to happen to New Orleans”??? Well, the charters in NOLA are not succeeding.
Prof. Jennings… All I can do is write this comment to you. But if you read between the lines, I think you can hear my “Boo” to you. Your article is nothing but a veiled tribute to Duncan in the disguise as “I disagree with you, but you are my hero because you are so willing to sit down and listen to our concerns.”
Duncan and Obama are deaf. They have to be deaf to continue their policies of repression and greed.
Booing, totally appropriate. Does anyone have a video link?
Where’s Scott Prouty (the bartender that videotaped Romney) when you need him?
In Other Pews, er, News …
Progress Michigan’s ‘Pepe Le Voucher’ excluded from Gov. Snyder town hall event
I loved this story! Duncan should have been booed off the stage. No one should apologize. This many has caused a lot of damage in American education. He and Snyder appear to be on good terms. His fake dog and pony show at DPS made me sick. He acts as though the EAA is a success. What good is an Ed. Sec. if they won’t acknowledge the real truth.
I love that someone dressed as a skunk to mock the “skunk works”
Duncan hails all the worst governors and celebrates their worst ideas
He called John White “a visionary leader” and then White became a loud advocate for privatization
I booed at Merryl Tisch at the SAANYS conference in Saratoga, then escorted myself out before getting arrested!
Tim
Sent from my iPhone
This was really good. Thanks for posting it. There needs to be more of this throughout the country. Was he unable to speak because of a substantial amount of boos? How effective was the protest inside?
Duncan is the ultimate crony. An unqualified, bought out puppet.
When no debate is recognized beyond your own (discredited) ideas, when the speaker has a reputation for being on his way to something else and has no time for questions, when the money and the power decides to lecture people who know what their policies entail, well then, I’d say Arne is lucky he walked away with simple boos. Educators are supposed to be above booing, they are very polite people….way too polite in many instances, in my humble opinion, so when they do breach what is assumed to be appropriate….that could be good news. Maybe organizing is the next step. I hope so.
I agree completely, Shirley. Thank you.
Arne’s gunning for his next “job”; probably dreaming of a multi-million dollar salary at a billionaire-funded Astroturf organization and/or a presidency or vice presidency at a company like Pearson—similar to the “Quid Pro Quo” relationship of Dick Cheney and Halliburton. Who knows what scandals may follow with this “Revolving Door” policy?
Remember, Arne Duncan serves at the discretion of his boss, Barack Obama.
When it comes to Obama’s cabinet appointments he has absolutely no one to blame but himself. He chose all of them and he’s obviously aware of what Duncan’s policies are doing to our students, families, teachers and schools.
If we REALLY want to hold ALL of the responsible parties accountable, let’s stop denying the obvious: Barack Obama is the person who let this happen. These policies are his.
Look, few people worked harder for this man—particularly in 2008, when he was first elected—than I did. But I was one of millions. I feel betrayed. I feel let down. I feel used.
It took me a long time to admit it—like a lot of people who take years to wake up in the midst of an abusive or manipulative relationship. But the time has come to face reality.
If we want to change these awful policies, let’s being pointing the finger—PUBLICLY—as hard as it might be, at the man who caused all of this: President Barack H. Obama.
I’ll never look at him the same again.
Sigh. I agree Puget Sound Parent. (By the way, I’ll be up your way this summer!)
I didn’t work for Obama, but his inauguration was the first one I attended. I nearly froze that day sitting for many hours on a stone monument too far away from the Capital to see the real events. I could hardly move my legs because it was so crowded that day. I went to my first two classes in school the next morning and showed my students three newspapers I had. One said “Man on Moon”. The next said “Kennedy Assassinated”. The last one said “Obama Elected”. I told them these were three of the most historical events in our country’s history. I was so proud to have voted for him.
Four years later, I voted for the Green candidate. I could not vote for Romney, but my conscience wouldn’t allow me to vote for Obama either. He is not the Democrat/liberal I thought he was.
I can’t stand Obama. He’s clueless.
I recall Jennifer Jennings doing good work and earning respect years ago as Eduwonkette, but have not really followed her since.
However, her apology, her feeling “humiliated” by some of her colleagues booing Arne Duncan, is a bit too much.
Getting all huffy and indignant over some direct democracy aimed at a man who was there for the specific purpose of lying and dissembling, paints Ms. Jennings as either a political ingenue (what, exactly, are people supposed to do when they are repeatedly lied to and ignored?) or someone with a little too much concern for the tender feelings of the powerful.
Ms. Jennings is horrified at her colleagues assault on etiquette, and refusal to stay leashed to “ideas, to data, to truth, to real debate.”
Ideas? Truth? Real debate? Come on, this is Arne Duncan we’re talking about.
Spare us your indignation, madam: the man had it coming, and will hopefully face more of it.
Michael Fiorillo: quite so.
