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Saturday, March 14, 2020

CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos Wants To Give Teachers PD Vouchers

CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos Wants To Give Teachers PD Vouchers

DeVos Wants To Give Teachers PD Vouchers


It's not the dumbest education policy idea to ever come out of DC. Betsy DeVos is continuing to champion idea that she has pushed before-- giving teachers professional development vouchers and letting them go shop for their own professional development experiences.

When floated in 2019, the idea was obviously not about kind thoughts about teachers or even philosophical consistency for the choice-loving secretary. It was a way to chop Title II out of the budget. It's a funny thing, but the words "choice" and "freedom" often end up meaning "We are going to spend way less money on this and just let you find your own way." But it looks as if the department  has found a way to move ahead.

Still, she's not wrong about one thing:

I've spoken with hundreds of teachers as I've traveled across the country and hosted teacher roundtables at the department, and I heard far too often how limited most teachers are in their own professional development. They have little to no say in the courses they take. They have very little freedom to explore subject areas that interest them.

Okay, the "spoken with hundreds of teachers" seems unlikely, but the "teacher PD mostly sucks" part CONTINUE READING: 
CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos Wants To Give Teachers PD Vouchers