Senate committee hearings on the nomination of billionaire Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education are scheduled for January 11 in the Dirksen Office Building.
She has made campaign contributions to four members of the committee that will interview her, so it is likely that her approval is a foregone conclusion.
However, members of the committee of both parties should be prepared with good questions to draw out her experience, her background, her ideology, and her views.
Here are a few for members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to consider:
- Do you intend to pay the state of Ohio the $5.2 million that you owe for campaign finance violations?
- Are you aware of the widespread fraud and profiteering in the charter industry in Michigan?
- If you are Secretary of Education, what would you do to reduce fraud, waste and abuse in the charter industry?
- Why do you support cybercharters when research consistently shows that they deliver a substandard education, with low tests scores, high attrition, and low graduation rates?
- Why do you oppose regulation and oversight of charter schools?
- Do you believe that students who use public funds to go to religious schools should be subject to the same standards and tests as students in public schools?
- Do you think that Thomas Jefferson was wrong when he recommended a separation of church and state?
- Should religious schools that accept public funding be required to hire certified teachers? If not, why not?
- Do you think that Detroit is a good model for the rest of the nation? It has more children in charter schools than public schools, and charter schools do not get better performance than public schools.
- Do you think that Milwaukee is a good model for the rest of the nation? It has vouchers, charter schools, and traditional public schools, yet is one of the lowest performing urban districts, only slightly ahead of Detroit, which is at the very bottom on NAEP.
- Do you know what NAEP is?
- What programs of the U.S. Department of Education are you planning to change?
- What is your knowledge of federal funding for higher education? How would you change it?
- What do you know about federal funding of students with special needs? How would you change it?
- About 85% of American students attend traditional public schools. Other than urging them to go to nonpublic schools, what ideas do you have to improve their schools?
Please suggest your questions.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Bingo. Favorite Q: Do you think Detroit is a good model for the rest of the nation?
The NOLA charter promoters (and Arne Duncan) used that “good model” quote extensively (even when it was patently untrue). It took time for the research and reality to catch up, but by then it was too late. No more public ed in NOLA. The canary in the ed-reform coal mine.
I am visualizing one of her handlers who is monitoring this blog now frantically going through the internet and the file cabinets muttering, “NAEP? What the hell is NAEP?”
My question would be: What policies would you promote to assist and educate non-college bound students so that they will be able to have successful career prospects?
An estimated 1.5 million children in the USA are home-schooled. What financial/logistical/administrative support should be provided by federal/state governments, to assist parents who exercise this choice?
CEMA4BY:
None. Those who homeschool should not receive a penny of government funding.
They make their choice.
YEP!
Especially since many of those home-schooled are home-schooled for religious reasons.
I’m trying to figure out why some of my comments “await moderation” while others go through no problem. I know one of the key words in the past that would get a comment in moderation was F L E R P ! (take out the spaces). Any help to prevent the moderation?
I don’t know
Fair enough. NO direct financial support to parents who home-school. Not one cent of direct cash payments.
BUT- Should home-schoolers receive administrative and logistical support, “in-kind” support:
Curriculum advice
extra-curricular activities: band, drama, debate,athletics
Advice on how to obtain financial aid for higher education
computer/internet provisions
Textbooks
Instructional advice
I believe sincerely, that since home-schoolers are contributing to the public purse for education, and not receiving classroom instructions, these children should receive all of the non-academic benefits and support, that their public-school counterparts are receiving.
Agree?
No. If home schoolers want all the advantages of public schools, they should enroll. Funding is based on enrollment. Their use of public services that the state does not reimburse is a theft of service.
Let them stay home with their parents and computer.
I am having trouble following your reasoning. Home-school children are not “enrolled” in the public schools, that their parents taxes are supporting. The parents are providing funding, through their tax contributions to a school system, that they are not using.
Parents who home-school, are providing the academic instructions directly to their children.
