It’s Halloween, and I’d like to tell you a scary story. Actually, I’d like to allow US ed sec Betsy DeVos tell a story scary for its lack of details and ultimately intended to drive her readers toward her pet goal of school choice, particularly private school choice.
I call it, “Did You Really Mean to Implicate This Parent?”
Put yourself in the shoes of the father whose son, a recent high school graduate, was honored in the local newspaper. Dad’s pride turns to dismay as he discovers his son can’t read or comprehend the article about himself. Dad marches over to the high school principal’s office, his son and the newspaper in tow, and asks his son to read the article to the principal. He, of course, can’t. The father pointedly asks the principal how he could’ve graduated his son—or anyone else—who can’t read. There is no defensible answer.
DeVos doesn’t say whether the high school in question is a traditional public high school, or a charter high school, or even a private high school for that matter, but let’s assume that she means to point her “government schools” finger at traditional public high schools. However, she is clear in her intent to blame the school for graduating someone who cannot “read or comprehend the article.”
So, here’s the scary part for DeVos’ message of parents knowing what is best: DeVos just implicated the parent. Of course, she did not mean to do so. She meant to place all blame for unnamed graduate not being able to “read or comprehend” a news article on the CONTINUE READING: Betsy DeVos’ Scary Story | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog
