On this week’s episode of The Open Mind, we welcome Arne Duncan, former U.S. Secretary of Education. Prior to joining the Obama administration, Duncan served as CEO of Chicago public schools and won praise for uniting the city stakeholders behind a consensus education agenda. Today as managing partner at Emerson Collective, Duncan has returned to Chicago on a mission to improve the livelihoods of young adults in his hometown and create job and life opportunities for disconnected youth. Established by Laurene Powell Jobs, Emerson Collective spearheads social justice initiatives. Now, Duncan is author of the new Simon and Schuster book, “How Schools Work: An Inside Account of Failure and Success From One of the Nation's Longest Serving Secretaries of Education,” an authentic account of these real world struggles, Duncan focuses acutely on the big political lies and crises plaguing American education from the halls of Congress and state houses to the principal's office and classrooms.
Together, we discuss the American education system, where it needs to go, and who is doing it right. We explore topics from expanding our system to include pre-K through 14 to the importance of keeping our children safe in the schools they attend.
