NEA criticizes Arne Duncan's letter to teachers

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's surprise letter to teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week was criticized today by the National Education Association in its weekly No Child Left Behind update:

Speaking to root causes of education problems, Duncan acknowledged that educators “are frustrated when teachers alone are blamed for educational failures that have roots in broken families, unsafe communities, misguided reforms, and underfunded schools systems.” Duncan told teachers that he wanted to “to invest in teachers and strengthen the teaching profession,” but focused much of his analysis on holding teachers accountable through evaluation systems.

I offered my own thoughts on Duncan's letter, which was another slap in the face to classroom teachers, in my recent Huffington Post blog, "An Open Letter to Arne Duncan."

You also wrote, "I consider teaching an honorable and important profession, and it is my goal to see that you are treated with the dignity we award to other professionals in society. In too many communities, the profession has been devalued."


The profession, Mr. Duncan, has not only been devalued in many communities, as you say, but one of those communities is on the Potomac. If you want to take a look at the man who has placed a target on our backs, look in the mirror.