Agreed, that funding to the school system is calculated on the number of students who are enrolled in the system. Home-school children are not enrolled in the public school, so even though the parents pay school taxes, the school gets no payment from the public purse.
Now this, I really do not get: Q Their use of public services that the state does not reimburse is a theft of service. END Q
How can it possibly be theft? If a home-school child participates in band or football, and eschews academic instruction, there is no theft.
How about a compromise? Let home-school children “enroll” in the local public school. The school system will get to claim a student on the roster. The state will provide funding to the school system.
Then the student will not attend any academic classes in the public school. All academics will be received at home. BUT- The student will receive the non-academic services, that all attending students already enjoy.
This way, the public school gets the money, and does not have to provide any academic services. Class sizes at the public school will be smaller. Children will participate in extra-curricular activities, and receive the benefits of “socialization” with other children. Children will receive assistance in applying for financial aid, and preparing for college, just like the resident students.
The fact is, about 1.5 million children in the USA are home-schooled. Their parents are contributing to the costs of public education, just like everyone else. How about considering the parents and the children?
The public school gets no funding for students who are not enrolled. The fact they they pay taxes is irrelevant. They should not use public school services when their non-enrollment denies the school funding for the services they want. If they want the services, they should enroll in the schools so that the services they want are funded.
Q The fact they they pay taxes is irrelevant. END Q
Isn’t this taxation without representation? Do I read you correctly? People who pay taxes, into the public school system, and receive no services (or limited services, like the school band), are irrelevant?
CEMABY
The homeschoolers contribute nothing to the local school yet they expect services?
cemab4y: Your comments represent one side of the great divide of American politics. Are there issues of public good or should only those who are affected personally be responsible for funding and supporting those issues. I think most of us agree that there are some public goods. For example, I assume, through the comments of yours that I have read, that you unconditionally support military spending because we all derive some nebulous benefit of “security.”
I think most of us believe that public education is a public good–all of us should. We all benefit from its existence. Even those who do not have children, whose children do not attend public schools, or those who no longer have children in public schools benefit in innumerable, immeasurable ways to strengthen our communities. If they choose to go outside the system, then there is nothing preventing them from doing so, they just shouldn’t expect to be treated exceptionally. After all, we don’t allow people to ignore laws they don’t like.
We embark onto a slippery slope when we believe public education becomes, so to speak, a fee-for-service function. Taken to its logical conclusion, your stance means that you should not pay taxes to pay for public infrastructure; you should just pay for the roads and other services you use. Or we shouldn’t pay for medical research; only those who are affected by a disease or disability should do so. It’s similar to the argument that we shouldn’t require young people to pay for insurance since they are less likely to get sick or injured. I could go on with other issues, but you get the point.
Your arguments might make sense if one lives in a primitive society with few, if any social connections. They make no sense for those of us who live in one of the most developed societies in the world.
In Utah, home schooled students are allowed to participate in extra curricular activities with their home school.
This costs the public schools additional money, since those students are not enrolled in public schools, and, therefore, there is no money attached to them.
Everyone pays taxes for education. Home school parents pay taxes, but so do singles, those whose families are grown, those without children, etc. But no one is talking about THEM “getting money back.” An educated populace is essential to a democratic government, so all should pay taxes for it.
I still do not get your reasoning. Q The homeschoolers contribute nothing to the local school yet they expect services? END Q
Homeschool parents pay the exact same school taxes as people who enroll their children in public schools. (as do unmarried people, people with no children, and all citizens).
Homeschool parents are entitled to enroll their children in the public school (which they are paying for, just like everyone else). But, they CHOOSE to teach their children at home.
In some (not all) states, homeschool children can participate in extra-curricular activities at the local public school.
It seems entirely fair, for homeschool children to receive some administrative and support services from the public schools, just like children who attend classes.
The fact is, home schoolers benefit the public schools, by providing tax support, but not accepting any academic services. This means more money is going to the public schools, to use as the schools see fit. Classes can be smaller, and there is more money for academic services.
Looks like a “win-win” situation to me.
Agree?
