My Interview on NPR “The Takeaway” re Betsy DeVos

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1. Kathleen Migliore-Newton says:

   January 17, 2017 at 6:01 pm

   I heard it. Thank you for your strong arguments. The state of our education policies are discouraging.

   Yours truly, Kathleen Migliore Newton

   Sent from my iPhone

   >

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2. virginia says:

   January 17, 2017 at 6:04 pm

   excellent interview. you were perfect. every point you made was succinct and on target. after your segment i was listening to a few of the response–it drove me nuts! where do people get the idea that our system is completely broken down?! thanks for your constant advocacy.

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3. Lisa Traviola says:

   January 17, 2017 at 6:36 pm

   Diane, at the beginning of the DeVos hearing, there was an older white gentleman sitting behind her, totally visible on TV (right of DeVis). Now at 6:15 on, he was replaced by a young Afro-American girl. Why?

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   • Duane E Swacker says:

     January 18, 2017 at 7:28 am

     Optics!

     The changes of people behind her is all part of the staged political circus. It is meant to lull people into thinking that DeVos cares about something/one other than her own elite xtian fundamentalist butt and close-knit relatives. All part of the staged show that Alexander (what a petty prick little dictator) has choreographed for the media to cover for such an atrociously unqualified pick.

     Such a nice bubbly demeanor who can be easily trained as shown by her programmed response to every query “Thank you Senator for that question.”-repeated ad nauseum through out the hearing with a big ol wide eyed grinning face look. A barbie doll speaks more intelligently.

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4. jonathanlovell says:

   January 17, 2017 at 6:53 pm

   Very good job on the Takaway, Diane. Keeping up the heat is about the best we can do right now. As the commentor above says, however, the comments that NPR selected for “distribution” following your interview demonstrated just how strong a hold the “failure” narrative continues to have on fairly large swaths of the do-not-choose-to-be-fully-informed American public.

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   • gitapik says:

     January 18, 2017 at 8:03 am

     Yes. I noticed that, too. Two decades of propaganda have attached the word “failure” all too effectively to public education.

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5. Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

   January 17, 2017 at 7:04 pm

   The Democrats are nailing DeVos
   Not that it matters.

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   • LeftCoastTeacher says:

     January 17, 2017 at 8:26 pm

     Just got home and started watching. I take back everything nice I said about Sen Alexander after the ESSA debate.

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   • Duane E Swacker says:

     January 18, 2017 at 7:29 am

     The only Dim who actually did any grilling was Kaine. The others were just part of the show.

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6. Duane E Swacker says:

   January 17, 2017 at 7:12 pm

   “Senator thank you for that question”. Duh, no kidding. But the good part of that statement is that it just takes x amount of the five minute interval limit. Well coached. Still puking watching this nonsense. So many lies, falsehoods and prevarications by ALL involved. What a joke of a process.

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   • Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

     January 17, 2017 at 7:32 pm

     Duannice e E Swacker

     Hell Obama should have pardoned Assange . Then he could release the dirt on Trump and you might be Puking less. That is only a half (LOL)

     Well coached indeed on how to not answer a question.. Not so well coached on the issues as pointed out by Franken.
     Did I miss Warren switching from CNN

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     • Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

       January 17, 2017 at 7:35 pm

       No I didn’t get your name wrong my bouncing cursor inserted nice .
       Time to take the warranty service.

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     • Duane E Swacker says:

       January 17, 2017 at 9:01 pm

       My take on the hearing, or should I say cheap side show:

       And Alexander was amazed that the hearing took so effin long, 3 1/2 hours. Well considering it is almost impossible to have put forth a more completely unqualified candidate, one should have expected just a few questions about the candidate.

       And I thought overall, the Dims did a terrible job of pointing out that eminently unqualified aspect.

       How many yes or no questions can one ask in 5 minutes:

       Did you attend a public school?
       Do your children (or have they) attend public schools?
       Have you worked with a PTA/PTO of the public school your child attended?
       Do you have a teaching certificate?
       Have you ever taught in a public school?
       Have you set foot ever in a public school?
       etc, etc. etc. . . .

       One could have had her proving her own lack of qualifications with simple yes/no questions. Each Dim could have reiterated some version of the same questions so that repeatedly she would have shown just how unqualified she is.

       As it is, that hearing was a circus, and a bad cheap one at that.

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     • Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

       January 17, 2017 at 9:21 pm

       Duane E Swacker

       Funny I heard those questions several times ,but yes or no answers to any question were not to be had.

       She denied that she has anything to do with her mothers foundation.
       Is she under oath ?

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     • dianeravitch says:

       January 17, 2017 at 10:11 pm

       She lied. EduShyster tweeted links to her mother’s foundation. She was VP and a board member. Maybe she got off a few weeks ago.

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     • GregB says:

       January 17, 2017 at 11:05 pm

       One yearly report might be a mistake, fourteen add up to a lie.

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7. toooldtotch says:

   January 17, 2017 at 7:30 pm

   On target.

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8. Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

   January 17, 2017 at 7:40 pm

   Grizzly bears the best answer yet . I think there should be guns in Congress. Maybe a parent from Sandy Hook would blow her brains out. What an idiot.

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   • GregB says:

     January 17, 2017 at 7:56 pm

     A little hard on idiots. Wouldn’t you agree Duane? Really big :-).

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     • GregB says:

       January 17, 2017 at 7:56 pm

       🙂

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     • Duane E Swacker says:

       January 17, 2017 at 8:59 pm

       YEP!

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     • dianeravitch says:

       January 17, 2017 at 9:46 pm

       Betsy lied about not being on the board of her mother’s foundation, which funds anti-gay Focus on the Family and Family Research Council. EduShyster tweeted the 990 forms for the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation. Betsy was VP.

       ALSO: http://edushyster.com/culture-warrior-princess/

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   • Sereia says:

     January 19, 2017 at 12:41 am

     The appropriate place to express violent wishes is aloud, at home. Not here, not in any public forum.

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9. Arthur Camins says:

   January 17, 2017 at 7:53 pm

   Nice job on the Take Away! Two more points to be made are that the $ per child lost to charters do not result in equal savings to the public license schools and that they are unaccountable to voters. I do know you did not have time to say it all.

   Thanks, Arthur

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10. Pat says:

    January 17, 2017 at 8:00 pm

    If public money is paid to a school (or other organization), does the recipient of the money remain a private entity or does it thereby become public?

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    • dianeravitch says:

      January 17, 2017 at 10:06 pm

      No easy answer. Charter schools call themselves public. By the same token, Boeing is a public company.

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    • caligirl says:

      January 18, 2017 at 12:13 am

      Charters are on a seesaw – they say they are public when they need to and they say they are private when they need to.

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11. Chiara says:

    January 17, 2017 at 8:18 pm

    So what do we do in response to a federal government that opposes our schools?

    I just don’t see any hope for any of this changing. It gets worse with each new administration and each new Congress. Is there any support for just calling DC a total loss and focusing exclusively on lawmakers who have some vested interest in public schools- those at the state and local level?

    It just seems like bashing our heads against a brick wall. I haven’t heard a single positive idea or statement in support of public schools. They can’t even bear to stay on the topic of public schools for longer than ten seconds. They return again and again to the voucher plan. I’m all for optimism but I also know a lost cause when I see one, and these people are a lost cause. They’re gone.

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12. Linda Boothe says:

    January 17, 2017 at 8:43 pm

    Dear Diane, I have been teaching in public schools since 1966 (still substitute) and enjoy reading your posts. Several of them are so important that I would love to share them with my Facebook friends. Is there a reason that you don’t have a link to post them to Facebook? It is a very efficient way to get important information to a large audience.

    I am glad to see that you will be on Chris Matthews tonight.

    Thank you for all that you are doing to promote public education. Linda Boothe Chandler, Arizona

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    • dianeravitch says:

      January 17, 2017 at 9:17 pm

      I should put them on Facebook but I don’t have time.

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    • Duane E Swacker says:

      January 18, 2017 at 7:59 am

      It’s easy to put a post on fb. Just copy the URL and paste it to the “what’s on your mind” box at the top of your home page. You can also add your dos centavos worth, eh KTA, in that box.

      For instance the URL for this page is https://dianeravitch.net/2017/01/17/my-interview-on-npr-the-takeaway-re-betsy-devos/comment-page-1/#comment-2642435. Just as I copied it to here you can copy it to fb. Give it a try.

