Betsy Devos

Professors Are A Threat To The Trumpist Movement

... partisan allegiance. Instead, I want them to examine every proposal on its merits, and with a critical eye. As an educator, I believe I’ve done my job well if in the course of my class, a Bernie-supporting Democratic Socialist finds fault with Sanders’ free college plan, proposes ways to improve it, and allows herself to agree with Marco Rubio’s thoughts on the matter. I sleep well at night if a class discussion leads a Ron Paul acolyte to find sympathy with feeding poor schoolchildren, or leads a Clinton supporter to acknowledge that money alone will not fix failing schools. These are big wins for me, for the students, and for our country. My belief as a professor ― which I believe most share — is that students should be suspicious of easy answers and committed to tough questions. That’s why this passage from Letters to a Young Poet appears on my course portal. You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. ...

An Educator's Plea To Betsy Devos

... public school educator has some reasonable requests to make of our new education secretary. By Dana Hunter on February 26, 2017. Share on Facebook. Advertisement |. Report Ad. Despite our best efforts, Betsy De Vos was confirmed as Secretary of Education. This is terrible news for our nation's public schools. Those of us concerned about science education will have to pour our efforts into protecting our schools on a local and state level. We'll also have to push hard for accountability. Just because De Vos was confirmed doesn't mean she gets free rein to destroy our schools. She now has a responsibility to provide all of America's children with a quality free primary education, and we will hold her to that. My friend J. S. recently retired from a twenty-eight year career as a teacher at one of our nation's ...

Betsy Devos Is Riling Up Education Advocates. Here's Why

... first job in the field. De Vos did not attend public school, never worked in education and does not have any academic background in education. She could potentially make decisions affecting nearly 100,000 public schools and over 50 million children. Ninety percent of U. S school children attend public schools. Related: Trump Selects Charter School Advocate Betsy De Vos as Education Secretary. During her hearing, she struggled to answer questions on relevant federal law pertaining to education, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which guarantees federal right of public education to children with disabilities. De Vos said the enforcement of federal law should be deferred to state and local districts. Copy this code to your website or blog. "In her hearing De Vos really did not demonstrate preparation and knowledge for the responsibility of the nations' ...

Bill Cassidy Wasn't Bought By Betsy Devos; He Was Bought By The Devos Family

... in contributions from new Education Secretary Betsy De Vos. Cassidy told the crowd that it would have been illegal for him to receive that much from De Vos. Cassidy was technically telling the truth, but he wasn't being completely honest.  According to reporting from the Center for Responsive Politics , Betsy De Vos made three contributions of $2,600 each to Bill Cassidy's 2014 senate campaign.   That's a total of $7,800. The contributions were made June 26, 2014, September 25, 2014, and November 11, 2014. But in that same election year, Dan De Vos made three contributions of $2,600 each. That's a total of $7,800. The contributions were made June 26, 2014, September 25, 2014, and November 11, 2014. Dick De Vos Jr. made three contributions of $2,600 each to Bill Cassidy's 2014 senate campaign. That's a total of $7,800. The ...

So Far, Education Secretary Betsy Devos Is Just What Her Critics Feared

... “cave to pressure,” but t he New York Times reported that she was given the choice by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to go along with the move or resign — and she “relented.” After the rollback, she said the issue was best left to states and local school districts. The Trump administration on Feb. 22 revoked federal protections for transgender students in public schools who sought to use the restrooms that match their gender identity. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post). [ Trump administration rolls back protections for transgender students ]. De Vos’s boss, President Trump, has come to her defense, saying that she has been unfairly attacked and that she will do a great job as education secretary. And for those who support her prioritizing of school choice, statements such as this, which she gave to Axios , are reassuring: “I expect there will be more public charter schools. I expect there will be more private schools. I expect there will be more virtual schools. I expect there will be more schools of any kind that haven’t even been invented yet.”. To advocates of the public education system, the ...