No. Let me explain. Again. School funding depends on enrollment. If one or many children who are homeschooled expect services from their local school, they are freeloaders.
Greg, you are mistaken. I enthusiastically support public education, even though I have no children. I want to live in an educated society. I went to public schools, and public university. I support prisons, because I want to live in lower-crime society. (I have no relatives in prison). I support the national park service, even though I may never get to see Yellowstone. These natural wonders are worth preserving.
And yes, I support the military. I am a veteran, and I have served in the defense of our nation. I have lived in a communist dictatorship, and an Islamic Kingdom. We must have a defense department, to defend our way of life.
I gladly support all kinds of government programs, even though I am not a direct beneficiary. Medical research is great. I am not an astronaut, but I am all for space research.
All I am saying, is that home-schooled children’s parents are supporting a public education system, just like everyone else. Home-schoolers benefit the public school system, by contributing taxes, but not receiving any academic services at all. Home-school parents are contributing their labor towards the education of their children.
Isn’t it fair, for home-school parents to receive at least some administrative and logistical support from the public schools, that they are supporting both financially, and “in-kind”?
I still do not get your reasoning. Q No. Let me explain. Again. School funding depends on enrollment. If one or many children who are homeschooled expect services from their local school, they are freeloaders. END Q
I get the part, about a public school getting funding, based on enrollment. More students, more money. This part I get.
How about a compromise. Let the home-school children enroll at the school, but not take any classes. They will receive no academic instruction, but will receive some administrative and logistical support, just like the kids who take classes at the school. Only the home-school kids will take their academics at home. The home-school kids will thus increase the student “count” at the public school. More students, more money. The public school will get the funding, and not provide any academics at all. This way, the school, and the kids who are receiving academics, will get more money, for doing nothing!
The parents of home-school kids pay school taxes just like everyone else. They just want to decline the academic services that they are paying for, and accept the non-academic services, that they are already entitled to.
How can home-school kids, whose parents contribute to the public purse, be considered “freeloaders”?
They are in fact the opposite of freeloaders, because they are declining the academic services, that they are already entitled to.
I myself received some home-schooling. My mother taught me how to read, before I started school. My first grade teacher sent me home with a note that said “Your son can already read’. My mother sent me back the next morning with a note “I know, I taught him”.
Cemab4y,
I learned to read at home. I taught my children to read at the age of 4 by reading to them daily. So what? Should the government have paid me for being a good mother?
Q I learned to read at home. I taught my children to read at the age of 4 by reading to them daily. So what? Should the government have paid me for being a good mother? END Q
I just wanted to state that home-schooling is more ubiquitous than most people realize. The home is (often) the best teacher, for many things. And parents should do all they can to ensure that children are school-ready. Too many parents are just willing to turn over their children’s education to the government, and just “wash their hands”.
I hope that in the 21st century, that more parents will become more involved in their children’s education. The African saying is cliche, but true. It does take a village, to raise a child.
Today, about 1.5 million children receive some or all of their K-12 education at home. These children are entitled to receive a quality education, just as much as their public-schooled counterparts.
And no, I do not think that the government should reimburse anyone for their parenting skills. I am certain that your rewards are intrinsic.
Here are a few, many similar to Diane’s.
You’ve been a strong advocate for charters. Nationally, only about 6% of students attend these schools. Leaving aside the question of whether charters have outperformed non-charter public schools, what are your plans to improve the non-charter public schools—improve the teacher force, build capacity, and strengthen leadership and teaching?
Do you see any problems when widespread expansion of charter schools in a district causes severe financial pressure on the remaining schools?
What do you say to critics who produce evidence that widespread charter schools expansion in Michigan with lax accountability has not worked—Michigan schools have not improved in performance and there has been widespread fraud and self-dealing?
You have supported for profit charter schools combined with a lax accountability system for in Michigan. Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida also have similar weak accountability systems and all four states have been plagued by extensive fraud, low performance of charters, self-dealing and many charter school failures. What are you plans to prevent these abuses?
You have stated that you believe “the market” will ensure fiscal and educational integrity and accountability systems hamper creativity. What evidence do have for this and what will you do about the large numbers of instances where the market has failed to correct wide-spread financial, self-dealing, and educational abuses. Same question for on-line charters and for-profit colleges.
What is your opinion of Ayn Rand?
Every time vouchers have come up for a vote by the public they have been rejected as harmful to public schools and eliminating the line between church and state. You sponsored a voucher plan for Michigan which was soundly rejected by the voters of Michigan. Will you continue to push for vouchers in the face of this widespread opposition.
Do you believe in adequate school funding? You have been a major supporter of ALEC which has encouraged governors to cut funds for public education. Following the ALEC playbook from 2009 to 2013 Indiana reduced funding for public schools which serve 93% of the children by $3 billion while increasing charter funding by $539 million, vouchers by $248 million and virtual schools by $143 million. Students who attend non-charter public schools account for 94% of Indiana’s students and took a huge hit. The remaining 6% of charter and voucher students gained more than $900 million. Many other states such as North Carolina have followed suit. Is this your plan for the nation?
What do you believe is the purpose of public education? Do you believe public education should be viewed as a public good for the benefit of the whole country or is just as an individual benefit to parents? Why do you think the country supported the creation of public education in the 19th century where all paid for the schools even if they had no children of school age?
You have advocated choice for parents by supporting extensive expansion of charters. What have you proposed for those parents who choose to stay in their local school but would like adequate financial and educational support for that school? Are they being given a real choice?
About 85% of American students attend traditional public schools. Other than urging them to go to nonpublic schools, what ideas do you have to improve their schools?
Good question. I know the answer, too. “Online learning”. DeVos doesn’t just support cybercharters. She wants to turn every public school INTO a cybercharter.
It’s cheaper than paying teachers in low and middle income schools. She’ll be out pitching online product like the rest of ed reform.
Cheap online garbage for low and middle income kids, real teachers for higher income kids.
Mine are reather pointed.
Have you ever walked in the shoes of public school teachers?
Do you know that zip codes and test scores correlate?
Do you know how much money public school teachers spend on the students they teach? What other profession does this generous act?
Do you know about the long hours teachers work?
Do you know that teachers act as social workers, counselors, advocates, and have to fight people like you do their jobs?
Do you really care about our public schools? If so, show us the evidence.
Do you know that a public school education is the foundation for a working democracy
Do you even care or understand the word “DEMOCRACY?’
Who’s paying you to destroy public education? How much profits have you made from bashing public school teachers.
Do you know about all the scams regarding FOR PROFIT colleges and how many students they have failed?
Do you know anything about research?
What professional journals in education do you read?
Who are the behind the scenes folks feeding you your destructive words.
What is NAEP?
How will YOU profit? How much money will be kicked back to you?
Why do you think you are qualified for this job?
What people “briefs” you? Are you just a mouthpiece?
I love #11. 😉
Answers that would be forthcoming:
No
No
Nothing
Because the free market will decide which ones are good and should stay open.
See answer #4 above
No
Yes!!! God made this country and god will make it great again.
No, because pedagogical knowledge [as if DeVos even has a clue as to what that means] teaching experience aren’t necessary to teach. The free market will determine who can teach.
What? The numbers did not come through on the post????? WTF?
anyway let’s try it this way:
#9-Yes
#10-Yes
#11-No
#12-“I know it’s rude to answer a question with a question but “How can I plan to change any programs when I don’t any to begin with?”
#13-What? See answer #13.
#14-Nothing. See answer #13
#15-None.
#12-“. . . when I don’t KNOW any. . . ” Ay ay ay
In that same vein…
• Could you explain what an IEP is, and how it is used?
• What is your position on mainstreaming?
• What is VAM, and should it be used to make high-stakes decisions about teacher effectiveness?
• What is your experience with online learning, and what do you see as its major advantages and drawbacks?
