Duncan's having a town hall with teachers -- send him your questions.

[Hannah Bell]

Secretary Arne Duncan will take part in a live town hall meeting with the nation’s teachers on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s POTUS public affairs channel on Thursday, July 29.

The program will air from 11:00 AM EDT-12:00 PM EDT and will feature a studio audience of teachers from a cross-section of public schools, drawing from a variety of districts, grade levels, and disciplines. Tim Farley, host of POTUS’s “The Morning Briefing,” will moderate the event.

Since his appointment in 2009, Secretary Duncan has spoken with thousands of teachers from around the United States to gather input on the Obama administration’s blueprint for K-12 education reform. As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, this town hall will provide an opportunity for teachers to voice their ideas and concerns directly to the Secretary. In addition to the studio audience, listeners to the program online or via radio will be able to call in with questions and comments.

The town hall will be broadcast on channel 110 on Sirius Radio and channel 130 on XM. Nonsubscribers may access the program online and free of charge by going to www.xmradio.com and clicking on “Free Online Trial.”

http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/07/secretary-arne-duncan-to-participate-in-radio-town-hall-meeting-with-nations-teachers/

perhaps it won't be totally rigged.

[rpannier]

1. It'll be rigged

They'll pre-screen the audience and the questions
It will be proof that DUMB-ya isn't the only one that can stack town halls

[xchrom]

2. i'd ask him nicely to kiss my ass. nt

[txlibdem]

3. All teachers please participate

Let Mr. Duncan have your honest opinion but also your suggestions and recommendations. Our nation is truly facing an educational crisis and we need all our best minds to come together to help solve it.

[Reader Rabbit]

4. Why isn't Arne asking *teachers* questions?

Generally, those with no experience in an area of expertise will seek direction and guidance from veterans.

I guess a good question would be why he isn't doing that.

[LWolf]

6. Great question.

I included it in my too long comments.

[LWolf]

5. Mine is there. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. I want to ask him to send me some pencils

I haven't had a classroom supply budget in what seems like forever. Do you suppose Arne would consider sending me a few dozen pencils? Maybe even ones that have the WH on them?

[femmocrat]

8. LOL Why is it that pencils are always in short supply?

I can get crayons, but not pencils. In our district, only the *administrators* can order pencils! :eyes: And they only order enough for testing week. :rofl:

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. We just found out we will have to pay for copies out of our school budget

There's a per page fee the district is charging.

It's probably higher than Kinkos, judging from past experience. LOL

[YvonneCa]

12. That happened in my...

...district. The next step was a rationing of the number of copies per teacher, per month. If a teacher ran out of copies at the end of a month, he/she had to pay to get them done on their own...or go without.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. We've been rationing for years

Now we have to pay for the piddly amount we get.

[femmocrat]

9. Thank you for the heads-up!

"Since his appointment in 2009, Secretary Duncan has spoken with thousands of teachers from around the United States to gather input on the Obama administration’s blueprint for K-12 education reform."

If he has spoken with so many teachers, why are his policies so oppositional to what we want and need?

My usual question for Mr. Duncan, "How many students have you taught?"

[YvonneCa]

11. Have you guys read the latest comments...

...at Ed.gov? They are EXCELLENT. ;) Check them out here:

http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/07/secretary-arne-duncan-to-participate-in-radio-town-hall-meeting-with-nations-teachers/

[DebJ]

14. This is a good quote from the comments.

The attitude that teachers are to blame and should be punished and shamed would seem intended to cause the public to lose respect for teachers and schools. How can you improve schools while encouraging the public to disrespect education and educators?

[YvonneCa]

15. I am so proud of my fellow...

...teachers. There are 58 comments now, and the questions for Duncan just get better.:) I hope he knows that avoiding these questions will make his job harder...sadly.

[femmocrat]

17. Love this one from "TFT" :

"What makes you, Arne Duncan, qualified to run the DOE given your lack of any experience as a teacher?

Why must schools compete for the money they need?

Will you push to fund universal early childhood education?

Do you think poor, hungry kids need a longer school day, and why?

Do you really expect us to take you seriously when you claim your teaching experience is the time you spent in the basement at your mom’s after school program, when you were a kid?

Why do you use the word “incent” (which is not really a word) when you mean “bribe?” "

[femmocrat]

18. Thanks for the link, Yvonne!

So many of them are so well-researched and make such excellent points. The next time I see a poster at DU who just "doesn't get it", I might just refer him/her to that page!

I left my two cents and will definitely tune in to the radio program! :hi:

[YvonneCa]

19. You are very welcome. I do the same...

...when people ask what teachers think. The teachers posting at Ed.gov are AWESOME!

[Nite Owl]

16. Thanks for the info

I just left a post on the thread and will listen in tomorrow.
Arnie is one of the most dangerous people in this administration. He can do much harm to our future.

[femmocrat]

20. Well, what did everyone think?

Since it started late, I only listened to about half of it. I really couldn't take anymore.

What really got me was Arne's lip-service to "dance, drama, art, P.E." and recess. He said he's willing to spend $3 million on a "well-rounded" elementary curriculum! Hey Arne, we had all that before NCLB. $3 million is peanuts compared to what they have spent on converting the curriculum to all-testing-all-the-time. :eyes:

[LWolf]

21. I missed it.

I have a horse that needs physical therapy every morning, and I just couldn't wait until later in the day, considering what the afternoon temperatures are predicted to be.

Is there a transcript anywhere? I'd rather read it, anyway. Easier on the stomach.

[YvonneCa]

22. It will probably end up at...

...Ed.gov in a couple of days. I listened to the last half...none of the questions from the website were asked or answered during that time. That's pretty much what I expected.

[LWolf]

23. Did anyone in the audience ask him some good questions,

or make some good comments?

[YvonneCa]

24. Nothing new during the last half hour...

...that I heard.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. So he's not sending me any pencils?

:cry:

[YvonneCa]

29. Not likely...

...It doesn't appear that he heard our requests.:(

[Catshrink]

30. He heard, he's just ignoring them because they don't fit his corporate model.

Let's hear Arne's cheer:

Charter! Charter!
Screw the public schools!
Make 'em work harder
Teachers are such fools!

[mopinko]

28. i believe you mis-heard

ok, i am looking through the npc speech for the number, he was talking about this there as well.

fyi- npc speech transcript
http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/quiet-revolution-secretary-arne-duncans-remarks-national-press-club

http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget11/summary/edlite-section1.html

A Well-Rounded Education: $265 million, an increase of $38.9 million, or 17 percent, to consolidate 7 current authorities and expand support for the subjects important to a complete curriculum, including history, the arts, foreign languages, environmental literacy, and economic and financial literacy.

[Dinger]

25. Just Leave arne, Leave (nt)

[Reader Rabbit]

27. Rigged

About what one would expect. This administration sure learned a lot from Bush and his closed town hall meetings. All they have to do is invite the media to these faux discussions and *poof*—teacher acceptance and agreement!