Worried This Billionaire Will Destroy Public Education, Teachers Have Some #Questions4Betsy
The American Federal of Teachers wants the senate to ask billionaire heiress Betsy DeVos, a 'determined foe of public education': What qualifications do you have for the job?
Defenders of public education have a few questions they want to ask Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump's controversial pick to lead the Department of Education, when she appears at her senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
With a new campaign targeting members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), as well as its members and supporters, are sharing questions they'd like to see answered by the billionaire Amway heiress and notorious critic of public schools.
"DeVos has no relevant experience in public education, but as a billionaire with an agenda she's promoted disastrous ideology and pushed destructive policies across her home state of Michigan--working to undermine, defund and privatize public schools, expand for-profit charters without accountability, and push unconstitutional private school vouchers," Randi Weingarten, president of AFT, wrote in an email to supporters on Monday.
"We need a secretary of education who would strengthen and improve public schools, not one who is out to destroy them," Weingarten added. "We need our questions answered before she gets anywhere near our children's futures."
The million member-strong trade union offered up some of its own #Questions4Betsy, inspiring others to do the same.
"Ninety percent of kids attend public school, an area you have no experience in," AFT observed. "What qualifications do you have for the job?"
Other questions followed:
#Questions4Betsy What steps are you taking to make sure your investments won't pose a conflict of interest for you at the Department of Ed?
#Questions4Betsy The policies that you helped enact have led to atrocious conditions in Detroit. What do you tell those parents and kids?
#Questions4Betsy What do you believe your role and the role of the department of ed is to ensure the free exchange of ideas on campus?
#Questions4Betsy Will you push expansion of unregulated, for-profit charters on the nat'l level as you did in MI, despite dismal results?
#Questions4Betsy Do you plan to pursue a #voucher program at the national level despite the fact that voters have rejected such initiatives?
#Questions4Betsy Can you share examples from your work where you held charter schools to "high standards and strong accountability"?
#Questions4Betsy how would you support schools' efforts to attract educators and retain them to become a committed part of a school?
#Questions4Betsy: How will you enforce Title IX to ensure women have equal access and to support survivors of campus sexual assault?
And pointing to the DeVos's record as "a hardened anti-LGBTQ crusader," as Huffington Post's Queer Voices editor Michelangelo Signorile put it, AFT also wants to know: "As secretary of education, what is the Department's role in protecting #LGBT students?"
Taking up AFT's call, public school advocates promptly took to Twitter to share some of the union's questions and pose some of their own:
As someone who hates public schools why are you taking over a position that promotes them? #Questions4Betsy
-- Paul Rizzo (@PaulRizzo504) January 16, 2017
Last week the HELP committee was forced to delay DeVos' hearing, initially scheduled for Jan. 11, due to concerns over her "extensive financial entanglements and potential conflicts of interest," as Politico reported at the time.
What's more, a separate Politico investigation published Monday highlighted how the DeVos family used its massive wealth to advance a staunch Christian conservative agenda in Michigan and beyond.
Responding to the Politico reporting, Diane Ravitch wrote on her blog Monday, "if Betsy DeVos is confirmed, which is likely, we will have a major battle on our hands to protect public education and to maintain a separation of church and state."
"She is not a normal candidate for secretary of education," warned the public education advocate and former assistant Secretary of Education under George H.W. Bush. "She is a religious zealot and a radical extremist. She will speak of her admiration for all successful schools, including public schools, but don't believe it. She is a determined foe of public education."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Defenders of public education have a few questions they want to ask Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump's controversial pick to lead the Department of Education, when she appears at her senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
With a new campaign targeting members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), as well as its members and supporters, are sharing questions they'd like to see answered by the billionaire Amway heiress and notorious critic of public schools.
"DeVos has no relevant experience in public education, but as a billionaire with an agenda she's promoted disastrous ideology and pushed destructive policies across her home state of Michigan--working to undermine, defund and privatize public schools, expand for-profit charters without accountability, and push unconstitutional private school vouchers," Randi Weingarten, president of AFT, wrote in an email to supporters on Monday.
"We need a secretary of education who would strengthen and improve public schools, not one who is out to destroy them," Weingarten added. "We need our questions answered before she gets anywhere near our children's futures."
The million member-strong trade union offered up some of its own #Questions4Betsy, inspiring others to do the same.
"Ninety percent of kids attend public school, an area you have no experience in," AFT observed. "What qualifications do you have for the job?"
Other questions followed:
#Questions4Betsy What steps are you taking to make sure your investments won't pose a conflict of interest for you at the Department of Ed?
#Questions4Betsy The policies that you helped enact have led to atrocious conditions in Detroit. What do you tell those parents and kids?
#Questions4Betsy What do you believe your role and the role of the department of ed is to ensure the free exchange of ideas on campus?
#Questions4Betsy Will you push expansion of unregulated, for-profit charters on the nat'l level as you did in MI, despite dismal results?
