Badass Teachers Association
I listened to Betsy DeVos' opening remarks to the Department of Education staff today, and was grateful for the Masters in Euphemistic Double Speak I earned under the various prior administrations at my schools and in the greater Education world.
Phil Rosenfelt, the long time Department Acting person spoke in code to his old colleagues, reminding everyone that all of them took an oath to uphold the Constitution and their mission was for equity and opportunity for the children, He spoke about the same length of time as Betsy on the importance of trying to listen to one another. (I remember once when I tried to gently suggest that to an administrator--, didn't work very well.) He did not give Betsy an effusive introduction, but was professional, respectful and welcomed her.
Betsy said all the things she thought she was supposed to say, that she would work with those who had been for her and those who had been against her, that she was an open door person (oddly, no one who has ever told me that as a boss actually was).
But careful as she was, there were a couple of places where she let slip what her actual perspective was.
She said all children are born with innate curiosity and wanted to learn, but there were problems. The problems were the adult humans around them who got in the way.
It doesn't take much to figure out that the adult humans she considers in the way are teachers. A word she could not bring herself to use. She spoke of educators, but not in proximity to words about students.
I am always suspicious of officials who call everyone who works in the education field Badass Teachers Association: DeVos' First Promises by Cheryl Binkley:
