Arne Duncan
Arne Duncan
Arne Duncanwas the United States Secretary of Education from 2009 through early 2016. His tenure as Secretary was marked by controversy. Conservatives and some parents opposed his push for all U.S. states to adopt the Common Core Standards to determine what students had learned, and teachers unions disliked his emphasis on the use of data from student tests to evaluate teachers and schools. When Duncan announced his resignation the president of the AFT teachers union said, "there’s no question that...
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth6 November 1964
CityChicago, IL
Arne Duncan quotes about
It is unbelievable that guys can run up and down like it's the Wild West with assault rifles.
This grant is really an investment in our collective future. It will help create great new schools in Chicago that will produce the kind of students who can one day grow up and lead companies like Abbott.
With innovative programs like Nourish for Knowledge and partnerships with organizations like the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Chicago Public Schools is working to provide our children with the solid foundation they need for a successful academic career.
Borrowing to pay for college used to be the exception; now it's the rule.
It's fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who - all of a sudden - their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn't quite as good as they thought they were, and that's pretty scary,
I believe that education is the civil rights issue of our generation. And if you care about promoting opportunity and reducing inequality, the classroom is the place to start. Great teaching is about so much more than education; it is a daily fight for social justice.
To be clear, we [the Department of Education] want curriculum to be driven by the local level. We are by law prohibited from directing curriculum. We don't have a curriculum department.
Wherever you find something extraordinary, you’ll find the fingerprints of a great teacher.
The factory model of education is the wrong model for the 21st century. Today, our schools must prepare all students for college and careers-and do far more to personalize instruction and employ the smart use of technology.
The arts significantly boost student achievement, reduce discipline problems, and increase the odds students will go on to graduate from college. As First Lady Michelle Obama sums up, both she and the President believe 'strongly that arts education is essential for building innovative thinkers who will be our nation's leaders for tomorrow.'
No one is mandating merit pay.
Teachers support evaluations based on multiple measures: student growth, classroom observation and feedback from peers and parents.
I just think we can't do enough of this [student exchanges]... And when you get young children traveling internationally, I think they come back different people. And you can't put a price tag - you can't put a value on that.
Education is the civil rights issue of our generation.