Skipping right over rap/hip-hop, uninvolved and irresponsible parents, and video games, the usual scapegoats blamed for all social evils, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently placed much of the blame on the declining quality of US schools and education at the feet of the nation's schools, colleges, and departments of Education.
In a speech last Thursday at Columbia University's Teachers College, the nation's oldest and largest School of Education, Sec Duncan described what he sees as the role that the majority of teacher preparation programs play in producing mediocre teachers who then produce mediocre students.
Though he did note that there were exceptions, Sec Duncan's speech was an evisceration of higher education programs that seek to train future teachers. If you closed your eyes and tried hard enough you might have thought you were listening to the group who wrote A Nation at Risk in 1983.
It's good to know that as much as things may change, some things remain forever constant - always blame those in lower positions than you.
The Dept of Education press release describing the speech may be found here, and the full text of Sec Duncan's speech may be viewed here. You may also download a video of the speech here. The video is free, but you do need itunes. Time magazine ran an article on the Secretary's speech and the current administration's views on education.
