After the most narrow victory in U.S. history with the votes 50-51, Betsy DeVos was voted into the position of United States Secretary of Education. Since she was first nominated, there has been a large population of people who have been worried about the possible effects DeVos’ policies and lack of experience may have on our System of Education.
A couple weeks ago, a protest occurred against DeVos at a D.C. public school, which involved protesters denying her access to the building. As an educator, I don’t believe she’s qualified for the position and I disagree with many of the policies she plans to implement. However, denying DeVos access to public schools will only cause more damage to our public school system. How do we protest the actions of someone who works so closely with our children without creating other issues and halting productivity in our schools? How do we allow our voices to be heard, without our words being at cost to educational professionals, parents, and students? Recently, protesters have handled the situation rather poorly. We need to make it our goal to make DeVos hear our voices without damaging the day to day operations of our schools.
The main concern with DeVos is her focus on privatizing education and her perceived anti-public school agenda. DeVos believes teachers in charter and private schools are better equipped, and more likely, to lead the way toward better education. She believes charter and private schools provide education that will move away from standardized testing, and prepare students for the current job climate. These beliefs, however, are not based on empirical data. In fact, the U.S. Government site for education states, “Today, high school graduation rates are at all-time highs. Dropout rates are at historic lows. And more students are going to college than ever before.”
DeVos seeks to take tax payer money from public schools by investing in voucher programs. This process involves taking both a student and tax money which would’ve gone to a public school, and instead places them in a private school, leading to an increase in underfunded public schools. This presents a larger problem as the success of public schools has been shown to have a direct correlation to their funding. If a school cannot buy supplies or afford arts and music programs, they are less likely to succeed. If DeVos gets her way, we will see more public schools underperforming to the extent that DeVos claims they are.
Across the country, people are worried that public education will not receive the necessary funding and legislative focus it deserves, and so desperately needs. We need to speak out against her initiative to privatize and funnel money away from public schools in a more productive way. We need to ensure that DeVos spends more time in public schools, not less. We need to write letters, make statuses, and talk about what she’s doing. Increasing awareness of her actions while encouraging her to spend more time in public schools, not keeping her out of them.
Public schools are exactly where DeVos needs to be right now. It’s only when she gets in those buildings that she will begin to see the great work public school teachers and other education personnel are doing every day to prepare our students for the future. Discouraging her from entering public schools will only prevent the prosperity of the public school system, and the children being taught in it. Additionally, this will discourage DeVos from learning about public schools, which is detrimental to the public school system. Lastly, we need to find places to make our voices heard in places that aren’t schools. Our schools should be respected as institutes of learning and we shouldn’t seek to slow down the goings on at any school with protests. Protest at your town halls, not at our children’s schools.