• How should teachers be evaluated? Be specific. Describe the ways that teachers of different subjects (i.e., math, music, science, reading) deliver their instruction, and how these various instructional modes are best assessed.
• What is your philosophy of education? Please cite 3 education scholars who have influenced your thinking on this topic.
• What should be included in the school curriculum–what should be excluded?
Do you agree:
GOOD QUESTIONS: My suggestion: Those who received funds from DeVos should exempt themselves, or BE excepted from “sitting” on or having a voice in the hearing.
Agreed! Conflict of interest. All members of ALEC as well.
Jon: Maybe they can find an arcane law for THAT too?
Ms. DeVos, do you read books?
Do you know what philosophy is, particularly epistemology?
Do you seek challenges to your view of the world in your reading (if you read at all)?
Do you understand the basic structure of the scientific method?
Do you know the difference between an opinion and a fact?
Do you believe, by virtue of your (inherited and married into, but not earned) wealth that you should have a disproportionate influence over public policy than any other citizen?
Who is John Dewey? Jean Piaget? Sigmund Freud? Jerome Bruner? Howard Gardner? Steven Pinker?
Etc.
A good ole boy from the South would sum up your questions as:
“Betsy, does your s–t stink?”
The supposed efficacy of charter schools comes from the reporting of standardized test scores. Statistics demonstrate that these score reports are distorted, often not accounting for factors such as enrollment numbers, school socioeconomics and attendance. I want to know if Mrs. DeVos has plans to address this perpetuated fraud in education and, additionally, what we stance is on the reliance on increased testing in schools.
There’s a question in there: Has Ms. Devos made any formal or informal pledges to countries other than the USA? If not, how does she understand her “allegiance” to the United States Constitution?
Can you explain Bloom’s Taxonomy and apply it to a classroom lesson in literacy at the elementary, middle, and high school level?
Surely you jest. Billionaire Betsy never heard of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Nor does she care.
Exactly my point.
Can you discuss your knowledge and opinion of early childhood education? What is your opinion of the extensive research that shows quality Pre-K produces better long-term outcomes for participants? Do you have proposals or ideas regarding Pre-K?
What is your approach to education in the younger grades (pre-K – 3rd grade)? What types of teaching strategies and practices do you think work best with these grades?
With regard to parent choice and Charters – will the federal Educ Dept pay for transportation regardless of where the parent lives and where the parent chooses to send their child to school?
Betsy:
Do you know the percentage of teachers that leave the teaching profession after five or fewer years of teaching? Have you read any articles about why they are leaving?
When was the last time you talked directly to a public schoolteacher and what did you learn from him or her?
When was the last time you observed or visited a public school,or classroom? How long did you visit, who did you talk to and what did you learn?
How sad. This is what THEY the count onEIChttps://greatschoolwars.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/eic-oct_11.pdf They own the media. There are 15,880 SCHOOL SYSTEMS, so the average person has NO IDEA OF THE ASSAULT that took out our INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, over 2 decades.
Get ’em young, and you can end a democracy and have the people elect a very dangerous fascist.
Tell betsy that over two hundred thousand teachers — experienced, professionals– have been driven out over 2 decades– as the media THAT THEY OWN — ran its False News about those BAD teachers– who are responsible for the fair;lure of public and why we need to test the kids.
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/HAVE-REPORTERS-BECOME-POLI-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Media_Media-Bias_Media-Blackout_Media-
Meanwhile sites like these, below, told the story from the start, but no one goes to them.
http://endteacherabuse.org/
http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/2009/03/gotcha-squad-and-new-york-city-rubber.html
And betsy hasn’t seen a decade of posts at this site,:
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/06/lausds-treacherous-road-from-reed-to-vergara–its-never-been-about-students-just-money.html
http://www.perdaily.com/2015/01/were-you-terminated-or-forced-to-retire-from-lausd-based-on-fabricated-charges.html
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/LAUSD-OR-TARGETED-TEACHERS-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Deception_Evidence_Fired_Innocence-150720-360.html#comment555646
and books like this one explained the assault on teachers.
