G. F. Brandenburg: The Only Worse Candidate Than Betsy DeVos Would Have Been Rhee

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1. Jon Awbrey says:

   November 23, 2016 at 7:07 pm

   I can see he doesn’t know Betsy like we know Betsy.

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2. Mark Elinson says:

   November 23, 2016 at 7:29 pm

   DeVos is a bad choice. But. the Democratic politicians who are so supportive of Eli Broad’s and Bill Gate’s charter school movement need to change their ways.

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3. Amanda Lovall-Cole says:

   November 23, 2016 at 7:33 pm

   I think I’d have to disagree, respectively.

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4. jlsteach says:

   November 23, 2016 at 8:03 pm

   I think that GF is a bit jaded based upon his own personal experience with Ms. Rhee and is not looking at things as a whole. I too taught in DC under Rhee. Like GF, and many here, I am not a huge fan of her. However, at least she had spent time in a classroom (you can criticize Rhee and TFA, but at least she was in a classroom). Then she led the DC School System. Yes, criticize her policies, but she was making major decisions in a relatively major school system.

   A quick look at Ms. DeVos’ Wikipedia page reveals that a) she is the daughter in law of a billionaire – so she married into money, b) her only education experience is under “philanthropy” – essentially she paid her way into influencing education – that is certain something that Ms. Rhee did not do (yes, I am sure Student First and TFA have contacts with money, but again I am talking about HOW she personally became involved with education)

   So, I took have to disagree with GF that Ms. Rhee would have been a worse choice than Ms. DeVos. Like Dr. Ravitch, I would have liked Mr. Evers to be in the lead position, but if not him, I would have taken Ms. Rhee, someone with SOME experience in education – actually being in a leadership role in education, than someone who has no experience at all…

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   • LeftCoastTeacher says:

     November 23, 2016 at 10:45 pm

     Rhee is worse, in my opinion. It is because of Rhee’s experience that I believe she would have been worse. She embodies TFA: Go into a classroom with the paternalistic façade of a civil rights savior, insist you’re doing a better job than those vastly better versed and experienced in teaching, then go into politics with, once again, that paternalistic façade of civil rights savior.

     At least Devos is devoid of experience working with public school districts and Capitol Hill. At least Devos is a Republican will and pass blame to the Party for her mistakes in the Trump administration. At least Devos is a billionaire and will face resistance instead of a public duped by TFA-style and/or Broad Academy-style “experience” or association with Democrats. Too many give Michelle Rhee too much credit for being anything less than the, with her sheep’s clothes, most dangerous candidate. Former candidate.

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5. gfbrandenburg says:

   November 23, 2016 at 8:06 pm

   Actually, JLS, I think Devos is even worse than Rhee. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.

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   • jlsteach says:

     November 23, 2016 at 8:17 pm

     But then should you have said “The only worse possible candidate for Sec. of Education than Michelle Rhee was DeVos” And not…”Because the only worse possible candidate for US EdSec would be Michelle Rhee”..

     The way that I read the second statement, and thus the title of this blog post, is that Rhee would be worse than DeVos…you may want to clarify that, because it was not clear.

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     • gfbrandenburg says:

       November 24, 2016 at 7:27 am

       Right. Diane reversed what I wrote, by accident.

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   • stacey6269 says:

     November 24, 2016 at 7:00 am

     I think you were clear.. Diane mistakenly reversed the names.

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6. Joe says:

   November 23, 2016 at 8:16 pm

   The choice is clear: choose between a pool of hungry sharks or a pool of famished crocodiles.

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7. Kent says:

   November 23, 2016 at 11:24 pm

   Maybe DeVos will foster a culture reminiscent of NCLB with improved metrics and employing a new student driven paradigm.

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   • Uncle Albert's Nephew says:

     November 24, 2016 at 3:38 am

     More likely she’ll foster a culture like Amway where anyone who comes in contact with education loses their life savings.

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8. democracy says:

   November 24, 2016 at 5:14 am

   I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. Perhaps the primary purpose of public schooling should be democratic citizenship. Far too many educational organizations and educators have abandoned that responsibility.

   The fact that as many as one in five of AFT members and a third of NEA members voted for Trump shows just how far from that historic mission public education (and public educators) have strayed.

   It sure does look like the privatization of public education is ready to set sail.

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9. John Ogozalek says:

   November 24, 2016 at 7:12 am

   Amidst these tough times, hats off to G.F. Brandenburg for his work blogging. It’s the leadership of everyday citizens like Brandenburg that will help get us through this mess called 2017.

   Full disclosure from an East Coast liberal: I didn’t know Amway still existed! I mean, I feel like I just went back in a time machine to the 1970s! (Amway = the main source of DeVos’s heap ‘o cash).

   I did some quick reading about the “multi-level” marketing behemoth. It sounds like Amway’s mix of free market capitalism and religion harkens back to way beyond the 1970s. We’re talking the Gilded Age of the 1890s here…..the “Gospel of Success”…. “Prosperity Theology” which celebrates the rich. i.e. 1%ers like DeVos get the best seats in the house (or church, as it were.) Coming to a school near you?

   From good ‘ole Wikipedia: “Sociologist David G. Bromley calls Amway a “quasi-religious corporation” having sectarian characteristics.[93][94] Bromley and Anson Shupe view Amway as preaching the Gospel of Prosperity.[95] Patralekha Bhattacharya and Krishna Kumar Mehta, of the consulting firm Thinkalytics, LLC, reasoned that although some critics have referred to organizations such as Amway as “cults” and have speculated that they engage in “mind control”, there are other explanations that could account for the behavior of distributors. Namely, continued involvement of distributors despite minimal economic return may result from social satisfaction compensating for diminished economic satisfaction.[96]”

   Hmmm..that last line sounds like a good explanation for the way a good percentage of voters behaved two weeks ago. The party’s been good on the Trump train -even though it’s taking some of those same angry Trump voters towards an economic cliff.

   For those of you who don’t trust Wikipedia, just start scratching the surface. There’s a lot more. Mother Jones has done significant reporting on Amway and the DeVos clan.

   Amway….”short for The American Way”. I sure hope not!

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10. FLERP! says:

    November 24, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    I admit I was expecting Brandenburg to have some kind of explanation about why Rhee would have been a worse appointment.

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