Obama’s Education Pick: Gutsy, or Naive?
I despise the sad fact that all too often appearance trumps reality, but in the case of Obama’s pick for Sec’y of Education, unless Arne Duncan can take a large group of illiterate 6th graders and turn them into Rhodes Scholars, appointing someone from Chicago to a cabinet post, judgeship, or any other position of stature at this point in time invites more trouble than it’s probably worth.
Blogo has made more than one qualified Chicagoan applying for a position in the new administration bite the dust through no fault of their own, except geographical proximity to the city of corruption and the Cubs.
The last thing Obama needs during his upcoming herculean attempt to get the nation back in gear, is the distraction of the appearance of any sort of improper behavior by him, his staff, his cohorts, and his appointees.
To think otherwise would be naive, and counter to the pragmatism that’s marked his appointments thus far (much to the chagrin of the far left wing of the party, who seem to favor ideology over progress, but more on that in the near future).
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There are plenty of problems with the appointment of Arne Duncan than just his geographical proximity to Blago. He is not an educator but a bean counter, who seems to think children are simply raw materials in that great “fill ‘em up with facts” factory (at the cheapest price, of course). He is another “teach to the test” believer. Education is something far different, and he certainly does not represent reform or change I can believe in.
If he had done such a great job with Chicago’s public schools, why have Sasha and Malia been attending a private Chicago school???
once again….you have hit the nail on the head!
Frankly, the Chicago public school system isn’t much of anything impressive. No large city school system is. But really, Duncan made improvements. Massive improvements compared to what it was, he’s been stated to be an open guy to try and find things that work and make them happen, and his record shows this.
@Above: Sasha and Malia are in a private school because it’s better and it can be afforded. So, why not? You can have the best public school in the world available to you, but if there’s a better, private school you can afford, then you do it.