Secretary of Education Arne Duncan brought a firestorm of criticism on himself over the weekend, after remarking on Friday that “white suburban moms” oppose the Common Core standard in schools because they discovered “their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were” — and now he’s apologizing.
Duncan’s remarks came at an event for state superintendents of education. The Secretary was apparently attempting to convey that many people don’t anticipate the high achievement requirements in the Common Core standards, and are therefore startled when students underperform their expectations.
“It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary,” Duncan said, according to The Washington Post. “You’ve bet your house and where you live and everything on, ‘My child’s going to be prepared.’ That can be a punch in the gut.”
He added that students were now competing on an international academic playing field, instead of just nationally.
Duncan apologized on Monday for his comments.
“My wording, my phrasing, was a little clumsy and I apologize for that,” he told CNN.
He reiterated that his point was to convey the higher standards of achievement that are need to compete in a ”globally competitive work force.”
Duncan’s remarks received scattered press coverage, and the media focused on his dramatic-sounding — and definitely offensive — quote while leaving out the necessary context: agree or disagree with Common Core, American kids could seem ‘less brilliant’ when compared internationally. Comparison of test scores internationally is incredibly complex and there are many factors to consider, but at face value — what parents are likely to see of the data — Duncan’s statement has a ring of truth. Plus, the second half of his quote clearly reveals his concern for parents who are worried about their child’s success.
No comments:
Post a Comment