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LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND
Current position: Top Obama education adviser
Why she could be tapped: Her day job is professor of education at Stanford, but for the past year, she has been a key voice defining Obama's positions on issues such as school restructuring, teacher quality and educational equity.
Why the job will go to someone else: Darling-Hammond is not popular among education reformers, particularly those to the center-right. That's because her views on issues such as merit pay vs. teacher tenure are more conventional than even Obama's. So if the President-elect really wants to shake things up on the education front, Darling-Hammond won't likely be his choice.
Back when I've read the whole thing....
update:
Here's good news, assuming it's true:
Why the job will go to someone else: Hunt has not been especially outspoken on how to expand charter schools and other alternatives to traditional public schools, which appears to be a priority for the Obama team.
16 comments:
We can hope you're right! I'm neither optimistic or pessimistic on this, I don't think we have enough data to go on.
Will Obama make a pick based on educational ideology (and which one?), previous personal relationship, Chicago connection, political calculation (Teachers Unions vs. Charter parents)?
We just don't know.
I just watched a video with Ms. Darling-Hammond speaking about addressing the emotional needs of children, learning theory (i.e., vs. facts about learning and teaching), blah, blah, blah . . .
I just can't imagine anyone he'll pick who will focus on getting teachers to teach effectively.
Darling-Hammond is not on the AP's shortlist. Here's what the AP has:
EDUCATION SECRETARY
Colin Powell, former secretary of state, former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt.
Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of Chicago public schools.
Inez Tenenbaum, former South Carolina schools superintendent.
Seems to me that this is a great opportunity for grassroots education reformers to organize ourselves and bombard the president-elect with some alternative choices.
Who would you choose, if you could pick the next education secretary?
I'll go first: I pick E.D. Hirsch.
Me, too!!!
Who do we email?
I can find the address, but if you have it - could you leave it here?
We just don't know.
I agree.
Concerned -- where is that list?
(I bet you emailed it & I haven't opened the email yet.)
What do we know about these other folks?
(I saw IEA -- I think I've got that wrong -- saying that Secretary doesn't matter; it's the lower level positions that do matter....)
I have no idea what matters & what doesn't, but I know for sure I don't want Linda Darling-Hammond as Secretary of Education.
Make that "whom do we email."
I think.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081107/ap_on_el_pr
/obama_potential_appointees
I can't find an email address, but here is his senate page.
Here's one list.
Obama has proposed a bold and exciting overhaul for our national education system. Linda Darling - Hammond is no stranger to systemic reform. Her work in this area is beyond reproach. She is a focused, experienced and committed educator, researcher and scholar. Her hand prints can be found on almost everthing in education over the past fifteen years, from the teacher professsionalization and standards movement, to system-wide school improvement, to democracy in education, to pre-service teacher development. Dr. Darling - Hammond's research has informed the work of thousands of teachers, students and policy - makers for the better. It's a no - brainer. Powell, Klein and Sabilius. Are you kidding? I want a top educator to lead, not some political retreads.
djphoenix,
I'm curious about this "bold and exciting overhaul for our national education system." Do you have any specifics?
"Democracy in education." Could you explain exactly what that is?
SusanS
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