Posted November 27: Betsy Devos, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education is another rattler. As I was reading about her penchant for vouchers, all it took was a casual mention from my husband that she is Erik Prince’s sister, to set my arms to shaking again in a fight or flight reaction.
Have you read “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army”? This was a chilling account of Erik Prince’s role in privatizing our army which removed accountability and professionalism in our military engagements. It also revealed how much money, influence, and a private Christian-Right agenda can permeate our government’s rhetoric and decision-making.
The appointment of his sister, Betsy DeVos, bodes similarly ill for the separation of church and state. You can expect her to also move toward privatizing education, diverting money from public schools to parochial schools or for-profit schools via vouchers, and causing an unstable schools environment for children, including diminished professional standards and oversight in the process.
What you can do…
Read the Economist articles from mid-2016 on training teachers and findings on what works. These are the best articles I have read all year on education reform and they are about investing in teachers, not splintering neighborhoods or creating new schools or school systems.
For fun you might also enjoy John Oliver’s piece on Charter Schools.
citizenstacy.com 