You may see a lot of education majors posting the same articles, complaining about a mistake that has been made, protesting earlier last month, making calls, and so fourth. You might have seen that many education majors, whether it's special ed, some sort of arts education, or just any education in general, are worried... and we should be. We're scared because our worst nightmare has been voted Secretary for the Department Of Education. That's right, I'm talking about Betsy DeVos. When I first heard about her running for secretary, I wanted to do whatever I could to keep her from being in charge of the D.O.E, and so did many of my fellow education majors. Heck, even Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA), an assassination that I joined, sent out emails to contact our senators on the topic. Teachers that I once had were now protesting in town squares holding signs such as "Teacher's Know Education. DeVos? Not So Much" and "Highly Qualified? Y Teachers N DeVos. Call Senator Portman Ask Him To Vote No!!" followed by the phone number.
So many people are probably thinking what's the big deal. Well, first off it's a huge deal because the secretary of the education department should have a background in education as well so they know exactly what needs to be done. However, DeVos only has experience as a businesswoman, philanthropist, activist and noted political campaign contributor. What does she know about education that's going to help the education program exactly? Probably... NOTHING! Or at least nothing that actually helps because she is known for her advocacy of school choice, school voucher programs, charter schools, and ties to the Reformed Christian community within the the Republican Party. So why did I say what I did? Let me name off a few of her "changes" that she's going to place upon the department of education:
Let low-income parents choose which one of their children gets to go to school
Um...that shouldn't even be be an option because all children have the right to an education
Require free- and reduced-lunch recipients to prostrate themselves before the principal at mealtimes
Someone please tell me this is a joke because this is ridiculous
Ensure that all students, regardless of background, receive the opportunity to bask in the shining light of Christ
Although I like this, this is not right for those of other religions. There is a reason it's known as separation of church and state.
Those may not be true, or they may be 100% true... but that's not the only thing I've read or heard. As one of my friends, who is also an education major, told me that not even all the Republicans voted for DeVos and she only won 51 to 50 because Mike Pence got the deciding vote, so of course he's going to vote for her. Oh that's not the best part...did you hear what she's planning for education majors? Well from what I read she plans to terminate the D.O.E on December 31, 2018. That's just great, right? Wrong. DeVos as secretary of the D.O.E just screams education majors worst nightmare.
So are education majors overreacting? Please leave a comment for what you think on the matter at hand. For more information on DeVos check out the links I have provided within this article.