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13. mgalli1 says:

    January 17, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    Former New Hampshire Governor and now Senator Maggie Hassan gave an excellent interview on her concerns regarding DeVos on NPR this morning. I wrote this 500 word article for staff at my school last month regarding my concerns. It was published on OpEd News. It’s harsh, but researched and sourced and I stand by every word.

    http://www.opednews.com/articles/Meet-Trump-s-Secretary-of-by-Michael-Galli-Betsy-Devos-161129-427.html

    Michael Galli
    Rivendell Academy

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    • Duane E Swacker says:

      January 18, 2017 at 8:06 am

      Concise and well stated, Michael!

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      • Linda says:

        January 18, 2017 at 9:05 am

        The links between evangelicals and plutocrats should concern all of us but, particularly those of minority faiths. Some of them, on Wall Street, may enjoy the 10-18% returns on charter school debt. But, they would be wise to understand public education teaches religious tolerance. Economist Germa Bol’s research shows increased privatization in Germany, in the build up to WW II. Other European nations didn’t do the same.

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    • Linda says:

      January 18, 2017 at 9:06 am

      Worthwhile for all to read.

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14. Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

    January 17, 2017 at 9:02 pm

    State and local control is not the solution. The solution is accountability, not of the schools and teachers but of our politicians. I could not help but feeling that all of these supporters of Public Schools were AWOL when King took over for Duncan setting the stage for DeVos . They could have been forgiven for Duncan but not for King >

    So progressives have one choice,something they have not been able to do over the years. Present a united front across a broad spectrum of concerns,from education to labor and the environment…. or perish on our individual issues.

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15. Jack says:

    January 17, 2017 at 9:11 pm

    Actually, I was off one hour with the time of the night time school board meeting.

    Try again:

    ( 01:18:01 – )

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16. Beth says:

    January 17, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    Excellent work! Drawing attention to the fact that choice and charters have not improved educational outcomes in Detroit and Michigan is effective. Having listened to the entire broadcast, I agree with the comments posted by @virginia and @jonathanlovell.

    The discussion later in the program about the “Women who Made NY” book offered a good counterpoint to DeVos. The woman, who bought the land for Barnard College, also apparently paid for the first public baths in NYC. She wanted to help and she asked what was needed. The response was a place for people to bathe and wash their clothes, so she stepped in and provided such a place. Could you imagine DeVos expressing this level of humility? For someone who claims to be Christian, I don’t find Betsy DeVos to be very Christian. Christians are supposed to offer themselves in service to others. DeVos seems to think that everyone has a price and is in service to her.

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    • Catherine Blanche King says:

      January 17, 2017 at 11:13 pm

      It was head-knocking amazing to me that, in her hearing, DeVos made a point of not being paid for her service. First, I don’t know why someone didn’t ask here WHY she wanted the job; and second, she’s a known billionaire–the pay is a drop in a very large bucket of money–does she think we ALL are so stupid as to think GEE, what a sacrifice? And she waffled so many times.

      I think the democrats could have done more, but what they DID do was good–especially Sanders, Warren, and that one woman (don’t remember who she was) who talked about the disabled child in Florida where the charter school made them sign away their federal rights (for educating the disabled) before they would let the child go to school there. That’s a common ploy in business–they make you sign away your legal arbitration rights in order to work there.

      Where profit is concerned, if they cannot find a loophole, they’ll make one up and try to get it passed. Then if the legislature says no, but set about the purchase it.

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17. GregB says:

    January 17, 2017 at 9:18 pm

    Diane, you done good today and made us all proud. Your voice is needed now more than ever. It’s up to use to help amplify it more.

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    • GregB says:

      January 17, 2017 at 9:22 pm

      up to us

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    • Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

      January 17, 2017 at 9:24 pm

      One correction.

      OUR VOICES

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      • GregB says:

        January 17, 2017 at 10:52 pm

        Yes.

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18. LeftCoastTeacher says:

    January 17, 2017 at 9:27 pm

    Strong with Hayes.

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19. mets2006 says:

    January 17, 2017 at 9:28 pm

    In the cold, cruel world of politics, the Democrats need three Republican votes – I didn’t hear any “No” Republican votes.

    The battle is just beginning, as deVos makes every attempt to “privatize” public education we have to make the Republican “Yes” voters pay the price. We have to target the Republican Senators who are on the ballot in November, 2018 – we have to take back the Senate. This means no voting for a third party candidate, not crying all politics is corrupt, it means working across the spectrum and it especially means working with parents. It means building coalitions, as wide as possible, it means working with communities of color, working within communities who are especially attracted to charter schools. If we continue to be overwhelmingly white people telling people of color they are making bad choices we will not build a movement

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    • Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

      January 17, 2017 at 9:42 pm

      no argument from this lefty , well stated.

