My morning started with a free bagel. It wasn’t much — no five-figure bonus or anything like that — but I’m a teacher. It’s the thought that counts. I’ll take whatever free food you’re willing to give, but I’m most interested in what you’re thinking, says S. Alexander Cooke for Yahoo! News. That’s why this year Teacher Appreciation Week has the makings to be truly special. Yes, I enjoyed a free bagel. But more importantly, our nation’s educator-in-charge, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, said two things that show me his thoughts are in the right place. First, in a piece for the Huffington Post, Secretary Duncan cautioned that in pursuing education reform, “We should bear in mind that reforms that fail to heed the voice of teachers are doomed.” Ask just about any public school teacher whether top-down reforms such as the much-ballyhooed No Child Left Behind Act are worth the paper they’re printed on, and you’ll get a sarcastic chuckle in response. Teachers know that legislating educational progress is a bad — and depressingly expensive — joke…
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