As a result of the election, Donald Trump, our president elect, is putting together his transition team and cabinet. He has made some questionable choices, such a Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, but I think the biggest mistake he has made so far is choosing Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education.
Betsy DeVos, a famous school-choice activist, will be sitting at the head of our fine nation's education department. It is important to realize that a good education is the foundation of a well rounded country, economically and politically, and Betsy Devos and Donald Trump alike have made it their affirmative to gut the public education system and use public tax funds to support privatized education.
During Donald Trump's campaign, he announced his education philosophy, and what he planned to do in order to "improve" education in the United States. His plan includes 20 Billion Dollars in block grants to allow low-income kids have a chance at a privatized education, or a "better" education, in the words of our president elect. Every year, our federal government spends almost the same amount of money supporting special education programs and incentives to failing schools. He reminded the American public that the money for the School-Choice program would come from cuts in existing federal spending funds.
This leads to the big questions: Will funding of our teachers and students with special needs be cut? Will my child's school lose funding? Do I need to try to invest in moving my child to a charter or privatized school?
If those questions were asked to Mrs. Betsy DeVos, the answer would probably be yes to all three questions. I would like to begin my complete analysis of Betsy DeVos to begin with a solid statement: Betsy DeVos has never been a teacher or even stepped foot in a public school classroom.
Betsy DeVos comes from a very wealthy family of republican mega-donors. Her family has been involved in party politics without holding office. Her husband, Dick DeVos, was the president of Amway, which was founded by his father, Richard DeVos, and he also served as the president of the Orlando Magic NBA franchise. It's pretty safe to say that they are a family of millionaires. Among her family's millions in donations to the republican party, she has become a lobbyist for privatized education.
Betsy DeVos is in the chair of the American Federation for Children, which leads a tirade against public school education. The American Foundation for Children supports the expansion of privatized education, charter schools, and magnet schools while using government funds. In her home state of Michigan, she has fought for fewer regulations on private schools. As a result, Michigan's charter and private school system is the least regulated in the country.
Everything I say is up for debate, but how do you feel knowing that a millionaire with no classroom experience will be deciding the operations of America's education system? As someone who is going to be a teacher in the near future, I am absolutely OUTRAGED that my occupation will be considered less important as a public school educator. As a taxpayer, I am equally outraged that part of my paycheck might be going to send students to a private school just because their normal K-12 schools have been failing them.
Sending students from a failing school to a private school will not change anything.
After some students leave, the school will still be failing. There are many reasons a school could be failing, but one of the main reasons, and most probable, is that teachers can get tired and overworked. Teachers are some of the least respected and under-paid government officials. They are responsible for teaching our children; educating OUR children. Some schools have plenty of funding to make sure their teachers are well taken care of, but in low-income cities and counties, there are less taxes being paid, and that means less salary for our teachers. Some teachers, in addition to their 84 hour work weeks, have to acquire a second job to supplement their teacher salary, which they had to work very hard for. The money already being used to fund private schools could help to improve our public schools. Private schools are called "private" for a reason.
This is unacceptable. I ask that you pull your support from Betsy DeVos and become more educated on what your government wants to do to undermine the public school districts in your community and city. We can't allow Betsy DeVos to steal money that is desperately needed to improve our low-running schools to line the pockets of our private school presidents. It all starts with you.