#Questions4Betsy Do you plan to pursue a #voucher program at the national level despite the fact that voters have rejected such initiatives?
#Questions4Betsy Can you share examples from your work where you held charter schools to "high standards and strong accountability"?
#Questions4Betsy how would you support schools' efforts to attract educators and retain them to become a committed part of a school?
#Questions4Betsy: How will you enforce Title IX to ensure women have equal access and to support survivors of campus sexual assault?
And pointing to the DeVos's record as "a hardened anti-LGBTQ crusader," as Huffington Post's Queer Voices editor Michelangelo Signorile put it, AFT also wants to know: "As secretary of education, what is the Department's role in protecting #LGBT students?"
Taking up AFT's call, public school advocates promptly took to Twitter to share some of the union's questions and pose some of their own:
As someone who hates public schools why are you taking over a position that promotes them? #Questions4Betsy
-- Paul Rizzo (@PaulRizzo504) January 16, 2017
Last week the HELP committee was forced to delay DeVos' hearing, initially scheduled for Jan. 11, due to concerns over her "extensive financial entanglements and potential conflicts of interest," as Politico reported at the time.
What's more, a separate Politico investigation published Monday highlighted how the DeVos family used its massive wealth to advance a staunch Christian conservative agenda in Michigan and beyond.
Responding to the Politico reporting, Diane Ravitch wrote on her blog Monday, "if Betsy DeVos is confirmed, which is likely, we will have a major battle on our hands to protect public education and to maintain a separation of church and state."
"She is not a normal candidate for secretary of education," warned the public education advocate and former assistant Secretary of Education under George H.W. Bush. "She is a religious zealot and a radical extremist. She will speak of her admiration for all successful schools, including public schools, but don't believe it. She is a determined foe of public education."
Defenders of public education have a few questions they want to ask Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump's controversial pick to lead the Department of Education, when she appears at her senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
With a new campaign targeting members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), as well as its members and supporters, are sharing questions they'd like to see answered by the billionaire Amway heiress and notorious critic of public schools.
"DeVos has no relevant experience in public education, but as a billionaire with an agenda she's promoted disastrous ideology and pushed destructive policies across her home state of Michigan--working to undermine, defund and privatize public schools, expand for-profit charters without accountability, and push unconstitutional private school vouchers," Randi Weingarten, president of AFT, wrote in an email to supporters on Monday.
"We need a secretary of education who would strengthen and improve public schools, not one who is out to destroy them," Weingarten added. "We need our questions answered before she gets anywhere near our children's futures."
The million member-strong trade union offered up some of its own #Questions4Betsy, inspiring others to do the same.
"Ninety percent of kids attend public school, an area you have no experience in," AFT observed. "What qualifications do you have for the job?"
Other questions followed:
#Questions4Betsy What steps are you taking to make sure your investments won't pose a conflict of interest for you at the Department of Ed?
#Questions4Betsy The policies that you helped enact have led to atrocious conditions in Detroit. What do you tell those parents and kids?
#Questions4Betsy What do you believe your role and the role of the department of ed is to ensure the free exchange of ideas on campus?
#Questions4Betsy Will you push expansion of unregulated, for-profit charters on the nat'l level as you did in MI, despite dismal results?
#Questions4Betsy Do you plan to pursue a #voucher program at the national level despite the fact that voters have rejected such initiatives?
#Questions4Betsy Can you share examples from your work where you held charter schools to "high standards and strong accountability"?
#Questions4Betsy how would you support schools' efforts to attract educators and retain them to become a committed part of a school?
#Questions4Betsy: How will you enforce Title IX to ensure women have equal access and to support survivors of campus sexual assault?
And pointing to the DeVos's record as "a hardened anti-LGBTQ crusader," as Huffington Post's Queer Voices editor Michelangelo Signorile put it, AFT also wants to know: "As secretary of education, what is the Department's role in protecting #LGBT students?"
Taking up AFT's call, public school advocates promptly took to Twitter to share some of the union's questions and pose some of their own:
As someone who hates public schools why are you taking over a position that promotes them? #Questions4Betsy
-- Paul Rizzo (@PaulRizzo504) January 16, 2017
Last week the HELP committee was forced to delay DeVos' hearing, initially scheduled for Jan. 11, due to concerns over her "extensive financial entanglements and potential conflicts of interest," as Politico reported at the time.
What's more, a separate Politico investigation published Monday highlighted how the DeVos family used its massive wealth to advance a staunch Christian conservative agenda in Michigan and beyond.
Responding to the Politico reporting, Diane Ravitch wrote on her blog Monday, "if Betsy DeVos is confirmed, which is likely, we will have a major battle on our hands to protect public education and to maintain a separation of church and state."
"She is not a normal candidate for secretary of education," warned the public education advocate and former assistant Secretary of Education under George H.W. Bush. "She is a religious zealot and a radical extremist. She will speak of her admiration for all successful schools, including public schools, but don't believe it. She is a determined foe of public education."