If Jennifer Jennings aka “Eduwonkette” was really concerned about “ideas” and “data” and “truth” and “real debate” she would have stoutly insisted that Arne Duncan agree to a face-to-face back-and-forth with, say, noted education historian Diane Ravitch.
You know, in order to deal with “ideas” and “data” and “truth” in a format and forum that would be—how shall I put it?—educational.
You would think that the Secretary of Education would be down for something that is the third term in his title.
He is sleazy, a liar, and cannot be trusted. He uses our children to further the goals of corporations and Edushysters. He refuses to listen to those who disagree with him. He reports to Bill, Eli, Bloomturd and the rest. He should be relieved he only heard booing.
Did he even see or hear the protestors? He wasn’t around for Occupy USDOE….he had “education business” in Tennessee. How convenient.
Well I didn’t think it could get any worse but this is what is on tonight: PBS presents: Our first-ever televised special, TED Talks Education, airs tonight (May 7) at 10/9c on PBS. Tune in! And head to TED.com tomorrow to see full-length versions of these talks.
With of all people that long time educator Bill Gates (do I dare watch)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ted-talks-education/
Why torture yourself and make an already exhausting day more aggravating?
I will watch PBS or TED when Billy Boy has to manage a class of 15-20 juvenile delinquents and he can teach them how to determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
Get busy Bill.
No “Secretary” can be held accountable. Give power to The Dept of Ed and
all local decisions become political – if you voted for Arne, he will bless
your decisions. This works for all central power schemes and is most pronounced
today in Education.
My view is:
When the Federal Government shrinks its $48B DoEd budget to $4B and uses the
$4B for real research published openly, the DoEd will become respectable
and American Education will improve slightly.
America should not run on Duncan.
He is clearly interested in privatizing public education, and his test score premise is mostly junk wrapped in shiny paper and bows.
He deserves to be booed.
I remember once at a press conference when he referred to low income children as “the poverty kids”. I never heard such an expression and found it to be unsympathetic, not to mention the wrong usage of the language.
But let’s not forget Boy Wonder Duncan’s very own Batman Obama . . . . they are partners in crime.
American education should not be run by a central political authority.
I regret ever thinking a Dept of Ed was a useful Federal Government Concept.
$48B/yr — for what?
Not for the kids, that’s for sure.
Arne Duncan came to Michigan to woo our progressive governor who was on the fence about Common Core. Duncan finished his visit and now RINO Rick is all gung-ho for Common Core and has jumped on the bandwagon. I don’t think he got booed in Michigan. Snyder fawned all over him. But then, nobody knew that Duncan was in Lansing either, so I don’t know if any protest was organized or not.
Clearly, her last question is rhetorical.
Sent from my iPhone
Diane, I would be happy to help organize with you a 6 month national teachers’ strike. I think that should do it, eh?
Not only should Duncan be held accountable, but President Obama as well for appointing him! I wish we still had the stock and pillory!
Duncan serves at the pleasure of the president. The power behind the destruction of public education through Race to the Top has always been Barack Obama.
Jonathan, I am not an Obama fan by any stretch of the imagination. but, the DoEd was started by Jimmy Carter back in 1980. He signed it into being in 1979 and it started destroying education in 1980. The NEA supported it and the AFT didn’t. While much of our education ills can be laid at the feet of Obama with his RTTT blackmail tactics, but it started before he entered politics. BOTH parties share in the continued destruction of our public schools.
If the boo fits, wear it.
exactly
The reality is that Jennings comes from the apogee of privilege… tenured, NYU, Phd… no where near the front lines where schools are closed, teachers fired and communities disrupted. Where students are tested without end. For her, Duncan’s ideology of reform is cold and abstract. For families, students, teachers that ideology is the hot reality of frustrated lives and powerlessness before an unresponsive, unreasoned bureaucratic imperative.
Vitriol is tawdry. When others see things differently, shall we call them villains? Harass them on the playground? Stick out our tongues? Boo them from the stage? If you think someone’s ideas would are wrong, is it necessary — or even helpful — to believe that these wrong ideas come from a desire to hurt kids and profit from it? Indignation is quick, but ultimately destructive. The discourse about how to improve education deserves better. We need Gandhi, not Fox News. http://www.ed100.org/how-dare-you/
This is not about a good faith disagreement. It’s about confronting a liar and dissembler who is trying to destroy your livelihood and a precious public resource.
Don’t let civility be a straight jacket that prevents you from confronting those with limitless greed and a will to power, when other avenues have been blocked.
Well said, Diane, well said. I would have booed Duncan too.
Jeff Camp, as the author stated, there is no recourse for the educators who booed Duncan, as there is no recourse for we in the plebeian hordes who would not know proper policy if it bit us in our, nevermind. Of course I don’t mean that but that is, I am afraid, the view of those who compose the establishment.
I, for one, am inspired to know that not all educators are brown-nosing yea-sayers who will do anything to advance their career at the expense of, well, their industry.