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    • Abigail Shure says:

      January 17, 2017 at 9:49 pm

      mets,

      Hate to rain on your parade. Democrats do not support public education either. We have just completed eight years of slash and burn.

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      • dianeravitch says:

        January 17, 2017 at 10:09 pm

        Tim Kaine was great in questioning DeVos

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      • LeftCoastTeacher says:

        January 18, 2017 at 12:10 am

        Tim Kaine was great. DeVos’ repeated response was vapid.

        Lisa Murkowski was the most critical Republican. With the right parry, she could be turned from the dark side to the OptOut, Luke.

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20. Robert Manley says:

    January 17, 2017 at 9:52 pm

    Diane did a great job on the Chris Hayes Show demonstrating how Betsy DeVos harmed all school children in Michigan and Detroit with market driven charter schools ripping funding away from public schools and their communities and giving the money to for profit charter school operators.

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21. Chiara says:

    January 17, 2017 at 9:57 pm

    Lindsey Burke
    ‏@lindseymburke
    When states allow choice; when kids are walking around w $10,000 in their pockets, choice will come to rural areas. Promise. #DeVosHearing

    It’s amazing how quickly the echo chamber jumped aboard the “backpack voucher” plan.

    It’s almost like this “movement” has been deliberately misleading voters about their agenda for the last 15 years and the goal was always privatization and voucher systems.

    Which is what liberal critics always said, and those liberal critics were right. As is now obvious.

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22. Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

    January 17, 2017 at 9:59 pm

    If the Democrats had gotten to call a witness would it have been Diane

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23. Chiara says:

    January 17, 2017 at 10:05 pm

    “If confirmed, I will be a strong advocate for great public schools,” DeVos said. “But, if a school is troubled, or unsafe, or not a good fit for a child — perhaps they have a special need that is going unmet — we should support a parent’s right to enroll their child in a high quality alternative.”

    It’s really awful how this “movement” continues to mislead public school parents. It’s one thing to have an ideological belief that public schools ate inherently inferior- it’s another to present themselves as supporters of public schools when that is simply not true.

    I don’t have any problem with ed reformer who openly state their views. But this baloney about “supporting” public schools when they spend every working moment attacking them has to stop.

    It’s simply wrong for people who are on the public payroll to oppose the schools 90% of children attend. It’s a violation of the public trust.

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    • dianeravitch says:

      January 17, 2017 at 10:07 pm

      She lies. She disapproves of public schools. She thinks they are godless, which is true.

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      • Catherine Blanche King says:

        January 17, 2017 at 11:24 pm

        Diane–now THAT’s an interesting reply. Let’s talk about it and secularity sometime.

        But it was so good to see you on screen telling it SOOOO like it is. And I’m glad you got the God thing in and Betsy’s quote about it. I don’t know what the Catholics will do with it–she’s certainly not Catholic.

        But hat’s off to you–what you are doing and have done with your writing is going to have long term influence on education in this country; and their putting you in opposition to DeVos coverage gives you and the arguments cred that cannot hurt either. Kudos.

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      • dianeravitch says:

        January 18, 2017 at 12:08 am

        Thank you, Catherine. I have come to learn the importance of short answers and not getting too complicated. TV is such an important medium. If I write something, it will be read by thousands. If I say it on TV, it will be seen by hundreds of thousands. But attention span is short. And it is impossible to know whether people retain what they fleetingly see and hear.

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    • GregB says:

      January 17, 2017 at 10:51 pm

      The key word is “great.” She will cherry pick public schools to support just like charters cherry pick their students.

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24. Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

    January 17, 2017 at 10:06 pm

    Only slightly off topic

    “Perhaps even better, before Friday’s inauguration, there is still time for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to appoint a special prosecutor. Fordham legal historian Jed Shugerman notes, “A special prosecutor’s term does not end with an administration. It is open-ended, so the special prosecutor would continue to serve during the Trump administration… unless the new Attorney General fired him or her, [but] only for ‘good cause.’”

    http://billmoyers.com/story/need-truth-trump-russia-now/

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25. FLERP! says:

    January 17, 2017 at 10:07 pm

    Well done.

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26. Lloyd Lofthouse says:

    January 17, 2017 at 10:28 pm

    Excellent! Job well done!

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27. retired teacher says:

    January 17, 2017 at 10:42 pm

    Thanks for keeping the heat on! Good job!