Bravery, Bullies, and Blowhards: Lessons Learned in a Montana Classroom:
and still Betsy doesn’t get it?
AGGGGH!
cross posted at http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Questions-for-Billionaire-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Betsy-Devos_Donald-Trump-Cabinet_Education_Questions-170106-802.html
Would go more basic (notes on the bottom show why):
1) Do you believe a “free & public” education for every child in residence in the United States is fundamental to a healthy democracy? Why or why not?
Public meaning funded by taxpayers & controlled by a local, publicly elected communtiy school board.
2) What is the role of any government in the education of its citizens? Which models in other nations do you like or dislike? Why or why not? If there is “no role for govt” in education, is that what the Founders, like Jefferson & Madison, intended? Please make the case being as specific as possible.
Note: “Govt” meaning those that we as citizens elect to represent our interests & to conduct activities we as individuals can not – like build libraries, schools, parks, roads, water plants, ports, etc.
3) Explain citing your personal experiences with being in schools, how was your school (Holland Christian in the sixties & seventies) different to today’s community-based schools?
4) What improvements have been made in the field of pedagogical science in the last 10 years? Please cite detailed examples of specific methods & approaches, their strengths and weaknesses.
5) Your mother, Elsa (Zwiep) Prince Broekhuizen, started her career as a teacher at Holland Public Schools in December of 1953 after graduating Calvin College in the Spring of 1954. Besides her, who were your favorite teachers in elementary, high school and college? What made them great educators? What teachers do you talk with on a regular basis now?
6) Some 85% of all students in the US attend local, ta funded, locally managed, not-for–profit community-based schools. Your husband Dick DeVos called the Public School System in Michigan “in-defensible [SIC]” and you have said they are a “dead end”.
What is the state of schools in Michigan? How did it get that way? and what role have you, your organizations or paid employees & representatives played in what has happened there?
Note
In 1990, Dick DeVos was elected to the Michigan (State) Board of Education. While he was there he handed out a book by John E. Chubb “Politics, Markets, and America’s Schools”.
Two core concepts:
1) Public Education is not a foundation of democracy;
2) “Reformers” should use “public authority” to remove government oversight and influence on an “education industry” based on “free markets” and “parental choice” (CRC concept as well for Betsy, families decide about education, not communities or governments at any level).
In the personal notes of Richard D. McLellan (DeVos Lawyer and Founder of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy the DeVos’ fund, these two concepts were highlighted by him, he wrote “vital” in the margin about democracy, and underlined and asterisked the “use of public authority” (the two passages are BELOW).
Page 218
“Our guiding principle in the design of a choice system is this: public authority must be put to use in creating a system that is almost entirely out of the reach public authority. Because states have the primary responsibility for American public education, we think the best way to achieve significant, enduring reform is for the states to take the initiative in withdrawing authority from existing· institutions and building a new system in which most authority is vested directly in the schools, parents , and students.”
Page 229
“…part of the definition of what democracy and public education are all about.
This identification has never been valid. There is nothing in the concept of democracy to require that schools be subject to direct control by school boards, superintendents, central offices, departments of education, and other arms of government. Nor is there anything in the concept of public education to require that schools be governed in this way. There are many paths to democracy and public education. The path America has been trodding for the past half-century is exacting a heavy price–one the nation and its children can ill afford to bear, and need not. It is time, we·think, to get to the root of the problem.”
These are the LONG ago defined core of the DeVos perspective on education, from the beginning, as they (Dick & Betsy) AND THEIR PARENTS too were taught, by the old man McLellan himself, many years ago. They have never changed, not one iota.
Hector Solon: Who wrote this crap? (<-did I write that?) But BTW, Betsy saying that public education is a “dead end” is a not-so-covert reference to its “lack” of religious ideology–hers.
