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Monday, January 16, 2017

Peter Greene: Six Reasons To Oppose Betsy DeVos As Secretary Of Education | The Huffington Post

Six Reasons To Oppose Betsy DeVos As Secretary Of Education | The Huffington Post:

Six Reasons To Oppose Betsy DeVos As Secretary Of Education


Senate hearings on Herr Trump’s cabinet picks are coming up soon, and you should be calling your Senator. Regardless of your political leanings, there are many good reasons for opposing Betsy DeVos as a Secretary of Education.
1) No experience with public education.
This is not like appointing someone to the post of Attorney General who is not a lawyer — this is like appointing someone Attorney General who has never been to court. DeVos grew up in private school, sent her kids to private school, and has spent her adult life advocating for private schools. She has literally no first hand knowledge of how the public education system works, for better or worse. As Senator Elizabeth Warren put it in her letter to DeVos:

There is no precedent for an Education Department Secretary nominee with your lack of experience in public education. While past nominees for Secretary of Education have served as teachers, school system leaders, and governors, and came to the Department of Education with deep executive experience in public education, you have held no such position.
2) No organizational experience.
DeVos’s experience is strictly in philanthropic advocacy, a sort of checkbook lobbying that has never required her to work with people with whom she disagrees. As Secretary of Education, she will need to work with governors, congresspersons, Six Reasons To Oppose Betsy DeVos As Secretary Of Education | The Huffington Post: