Obama outlined three “strategies” for so-called underperforming schools, all of them reactionary. “One strategy involves replacing the principal, replacing much of the staff, and giving the school a second chance,” he said. “Another strategy involves inviting a great nonprofit to help manage a troubled school. A third strategy involves converting a dropout factory into a successful charter school. These are public schools funded by parents, teachers, and civic or community organizations with broad leeway to innovate.” The second and third strategies—featuring “great nonprofit” groups and “community organizations”—indicate that Obama may see a role for religious groups in public education.
Duncan, speaking before Obama, said that Race to the Top would be used to encourage states and school districts to fire teachers. They “must be ready to institute far-reaching reforms, replace school staff, and change the school culture,” he said. “We cannot continue to tinker in terrible schools where students fall further and further behind, year after year.”
Duncan outlined three other funds, a collective $4.8 billion, that will also be awarded only to those states and school districts “willing to turn around their lowest-performing schools,” as Duncan put it.
Obama and Duncan implicitly laid the blame for the problems of public education at the feet of “bad” teachers.
"Race to the Top" is a bullshit idea based on a bullshit premise. Oh, how disgusted I continue to be with politicians who haven't a clue what the real problem is in education, and it isn't with the teachers.
It's administrators because they aren't held accountable; school boards are jokes in the vast majority of school districts.
Here's more about the harebrained scheme.
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