Secretary of Education needs to improve or step down
When Betsy DeVos was hired by President Donald Trump to head the Department of Education at the start of his administration, there were numerous red flags. One particular criticism is that she has never been an educator. She has spent her entire life in business. She is on the board for Windquest, a company that manufactures clean energy, and Neurocore, a company that studies brain activity in mental illness. Similarly to the president, she was born into fortune that she continues to rely on today.
Last week, the Secretary of Education appeared before the House Appropriations Committee with a budget proposal that would cut out funding for the Special Olympics. DeVos’ inexperience in the classroom is evident in this past week’s testimonies.
Part of her proposed budget would cut almost seven billion dollars from educational programs, including Gallaudet University for the blind and deaf and Special Olympics. She also proposed to increase class size and decreasing the number of teachers. In her testimony, she also suggested that black students are inherently more problematic in the classroom, repealing an Obama-era discipline that tried to minimize discrimination.
The proposed budget would cut all 18 million dollars from the Special Olympics. The Special Olympics are an incredibly important organization that helps over 272,000 children with special needs. Cutting funding from the program would not only upset those children, it would dehumanize them. Cutting funding only promotes to those children that they are worth less than those able-bodied. The Special Olympics is a sacred program that should be celebrated just as much as professional sports. The case for Special Olympics is not a partisan issue, it is a human issue that gives an awesome outlet for the children with special needs that can easily be funded by Betsy Devos’ 40 million dollar yacht.
In DeVos’ testimony, she also offered to increase class size saying, “Students may be better served by being in larger classes, if by hiring fewer teachers, a district or state can better compensate those who have demonstrated high ability and outstanding results.”
Abundant research disproves DeVos’ claims. A study from Fremont College found that in classes of 20 or less students, the children have higher average grades. Students are more likely to thrive when given more intimate attention and instruction from their teachers. Smaller class sizes also encourage participation and students have more opportunity to learn from their peers.
DeVos’ other controversial issue from her testimony is her repeal to an Obama-era discipline that attempted to limit discrimination in the classroom. Prior to the discipline, African American boys were three times more likely to be suspended than white boys of the same age for a similar offence, and African American girls were six times more likely to be suspended.
The source DeVos cites is racist and desensitizing. The source explains that disciplinary rates between white and black youths are, “likely produced by pre-existing behavioral problems of youth that are imported into the classroom, that cause classroom disruptions and that trigger disciplinary measures by teachers and school officials.” Her backing of the source is ridiculous. It’s hard to believe that she is the head of our education in a country that claims to fight for equality.
Betsy DeVos is not qualified in her position to serve as the Secretary of Education for the United States, not only because of these claims, but in spite of these claims. Her insensitivity and inexperience in the classroom is evident in her policy propositions and testimonies.
Secretary DeVos should resign from her role as Secretary of Education of the United States so an experienced educator can truly help teachers and students of America. The turnover in Trump’s cabinet has already been historic, why not add one more adjustment?
By Matthew Villanueva, Contributing Writer
villanjm18@bonaventure.edu
