Duncan Solicits Teachers' Input On Reforming NCLB

In an open letter to US teachers carried in Education Week (5/3), Education Secretary Arne Duncan expresses his admiration, noting that "most teachers did not enter the profession for the money. You became teachers to make a difference in the lives of children, and for the hard work you do each day, you deserve to be respected, valued, and supported." Duncan states that his goal is 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. Many of the teachers I have met object to the imposition of curriculum that reduces teaching to little more than a paint-by-numbers exercise. I agree." Duncan expresses sympathy for many of the frustrations teachers express regarding NCLB's impact, and calls on them to give him their views on how best to reform the law. The letter was also related via the Huffington Post (5/3).