Well 50 of the GOP Senators disappointed me again. They put politics ahead of the needs of our nation's children. As noted previously, this woman has ZERO qualifications for this position and yet they gave her the job to make Trump happy. What are they thinking???
CNN DeVos Confirmed
CNN DeVos is a Vote for Re-segregation
NPR DeVos Confirmed
Fox News DeVos Confirmed
BBC DeVos Uproar
BBC DeVos Hearing Grade:
CNN DeVos Confirmed
CNN DeVos is a Vote for Re-segregation
NPR DeVos Confirmed
Fox News DeVos Confirmed
BBC DeVos Uproar
BBC DeVos Hearing Grade:
"Betsy DeVos's confirmation hearing was scheduled for last week, but it had to be pushed back because she hadn't completed her government ethics review. After her performance on Tuesday, the Trump team may have wished the nominee's appearance could have been delayed even further.
The billionaire education-reform activist who has donated hundreds of millions to Republican causes made news for all the wrong reasons. She seemed uninformed about an ongoing debate about how to measure student performance and unfamiliar with the Individuals With Disabilities in Education Act, a federal law that requires public schools to make accommodations for disabled students.
She illustrated a point about states deciding whether to allow firearms in schools by noting that Wyoming classrooms may need guns to defend against bears.
Notable quote: "I share president-elect Trump's view that it's time to shift the debate from what the system thinks is best for kids to what moms and dads want, expect and deserve."
Grade: C-minus. "I respect, think highly of Betsy DeVos," tweeted conservative commentator Ana Navarro. "But clips of her confirmation hearing made me want to cover my eyes."
And you know there is a big problem when a leading Charter School advocate calls her unprepared and unqualified.
ReplyDeleteFox Opinion: Why DeVos will be great
ReplyDeleteIf your viewpoint is correct, it would seem she is perfectly suited to "shut down" DOE, which might be the best approach. Personally, I favor severely limiting its role, EXCEPT for a mandate that failing schools must issue vouchers for the federal portion of their funding, with an extra incentive if the state funding follows along.
ReplyDeleteTo me it seems she is rich busy body who knows little about the laws that are relevant to our country's educational system. (ie ADA, Special Needs, Equal Opportunity, etc)
ReplyDeleteNot sure how she will lead anything. It is more likely that she will trigger many more court cases.
Unless you know of some applicable business management experience she is hiding in her resume...
I always find it fascinating how you want to return all education control to the States and Locals... When it is their policies that created the mess we have...
ReplyDeletePlease remember that the department of Education was pretty toothless until NCLB in ~2002. And the primary action it did was to collect a lot of data that clearly showed how terrible of a job many of the States and Locals were doing.
I guess you must think the problems will be fixed if we close our eyes again... :-)
I will point out that Democrats quickly rendered NCLB toothless as well. We would have been years ahead on school choice if not for that bit of union-driven skullduggery. I'm not sure about the NCLB replacement and whether it has any teeth to it, but the federal DOE does have a role in "shaming" those districts around the country with such terrible results. And in doing that they are the only entity large enough to stand against the teachers unions. Again, my vision of this is that federal aid will be tied to performance, and schools that fail to perform adequately will be told they must give out vouchers for the amount of federal aid they receive, and that there will be a bonus on top of that if states deliver their aid on the same voucher. And I would let states set the standards and tests by which academic performance is measured, and how many years of failure are permitted before the voucher mandate "kicks in." I believe under NCLB it was four years.
ReplyDeleteApparently DeVos beliefs don't think over sight / performance measures are necessary...
ReplyDeleteAtlantic Accountability Problem
WP A Sobering Look
Politico DeVos School Experiment Gets Poor Grades
I like this from Politico...
ReplyDelete"Despite two decades of charter-school growth, the state’s overall academic progress has failed to keep pace with other states: Michigan ranks near the bottom for fourth- and eighth-grade math and fourth-grade reading on a nationally representative test, nicknamed the “Nation’s Report Card.” Notably, the state’s charter schools scored worse on that test than their traditional public-school counterparts, according to an analysis of federal data.
Critics say Michigan’s laissez-faire attitude about charter-school regulation has led to marginal and, in some cases, terrible schools in the state’s poorest communities as part of a system dominated by for-profit operators. Charter-school growth has also weakened the finances and enrollment of traditional public-school districts like Detroit’s, at a time when many communities are still recovering from the economic downturn that hit Michigan’s auto industry particularly hard.
The results in Michigan are so disappointing that even some supporters of school choice are critical of the state’s policies."
Apparently it is more important to ensure that Parent's get to choose than it is for the kids to actually learn. I mean the vast majority of parents have NO experience or education in child education / development or what makes a good school.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder questionable businesses seem to thrive in the Michigan model. Free money, uneducated consumer and low oversight. I do feel sorry for the kids.
Well, you have identified the problem so well, it should be easy to remedy. Require results reporting so consumers are "educated" about which schools are good and which are not. After that, if parents still choose the charter, it may be that for THEIR kid it is actually better.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of school choice is to end the problems of NO choice. Just saying that some choices are bad when, in the current arrangement, the ONLY choice is bad, is a terrible argument to make and condemns these kids to a life of misery.
I think you missed the point of the link that noted that the "choices" are doing no better as usual...
ReplyDeleteAnd I wonder how kids will be able to transfer from their ineffectual "for profit" school when the owner has gone in debt, pocketed the money, failed the kids and files for bankruptcy.
Please remember that Universities, Colleges, etc have an accreditation system that allows students to transfer credits between them. Not sure how you envision this happening in your capitalistic school nirvana?
I mean just look at all the for profit higher ed organizations that are failing and leaving their students screwed and in debt. I guess the upside is that it will be us tax payers holding the bill, not the family.
"condemns these kids to a life of misery."
ReplyDeleteOf course you know my view. Blame the schools all you want, but if you ignore holding the Baby Makers accountable for being Good Parents... You condemn the kids.
Along those lines... MP Student Discipline
ReplyDelete"“The fact that black, Hispanic and Native American students — boys, in particular — are disproportionately affected by these subjective exclusionary behavior practices makes it an equity issue in need of some corrective action.” So does it mean that boys are unfairly targeted? Is it a Title IX issue?" Ilya
"I think the answer is the usual one... It is a Single Parent household and Poverty issue.... Too bad folks want to keep blaming it on Racial Issues / Bias.
I can guarantee my kids would have had many more challenges in school if my better half had not been there to do most of the heavy lifting." G2A
Please stay away from that rabbit hole. The "new equity" discipline policy in St. Paul is a disaster, and those kids who have a CHOICE are escaping it.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot blame poor parenting for that one.