Trump appoints Betsy DeVos as education secretary

[PC2]

Don't look at who she is. Look at who she is surrounded by.

Look at the people and not her policy ideas?

[unfilteredJW]

Look at the people and not her policy ideas?

Maybe it'll hit you on the way back around.

[Spectral]

Well .. All I can say is that the education system in the US is basically in the shitter and you can only go up from here.

What are you basing this on?

[unfilteredJW]

What are you basing this on?

Being 23rst in math.

[PC2]

Maybe it'll hit you on the way back around.

Maybe you could say which policy ideas are good or bad.

[Bullettime]

What are you basing this on?

Ehhhh the US education system needs reform but the only thing this lady has done is be a part of a rich family (albeit one that has done some decent things for her state) and be an advocate of funneling public funds into Christian right charter schools.

[netherflame]

Part of the reason it is in the "shitter" is because Bills like "No Child Left Behind" and Every Student Succeeds". The US does not try to raise the student's grades. Instead the standards are lowered so that ALL students can pass. Over the years, these standards keeps getting lower and lower and lower.

Start holding kids back for not meeting the bar, too bad if it hurts their 'fragile minds.'

[The Iron Fist]

As a Liberal who has lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, let me tell you this is a good pick. The DeVos family is extremely philanthropic and caring and do a lot of good for the less fortunate. They are what every rich person should aspire to be. These aren't your standard Republican rich white people. The DeVos' Childrens Hospital that is has become a pinnacle in its field(just their name because of donations, its a part of Spectrum Health), is largely due to Betsy and the work she has done surrounding it philanthropically. Many of the patients families don't pay a dime for the care they get. If your kid gets seriously ill in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, or Michigan, it's going to be the top choice of your list.

[Spectral]

Being 23rst in math.

Assuming that you're referring to PISA scores and assuming that PISA scores are a worthwhile measure of academic achievement, I'd suggest looking at the data broken out by ethnic background in the United States. White Americans are generally competitive with Europeans and Asian-Americans are generally competitive with Asians.

If the problem is the school system itself rather than some underlying socioeconomic cultural, or other problem in certain demographics, why are whites and Asians doing fine?

[unfilteredJW]

Assuming that you're referring to PISA scores and assuming that PISA scores are a worthwhile measure of academic achievement, I'd suggest looking at the data broken out by ethnic background in the United States. White Americans are generally competitive with Europeans and Asian-Americans are generally competitive with Asians.

If the problem is the school system itself rather than some underlying socioeconomic cultural, or other problem in certain demographics, why are whites and Asians doing fine?

Was referencing a wonderful bit of journalism where the presenter said we were 23rst in math.

I'm most certainly aware of the issues that impact our educational system. This election has just taught me I need to break everything down into memes or else no one gives a shit.

[Bullettime]

Assuming that you're referring to PISA scores and assuming that PISA scores are a worthwhile measure of academic achievement, I'd suggest looking at the data broken out by ethnic background in the United States. White Americans are generally competitive with Europeans and Asian-Americans are generally competitive with Asians.

If the problem is the school system itself rather than some underlying socioeconomic cultural, or other problem in certain demographics, why are whites and Asians doing fine?

The issue is more rura/inner city areas dragging things down and poor allocation of funds. I live in Virginia and there's a night and day difference between even a public high school in Richmond and my county for example.

[unfilteredJW]

Maybe you could say which policy ideas are good or bad.

Already mentioned the lol worthy policy position mentioned in the article.

[Allybeboba]

As a Liberal who has lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, let me tell you this is a good pick. The DeVos family is extremely philanthropic and caring and do a lot of good for the less fortunate. They are what every rich person should aspire to be. These aren't your standard Republican rich white people. The DeVos' Childrens Hospital that is has become a pinnacle in its field(just their name because of donations, its a part of Spectrum Health), is largely due to Betsy and the work she has done surrounding it philanthropically. Many of the patients families don't pay a dime for the care they get. If your kid gets seriously ill in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, or Michigan, it's going to be the top choice of your list.

That does not make her a good policy maker on education though simply because she gave away lots of money to the poor. Pablo Escobar opened hospitals for the poor too. Not that I am comparing him to her.

[Bullettime]

That does not make her a good policy maker on education though.

Exactly. Her work may be fantastic but her actual stances on educational policy and reform are ridiculous.

She also doesn't have any real experience as a public official or even an educator and is instead just a wealthy donor who uses her wealth to push her opinion, even if she has done some good things with it.

[Sinyc]

So does she have any actual qualifications?

She's pro charter schools... which should scare everyone.

To answer your question: No.

[Bullettime]

She's pro charter schools... which should scare everyone.

Republican sponsored Christian charter schools using tax payer dollars.

[tikcol]

Great choice

Trump so far has been amazing, consider myself amazed

[Flarelaine]

She's practically an absolute nobody. Just a wealthy donor with rich relative connections.

Did I hear pay-to-play?

[Puremallace]

As a guy who lives in Louisiana I can confirm this is a FUCKING disaster from the education safety net in America. You might as well say game over right now.

[Bullettime]

I've attended a charter school and it was fine for the most part. The only real problem was that they didn't have enough instructors and some of the ones they had were rather ill-equipped for the teaching environment.

Charter schools are perfectly fine. The issue is more that this lady has been pushing for years to divert tax payer dollars away from public school and instead to build and run Republican sanctioned Christian charter schools with the funds.

edit: She's also never had public office or worked, much less worked in the education sector.