school bus
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan just returned from a three-day bus tour of schools in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and other cities that are struggling economically. He speaks with host Michel Martin about his tour and how investing in schools relates to President Obama's jobs plan.

MICHEL MARTIN, host: I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. The school year is just beginning and already some students are learning hard lessons. At the University of Akron, an email meant to advise black male students on how to deal with the police has sparked an uproar. We'll hear from a critic of the email plus a university official who is himself a black man about why he thought the email was tough to swallow but necessary. But first, a newsmaker interviewer with the secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.

He started this school year by heading back to class himself. As part of his back to school bus tour, the secretary has met with students, teachers, and administrators in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and other schools in the Great Lakes region to drive home the message that, quote, "education is the economic strategy for the 21st century." The bus tour wrapped up this past weekend. We caught up with Secretary Duncan earlier and he joined us from his Washington, D.C. office.

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