But the stuff above is damning enough on its own: it says that States must use public authority to take away public authority. That’s the same as saying to use democracy to destroy itself. (Funny, that’s what we just did with the election of Rump.) No wonder they are so dead-set against being regulated. And again, it’s put in personal terms: WHO is regulating rather than WHAT the regulations are about and WHY outside oversight systematically enhances quality and clarity.
In the notes above on page 218, it says States must “take the initiative in withdrawing authority from existing institutions and building a new system in which most authority is vested directly in the schools, parents, and students.” See “SCHOOL BOARDS” below. Aren’t school boards made up of parents?
And who or what is the replacement? Here, “Schools, parents, and students” (which already have a place in control with public schools) is double-speak for “corporations, look-the-other-way stockholders, and those who have power in the free-market system.” This coupled with NO regulation opens the door to any ideological movements that can easily grab the attention of naive young people. And for corporations, it makes students into “product.” What a “choice” THAT is. And where is the systematic connection with our intellectual community, our sciences, our fields of ongoing study?
Also, on page 229, it says: “There is nothing in the concept of democracy to require that schools be subject to direct control by SCHOOL BOARDS, superintendents, central offices, departments of education, and other arms of government. Nor is there anything in the concept of public education to require that schools be governed in this way.”
First, I emphasize SCHOOL BOARDS because, again, isn’t THAT an aspect of local control they say isn’t necessary? (Do they even know what they are talking about?)
But that’s not the half of it. One only has to look to the meanings of DEMOCRACY, PUBLIC, and EDUCATION to counter the above inane statements. First, you can look up public for yourself. But public is opposed-to distinct-from private. And democracy means power in the people (demos: people, crasis/power). “The people” cannot have and keep power unless they are educated generally and specifically about what that power is and how to use and maintain it. So that PUBLIC and EDUCATION of the people are completely intimate with DEMOCRACY. So that that paragraph in the note on page 229 is COMPLETELY FALSE.
We could say much more about this–but I do appreciate the post. It shows what we’ve been up against for a very long time.
How about starting with another, more fundamental question?
What is the purpose of education?
Is it workforce training? If so, for what jobs? How can you predict what jobs will be obsolete in 10, 20 years and what jobs will be created?
Is it to help young people to become citizens who can think critically and analyze situations to come up with solutions to problems we don’t know exist?
Is it to develop character? If so, who decides the content of such curricula? Is it religion based? If so, which religion – and what about the Establishment clause?
One question for Ms. DeVos: Would you support a “slumlord” law, that would force politicians and educators who are opposed to school choice, to send their children to the public schools, which they champion?
Cemab47,
NO ONE IS FORCED TO GO TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. You are nuts. Please go away. Even people who don’t have children support public schools. Anyone who wants to go to a private school or a religious school has that right. No one is compelled to send their children to public schools.
Would you hire a professional financial advisor to handle your financial portfolio?
Would you hire a professional surgeon to perform your surgery?
Would you hire a professional builder to build your house?
Would you hire a professional pilot to fly you across the ocean?
Would you hire a non-educator with no classroom experience to teach your children?
Schooling is mandatory for all children 5-18 in Virginia
Schooling should be mandatory. As a modern society, we can’t allow large numbers of children to be uneducated.
Larisa, you say: “Schooling is mandatory for all children 5-18 in Virginia.”
Yes but not necessary public schooling?
Catherine,
These questions come from trolls.
Virginia doesn’t require any child to go to public schools.
Diane: Good grief–it’s like being around the walking dead. They’re all different, though. Each one gave up their integrity in different ways, different times, and for different reasons.
Virginia requires that the children be in private, parochial, public school, or home-schooled or taught by a “qualified tutor”.
Read it for yourself at
http://statelaws.findlaw.com/virginia-law/virginia-compulsory-education-laws.html
Virginia requires that the children be in private, parochial, public school, or home-schooled or taught by a “qualified tutor”.
Charles,
Why shouldn’t all children be educated?
I am 100% in favor of all children being educated. Absolutely.