The Washington Post, in a story fairly typical of other coverage, says that Obama's pick for Secretary of Education will "reach out to unions, school reform gorups" and "bridge the divides among education advocates, teachers unions and civil rights groups over how to fix America's school." Or as another syndicated WaPo story put it, "Duncan is embraced by the teachers unions, which have been concerned about high-stakes testing and worry about merit pay being tied to test scores, as well as reformers, who favor charter schools and tougher standards."
Apparently at least some from the teachers'-union end of this debate are offering an embrace not exactly friendly:
To portray Arne Duncan as anything other than a privatizer, union buster, and corporate stooge is to simply lie.
That's George Schmidt, editor of Substance News, in an essay posted at Schools Matter.
Catalyst Chicago, which claims it offers "independent reporting on school reformi," offers a rundown of Duncan's track record as CEO of Chicago's schools.
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