Fire Him? Not the Point

No. Arne Duncan won't be fired. And I don't think he should be.

Better that the NEA Representative Assembly narrowly, but clearly, voted "no confidence" in the Secretary of Education. The Obama Administration deserves it.

Read that again. The Administration. Let's keep our eyes on the ball here. Barack Obama appointed Duncan to the position. He had many decent and competent choices. He chose Duncan.

That's because he believes in merit pay as a way to improve teaching. He believes in dissolving contracts that have layoffs based on seniority. If it were his way, all teacher contracts would change in that direction.

It may be politically correct not to blame the President for the present national attitude that, somehow, teachers are primarily to blame for the lack of student progress that's plaguing public education. It may be. But Duncan's indefatigable efforts, the requirements for the Race to the Top, and what appears to be a similar attitude in renewing No Child Left Behind, land at Obama's feet.

Indirectly, of course, a vote of no confidence says that to the President, too. It isn't an easy call, what with the administration strongly behind a new jobs bill that will save over a hundred thousand teacher's jobs if passed. Some thanks we get, might be their attitude toward the NEA.

So as usual, it isn't an easy call to make. The debate on the NEA-RA floor demonstrated that. It is a highly-charged political world we now live in, where bits and pieces of victories are all that can be expected, especially now. It is difficult to accept.

But to move to fire Duncan not only will not get any attention from anybody but the most cynical pundits, it will appear to be sour grapes for supporting a Presidential candidate who did no more and no less than tell everybody just exactly what he was going to do. Sometimes, one must accept the reality.