Betsy DeVos is WRONG for Secretary of Education

How could people NOT recognize how WRONG Betsy DeVos is for Secretary of Education?

Betsy DeVos. From Wikipedia

Here are some background info. on Betsy DeVos from Wikipedia.

She was born from billionaire parents (her father founded Prince Corporation, an automobile parts supplier in Michigan) and she attended a private high school and college.

She advocates and lobbies for for-profit charter schools and school vouchers.  [Charter schools are independent schools that are funded by the public (they’re able to create their own pay scale for teachers, for instance, often time asking candidates how much money they want in salary).  School vouchers are government money that pays for private school tuition.]  She said that public schools are dead ends and wants to open the education market.

Today, DeVos has been confirmed as Secretary of Education in the U.S.  Educators, people who know anything about the education system in the U.S., and people who have children in public schools would NEVER approve of DeVos as the Secretary of Education.

During the first confirmation hearing,

1. She has never been a student of public education and her children have not been students of public education.  How can she know the quality of public education? She didn’t take out student loans to complete higher education and her children didn’t have student loans when they complete college.  How does she know what’s best for those who have student loans?
2. She won’t answer questions about students with disabilities having to waive their rights if they choose to go to a different school.  Students, especially those with disabilities, should NEVER have to forego their rights for any reason.  They’re called “rights” for a reason.
3. She doesn’t believe that schools that receive federal money be held equally accountable. It’s like if you have 2 children who live under your roof and take your money who break the same rule, say stay out past curfew, one child gets the standard consequence posted on the wall while the other gets a less detrimental consequence.

In her written answers (insufficient time for questioning), DeVos boasted high graduation rates (high 90s) for online schools, but school records (facts) show they have about 60% graduation rates.

She has no experience with public education.  She’s OK with taking rights from students.  She doesn’t answer questions directly.  She doesn’t do her homework.

Betsy DeVos knows how to game the system like a certain president who nominated her.

My beef.

Aside from the few reasons I listed above, education SHOULDN’T be a market; it’s a public good.

1. At the appropriate ages, children go to school to learn in general – social skills (make friends), learn rules, etc. – while parents are able to return to the workforce – productive members of society, contribute to state and federal taxes, income sources for the family.
2. If you’ve researched or been in the college system, it’s expensive.  Tuition is high, and the books and class materials continue to skyrocket, because of high attendance and demand for higher education.
3. Studies show that you need a 4-year degree at minimum to be competitive in the current labor market.  Studies also show that if you have higher education, you tend to make more money as well – less dependent on public funds.

The problem is that the money needed isn’t there.  Money continues to be taken out of public education, so there isn’t enough to support the current conditions.  It’s like if you have a family of 5 and you make less and less money every year.  As your children grow, they eat more food and outgrow their clothes.  As you age, you may need more medical procedures.  If your shower is clogged, can you afford to hire a plumber to clear it? If your spouse has cancer and can’t work, you have one less source of income, so you downgrade your 3-bedroom house to a 3-bedroom apartment.  So you see, paying for sustenance and maintenance become difficult, you obviously pay for necessities and neglect everything that isn’t a necessity.

When you have people like DeVos who advocate that public money will go to private institutions, it further sucks out the scarce money allotted for public schools.  So if you choose to send your child(ren) to private schools, don’t expect me to applaud you while I pay for it.  You pay for your choices.

Update 6/29/17: Betsy DeVos endorses a $9.2 billion cut to education

Obviously she’s investing in children and schools.