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    • retired teacher says:

      January 17, 2017 at 11:13 pm

      Here’s Warren grilling DeVos mostly about for profit colleges. DeVos is out of her depth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BcocZTtdzM

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28. GregB says:

    January 17, 2017 at 10:50 pm

    Another low point was her response to Sen. Murphy on guns. States United, an anti-gun advocacy group (@SUPGVNetwork) sent out a tweet with this message: U.S. school shootings since 2013: 210. Grizzly bear attacks at American schools since 2013: 0.

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    • Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:

      January 17, 2017 at 11:08 pm

      Grizzly bears
      Vomit bag.

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29. joe prichard says:

    January 17, 2017 at 11:22 pm

    Diane did a great job on Chris Hayes…..but overall….there is a hollow ring to a lot of this because of Bill Gates and Arne Duncan, who contributed a lot to Trump winning enough electoral votes to nominate DeVos.
    .

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    • dianeravitch says:

      January 18, 2017 at 12:09 am

      No question that Gates, Obama, Duncan, Broad, King paved the way for the privatization narrative.

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30. Chiara says:

    January 18, 2017 at 12:47 am

    Here’s a clip of DeVos dodging a question about cutting funding to public schools:

    https://thinkprogress.org/trumps-education-pick-dodges-a-question-about-privatization-of-education-470c647b6b06#.gvbiewobh

    If her track record in Michigan is any guide, that’s the plan. It will actually be the second round of budget cuts for public schools. This same gang cut funding in 2010.

    This is why I think education reformers mislead public school parents. They’re absolutely awful for public schools. Uniformly. Consistently. I don’t think most people are aware that there is this huge group of adults who consider public schools an opponent to be defeated. Like all of them across the board, DeVos couldn’t come up with a single example of a public school she considers a success. How can she says she “supports” public schools? Not one. She has never supported one and she can’t even come up with one at her own hearing.

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31. democracy says:

    January 18, 2017 at 6:12 am

    Choice, choice, choice, from James Gunner, the charter school association president.

    Sad.

    From Diane Ravitch: DeVos is an “enemy of public schools,” DeVos is “dangerous…anti-public education.” She has “no experience” in public education. DeVos is a “free market ideologue and religious zealot.”

    No argument there.

    However, during the entire segment, there was only one mention – and it was incredibly brief – of the public schools connection to democracy.

    There was not a single mention – by anyone – of the role that public schools have played and should play in promoting civic education and nurturing democratic values.

    That is a glaring oversight.

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32. RageAgainstTheTetsocracy says:

    January 18, 2017 at 7:46 am

    Did anyone ask her why every voucher referendum has been defeated by voters/parents?

    Did anyone ask her if she ever took a statistics class? If even 20% of parents take her up on her voucher offer, then she will have to find physical space for 10 to 20 million kids. Not to mention transportation – and teachers. HA!

    “choice” – the one word that may take down our public schools.

    Kind of ironic that she is railing against a “one size fits all” model of education. Yet the very reform crowd that spawned her ilk has done everything in their power to force that exact model (NCLB/RTTT/CCSS) into every public school in the country.

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33. gitapik says:

    January 18, 2017 at 8:09 am

    Great interview, Diane and I agree: keep the answers/comments short and to the point.

    What a contrast to the stock sound bytes coming out of the shill who’s interview preceded yours. Amazing. People just want to have a happy “everything’s going to be wonderful” Pop-Tart for breakfast and be on their merry way.

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34. SomeDAM Poet says:

    January 18, 2017 at 10:31 am

    It’s nice to see that NPR has finally put credence in something other than Deform-speak.

    In recent times they have been in Bill Gates’ pocketses.

    Read between the radio waves
    To fathom NPR
    The Gates Foundation pays their ways
    And keeps them in a jar

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    • ciedie aech says:

      January 18, 2017 at 1:53 pm

      This is so sadly true that it really hurts. Not only NPR, but the PBS Newshour lately.

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35. gitapik says:

    January 18, 2017 at 2:15 pm

    “Sadly…” is right.

    But NPR seems to finally be giving some prime time to the views of actual professionals in the field (as is the NY Times, a frequent critic of our public education system).

    Just a thought, but might this be because the cast of characters (from Trump down) is so “in your face awful” that some of the more thoughtful media outlets are beginning to see the rotten fruits of their propaganda seedlings?

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