Sue Duncan - Volunteer Extraordinaire

Let's take care of first things first. Yes, Sue Duncan, 75, is the mother of Arne Duncan the current Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Ms. Duncan, though, has an entirely different background relative to working in the field of education. She has never been elevated to a lofty position of power and authority; rather, she has given much of her life, on a voluntary basis, in the service of educating children.

The Sunday, November 28th Chicago Tribune put together a simply wonderful and inspiring piece on the volunteer work of Ms. Duncan. Sue has tutored thousands of Chicago school children for free for the past 49 years! Yes, for free. Mind you, most of the her tutoring has been directed towards children from the poorest neighborhoods. Quite an accomplishment.

What makes her work all the more notable is the fact that Ms. Duncan came from a well-to-do background. She is the daughter of a wealthy financier. She attended prestigious Smith College and her husband was a professor at the University of Chicago.

As the Tribune noted, "despite here privileged background, Sue Duncan remembered difficult times from her childhood. Her mother suffered from deep depressions, and when Duncan needed love and support, her nanny, Eva Guy, became a surrogate parent."

To this day Ms. Duncan credits Ms. Guy with her inspiration to reach out to others to offer them affection and support.

Over the years Ms. Duncan has tutored children in math and reading. She also makes sure that the children get in their daily exercise along with working on homework. But more important, Sue has done it with grace, warmth, and discipline. Over the years Ms. Duncan has had strict rules; no yelling, no violence, no weapons. As the Trib noted, "You had to tuck in your shirt, say please and thank you, and sit with your hands folded." And her style worked forty nine years ago and it continues to work to this very day.

There is much to be said about aiding others through tutoring or any other act of selflessness. Ms. Duncan surely serves as a model for all of us in the field of education who seek to find ways to enable children to be all they can be. Thank you Ms. Duncan.

Dick