Betsy Devos Has Drunk The ‘lgbtq’ Kool-aid

... Peter La Barbera, who unearthed her advocacy back when she was chairwoman of the Michigan GOP. La Barbera revealed that during her nomination hearings, the homosexual Log Cabin Republicans sent a letter to the Senate backing De Vos, describing her history of support for homosexual causes. When De Vos spoke to CPAC last week, she described herself as a “mother, grandmother and life partner of 38 years.” Life partner? Why not “wife”? Could this gender-neutral language be explained by her sympathy for her former employee , Greg Mc Neilly, the homosexual former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, who eventually “married” his male partner. Real children are being tragically misled by this agenda. Why doesn’t De Vos get that. Perhaps De Vos needs a few lessons revealing the hard facts about the world of homosexuality. It’s not just an equivalent lifestyle for people who love differently. Has De Vos ever attended a “gay” pride parade? It’s an eye-opener, ...

If Trump’s Guests Tonight Are Anything To Go By, He’s Deeply Committed To School Choice

... for American education. Trump will give his first address to a joint session of Congress at 9 pm EST, and the White House has announced six individuals as official guests who will sit with first lady Melania Trump during the speech. One of the invitees—who historically represent policy initiatives the administration wants to pursue—is Denisha Merriweather, a woman who claims her life was turned around when she left public school for private school with financial help from Florida’s tax-credit scholarship program. Up till now, the Trump administration has been subdued on education policy, choosing to dive with full might into other matters like immigration. That’s suddenly changing. Merriweather, the first in her family to graduate high school and college, isn’t just a private school success story; she’s also a vocal advocate of tax-credit scholarships. Florida’s program offers corporations tax breaks for donating to nonprofits that ...

Does Betsy Devos Know What ‘choice’ Means

... There is no choice like, er, no choice. If this is the kind of school choice that De Vos is hoping to bring nationwide, we are up a worse creek than previously thought. By this broad definition, “tangible, structural reforms that will allow students to reach their full potential” sound like they could include “restoring segregation to the land.” After all, it was segregation that created this wonderful pioneering set of school choices in the first place. But maybe I have been too narrow in my definition of what “options” are. Once you remedy that, history becomes a lot better. Internment was just a lovely way of providing more housing options to people. Before, U. S. citizens and noncitizens of Japanese descent did not have the option of moving to a cool gated community with a watchtower and barbed wire fences, but, afterwards, they did. Similarly, ...

Wisconsin Superintendent Candidates Weigh In On Betsy Devos Role

... local school districts. "Assuming they are people of their word, as President Trump says 'we're not going to be involved in the states as they have in the past.' I welcome that with open arms. I don't want D. C. dictating what we're doing in Wisconsin," Holtz said. "I want Wisconsin to choose the path moving forward. I do think she's going to help us with that.". The candidates were asked when they last taught in a classroom. Evers said it was in 1980, but as the state superintendent he visits classrooms around the state at least once a week — last week he was in Durand and this week in Green Bay. RELATED: Evers, Holtz easily advance out of primary. Holtz said he was a third- and fourth-grade teacher in 1983 before becoming a Whitewater police officer. He later returned to college and took his first principal job in 1989. If college classes he has taught are included, he was teaching in a classroom a few months ago. School start ...

Snl Takes A Jab At Betsy Devos During A Mock Sean Spicer News Conference

... performance, not to mention the facts that she never attended a public school, never sent her children to one and has called the American public education system a “dead end,” has led critics to say she isn’t qualified for the job. At one point in the Jan. 17 hearing on Capitol Hill, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) asked her whether she would agree that guns don’t belong in schools. She responded: “I will refer back to Sen. [Mike] Enzi and the school he was talking about in Wyoming. I think probably there, I would imagine that there is probably a gun in the schools to protect from potential grizzlies.”. Betsy De Vos, Donald Trump's nominee for education secretary, appeared before senators at her confirmation hearing on Jan. 17, but some of her responses created more questions than they answered. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post). Back to SNL. Mc Kinnon as De Vos points to a “reporter” and says, “Yes, the man.” He asks the question on growth vs. proficiency and she responds. Well yes, I don’t know anything about school, but I do think there should be a school, probably Jesus school, and I do think it ...