Teacher at a Rally in DC Asks a Good Question

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1. GregB says:

   January 30, 2017 at 2:38 pm

   I want her teaching in my community’s schools!

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2. Duane E Swacker says:

   January 30, 2017 at 2:43 pm

   Qualifications and quality credentials are for the peeons. Being filthy rich qualifies anyone to be an expert on anything, just Billy the Gates or E-lip Broad or Betsy “I Love Chilldren” DeBoss.

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   • SomeDAM Poet says:

     January 30, 2017 at 3:18 pm

     Or, along the lines of the old Trix commercial “Silly rabbit, creds — and VAMs and kicks — are for teachers.”

     Reply
3. gailj2 says:

   January 30, 2017 at 3:10 pm

   Teachers like this question about Betsy DeVos. I oppose her and hope she will NOT achieve the Sec. of Ed position because she is not qualified as an educator. I have contacted my 2 US Senators asking for NO vote. But in fact all Cabinet seats are “political” appointments. We expect a qualified President to care enough for his or her country to appoint highly qualified candidates for such a high advisory position. Teachers have to pass various tests to beoome certified. There is no test to become a Cabinet Secretary.

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4. Linda says:

   January 30, 2017 at 3:15 pm

   Are Betsy DeVos and Sarah Palin, twins but, one got filthy rich and the other didn’t?

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5. virginiasgp says:

   January 30, 2017 at 4:06 pm

   Because paper degrees aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. The question is are you effective. DeVos will be judged in the same way.

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   • dianeravitch says:

     January 30, 2017 at 4:40 pm

     Virginia,

     DeVos has already failed; Michigan ranking on NAEP has plummeted in past 15 years; Detroit is the lowest performing urban district in nation. She gets an F.

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   • dianeravitch says:

     January 30, 2017 at 5:33 pm

     DeVos should be judged by the failure of choice in Michigan and Detroit. Since 2000, Michigan’s ranking on NAEP has declined, in fourth sharply, but also in 8th grade. Detroit is awash in choice and is the lowest ranked urban district on NAEP.

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   • Duane E Swacker says:

     January 31, 2017 at 11:27 am

     Generally one does not get to be in a position to be “effective” if they don’t have the qualifications (necessary ‘paper’ degrees) and experience. DeBoss has neither.

     Reply
     • SomeDAM Poet says:

       January 31, 2017 at 3:16 pm

       “DeBoast”

       Diploma doesn’t matter
       What matters is de boast
       When climbing up the ladder
       De boast it matters most

     • Duane E Swacker says:

       January 31, 2017 at 3:50 pm

       No credentials or valid experience but lots of money. And in polyticks we know what matter most.

6. Chiara says:

   January 30, 2017 at 4:39 pm

   It’s a great message to send to children, I must say. Forget training or education or working hard and gaining actual experience- just claim you’re a “change agent” and you’ll be promoted right to the top.

   That this message comes from the US Department of Education is amazing.

   They next time they come out to scold people on “the skills gap” remember they don’t insist their own leaders gain any skills. As far as I can tell the only “training” Devos has received is a decade’s old bachelor’s degree. Why is she “ready for the 21st century work force”?

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7. Charles says:

   January 30, 2017 at 5:32 pm

   Here is a video that Betsy DeVos does not want you to see

   http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/1/30/1627148/-This-Is-The-Video-Betsy-DeVos-Wants-Hidden

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   • Laura H. Chapman says:

     January 30, 2017 at 6:33 pm

     Charles. Thanks for outting this in the loop.
     Devos is not just unqualified.
     She is dangerous.
     Christians only in the Michigan legislature: That is the aim of the Devos-funded summer program for youth, complete with a speaker justifying by citing Hitler and other dictators.

     Reply
     • ponderosa says:

       January 30, 2017 at 10:38 pm

       Yeah, Hitler and Stalin are just effective CEOs to them. Not “all talk” like John Lewis: these guys got sh*t done!

   • ponderosa says:

     January 30, 2017 at 7:36 pm

     I watched it. One of the leaders of the youth brainwashing institute DeVos supported (SSI) said he was part of a “conspiracy” (yes, he used that word) to populate the Michigan legislature with brainwashed alums in 20 years. Looks like they’ve succeeded. The Left needs to do this: make a 20 year plan. Have summer brainwashing institutes. Be Bolsheviks, like Brannon says he is. Why can’t we be as organized? Are our best minds too busy writing code for iPhones? I hope it’s not too late.

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     • SomeDAM Poet says:

       January 31, 2017 at 9:26 am

       One could make a pretty good argument that a significant percentage of the apps for iPhones (eg, stupid games like angry birds and those insipid selfie-distortion apps) actually are little more than brainwashing — or maybe “brain-numbing” would be more apt.

       They keep the population pre-occupied with ridiculous endeavors, making it safe for billionaires.

       But I’d guess that most iPhone app writers are not motivated primarily by helping anyone’s cause but their own: increasing their bank balance.

     • Linda says:

       January 31, 2017 at 10:16 am

       “Increasing their bank accounts”, at the expense of the primary American institution that teaches values like religious tolerance.
       There should be ownership of the current situation, by the people of minority faiths, in the hedge funds that were/are hell-bent on making profits off of the kids of the middle class and poor.

   • Linda says:

     January 31, 2017 at 11:00 am

     Thanks for the link. Conservative Leaders for Education posted a list of recommended candidates for U.S. Secretary of Ed. It included, among others (1) DeVos (2) a former education consultant to the Gates Foundation/ past president of Pat Robertson’s university (3) a Fellow of the Gates-funded Aspen Pahara Institute,…

     Reply
8. speduktr says:

   January 30, 2017 at 10:03 pm

   “If I have to be highly qualified to serve my students, why doesn’t DeVos?”

   You don’t. Just go to work for one of her pet charters. (snark alert)

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9. Linda says:

   January 31, 2017 at 9:20 am

   Has a person, with a high-profile voice, made a public call for the Center for American Progress to defend, public schools from tech billionaires, hedge funds, discount retailers and religious fanatics?

   Reply