āRegrets? Heās had a few, but not too many. And even these lack much self-reflection.ā
That judgment, with apologies to the song āI Did It My Way,ā pretty much sums up Aaron Pallasās review of How Schools Work: An Inside Account of Failure and Success from One of the Nationās Longest-Serving Secretaries of Education, the new book by Obama appointee Arne Duncan.
Duncanās āstrong opinions about public policy [are] bolstered mainly by vignettes and anecdotes,ā Pallas, TCās Arthur I. Gates Professor of Sociology and Education, asserts in a piece published , āand issues often rise or fall on the policy agenda as much on the basis of stories as on hard evidence... This is the essential contradiction of Arne Duncan: He claims to be driven by data, but he prefers a good story.ā
Pallasās review is also cited extensively in a Washington Post column about education by reporter Valerie Strauss.
Read āThe Answer Sheetā column and the Hechinger Report review .