So,
I put the phrase "social justice" in the title of this blog for all
the prickly folks who have their Google alerts set to snag any blogger with the
temerity to write about equity and fairness in American education. I could come
up with a dozen more interesting titles for this dispatch from D.C.--but the
money quote in this blog is about social justice, a once-righteous phrase that
has lately taken a licking and, one hopes, will come out ticking.

I
have been in the capital this week to attend the National Teacher of the Year
gala and give the fabulous 2009 State Teachers of the Year a hand in developing
their own virtual think tank (a project led by the Center for Teaching Quality,
as a part of the Teacher Leaders Network). The 2009 TOYs were on a major high,
having been recognized in the White House Rose Garden, and feted by various and
sundry Big Names, including the president. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
was the kickoff speaker at their (very classy) recognition dinner. And he said
some wonderful--perhaps surprising, and even reassuring--things.

The
conventional wisdom on the Secretary has been that he's not moving a bold or
innovative ed reform agenda so far. Or that he is, in Diane Ravitch's words,
Margaret Spellings in drag--a man whose default strategy has been to keep from
rocking the accountability boat. Depending in which "reform" crusade
you march, you can see Duncan's first hundred days as annoyingly static or
encouragingly stable. His big policy pronouncements--i.e., some kids need more
time to raise achievement data--have been humdrum or recycled.  There doesn't seem to be a clear or stirring
vision of what American schools could look like, or aspire to--only sporadic
opinions on charters, the miraculous power of data, and irritating goal-post
metaphors.

Probably
because he was speaking to a crowd of education insiders and funders, plus
fifty-odd extraordinary teachers from across the country, the Secretary's
remarks were centered on good teaching as the solution to any number of
problems. We've heard that before--in fact, it's become the centerpiece of education
policy in both progressive and conservative camps. We all want good
teachers--the political conflict begins when we try to define and measure effective
teaching, describe the right candidates for the job, and figure out how to
maintain consistency, excellence, and enthusiasm while paying them peanuts.

Duncan's
remarks at the Teacher of the Year gathering began with some boilerplate along
the lines of "I'm in a room full of amazing teachers"--then shifted
to our most intractable problem, the ugly gap between our high-achieving
children of advantage and those who drop out after facing daily failure. He
said "this is the civil rights issue of our age" and "money does
matter in education."  He spoke
about our "window of opportunity" to turn this terrible situation around.
I started to feel flickers of something I haven't felt in several months: hope.

Duncan
went on to say that we needed a full-out campaign in teaching to "attract
the best and brightest--and to retain the best and brightest for the next
twenty-five years." It was the second half of the sentence that floored
me. We haven't heard that lately--a recognition that keeping great talent in K-12
schools, long-term, is a worthy goal. "We want to transform the teaching
profession," the man said--and it was clear that he didn't mean
de-skilling teachers or suggesting that experience is a drawback, rather than
an asset.

"We
have not served all communities equally," said the Secretary. "This
is nothing less than a fight for social justice."

Well,
I loved hearing that. The idea of democratic equality--liberty and justice for
all-- once a cornerstone of our national commitment to a free public education,
has been bruised and bloodied. The last time I put "social justice"
in a blog title, I was visited by an enraged crank who posted threatening racist
comments. I had to snip them because they were disgusting. The rising tide that
lifts all boats, the beauty of pluralistic communities--not so much, these
days. We are trying so hard to be "efficient" that we've bypassed "all
men are created equal" and have moved on to segregating our students for motivational
test-prep assemblies. These assemblies may or may not raise test scores, but
they are certainly a sign that our democratic values are royally screwed up.

To
hear Arne Duncan call the quest for better public schools a fight for social
justice was refreshing. Just a few lines, in a speech that exemplified
preaching to the choir--but enough to re-generate a touch of optimism. Thanks,
Secretary Duncan.