Dear Commons Community,

Rick Santorum labeled President Barack Obama a snob for promoting a college education.  The Washington Post reported:  “Speaking to a tea party group in Michigan on Saturday, former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) accused President Obama of being a “snob” because he wants “everybody in America to go to college…. Not all folks are gifted in the same way,” Santorum told a crowd of more than 1,000 activists at the Americans for Prosperity forum in Troy, Mich. “Some people have incredible gifts with their hands. Some people have incredible gifts and … want to work out there making things. President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob.”

The President actually was encouraging all Americans to stay in school and get as much education as possible.   There is absolutely no indication that he was denigrating those who are craftspersons or who otherwise make a living without a college degree.

To me, Santorum continues to implode because of his social conservative views on religion, education, and birth control.  By the way, Santorum graduated from Penn State with a B.A. in 1980, then earned an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981. In 1986, he earned a J.D. from Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

A New York Times article opens with the question:   What was Arne Duncan doing sharing the stage with Michelle Rhee at a recent education conference?  On the surface, this seems not to be a problem except for the fact that Mr. Duncan is the education secretary.  Ms. Rhee was the chancellor of schools in Washington from 2007 to 2010.  And since last summer, the Office of the Inspector General in Mr. Duncan’s department has been investigating whether Washington school officials cheated to raise test scores during Ms. Rhee’s tenure. The article states that:

“You would think Mr. Duncan would want to keep Ms. Rhee at arm’s length during the investigation. And yet there they were, sitting side by side last month, two of four featured panelists at a conference in Washington about the use of education data.”

Ms. Rhee’s reputation as a national leader of the education reform movement has rested on those test scores, which soared while she was chancellor. Then, last March, USA Today published the results of a yearlong investigation of the Washington schools that found a high rate of erasures on tests as well as suspiciously large gains at 41 schools — one-third of the elementary and middle schools in the district.

The article further commented on the question of whether it really mattered that Secretary Duncan appeared onstage with Ms. Rhee?

“Mr. Duncan doesn’t think so, according to his spokesman, Justin Hamilton. “It’s irresponsible for a New York Times columnist to presume guilt before we have all the facts,” Mr. Hamilton wrote in an e-mail. “Our inspector general is investigating the cheating issue in D.C. public schools, and we should all let the findings speak for themselves.”

The Office of the Inspector General is an independent oversight agency, although the secretary can refer cases for investigation.

Richard L. Hyde is one who believes that Mr. Duncan should keep his distance. Last year, Mr. Hyde directed 60 state agents in a nine-month investigation of cheating in the Atlanta public schools. They identified 178 teachers and principals in nearly half of the city’s schools who cheated — 82 of whom confessed. The case they built is so strong that criminal indictments are expected.”

Appearances!  Appearances!

Tony