REACTION TO PRESIDENT-ELECT'S 
EDUCATION APPOINTMENT

Reaction to President-Elect Trump's nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education has been fast and furious. DeVos, a Michigan native and promoter of charters and vouchers, has been praised from some corners:

In the Chatanoogan, Senator Lamar Alexander, chair of the Senate Education committee, said:

“Betsy DeVos is an excellent choice. The Senate’s education committee will move swiftly in January to consider her nomination. Betsy has worked for years to improve educational opportunities for all children. As secretary, she will be able to implement the new law fixing No Child Left Behind just as Congress wrote it, reversing the trend to a national school board and restoring to states, governors, school boards, teachers, and parents greater responsibility for improving education in their local communities..."

And former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said this, as reported on Breitbart.com

“I cannot think of a more effective and passionate change agent to press for a new education vision, one in which students, rather than adults and bureaucracies, become the priority in our nation’s classrooms,” he said.

Others, and especially those in the public education sphere, feel differently.

Peter Greene, author of the education blog Curmudgucation, shared his feelings in a piece entitled "How Bad Is DeVos? So Bad...". Here's a quote from his piece:

"...In fact, before we even start to discuss just how terrible and destructive her (Devos') ideas about public education are, we should be talking about her complete lack of qualifications to run a federal department. She is not familiar with how schools work. She is not familiar with how large metropolitan or state systems for education work. She is not familiar with how to work with people who are not on her personal payroll."

Here's another post by Greene on the same subject.

In Electablog, from Michigan, Devos' home state, Mitchell Robinson writes "Trump names Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education: It’s Game, Set, Match for public education", and includes this quote:

"For (Michigan Governor) Snyder and DeVos, the purpose of education is not to help develop a more informed and educated citizenry, or to help children to become more fully human by providing a comprehensive, high quality curriculum, including music, art, and physical education in addition to the rest of the disciplines. The purpose of education under Snyder and DeVos is to turn the state’s once excellent system of public schools into an educational WalMart, boasting “low, low prices” in place of quality instruction."

And here is Carol Burris, and award winning high school principal, as quoted in the Washington Post's Answer Sheet, written by Valerie Strauss:

"The DeVos pick makes one thing clear — it shows Trump’s commitment to the privatization of public schools. … DeVos wants all children to have vouchers, and she opposes regulations and oversight.  Betsy DeVos spent over $1 million to successfully block the effort of the Michigan legislature to clean up the mess of for-profit, unregulated charters. … The veil of so-called ed reform is now off."

And finally, analysis from The Atlantic online edition, "5 Things to Know About Betsy Devos, Trump's pick for Secretary of Education".

Batten down the hatches. It's going to be an interesting ride.