Betsy Devos maybe not the best choice

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/betsy-devos-omitted-dollar125000-anti-union-political-donation-from-senate-disclosure-form/ar-AAlQL9u?li=BBnb7Kz

I am always suspicious of education reform which centers on destroying collective bargaining of teachers and replacing the same with more administrative BS handcuffing teachers from doing their job. My experience with living with a teacher for forty years is that collective bargaining helps to bring balance to utter incompetence in the administration of many American schools where the next new fade comes in with a superintendent or new school board member who want to run for higher office. Folks, it is not the American teacher which has screwed up American education, it is folks like Betsy Devos who screwed up the pooch.

What would you suggest that the leftists in Congress do to stop her being confirmed?

I will tell you our family experience with one of these very rich people who want to reform our education system. My wife and I were working very hard to promote a school referendum which would support the education mission in our district. You may have heard Hallmark and I talking about a golf course his son played in Illinois. It is a very exclusive course which hosted the women's ryder cup, and is called Rich Harvest Farms. When I played in the west suburban golf league, we would play a club called Butterfield, which had this member called Jerry Rich. His nickname was "very"......this being short for very Rich a play on his name. He was a devout Catholic and did not attend public schools as a kid, and made almost a billion dollars selling a company that had software that dealt with bar codes.

Well, Mr. Rich came to one of our community meetings to support the referendum, and he stood up and said that we should not support the referendum, and that he was working with Northern Illinois University to create a charter school in our community. The problem was that the district was the largest geographic school district in Illinois and it took in many rural communities which all had different agendas for their small towns. So the rich guy stands up and sends the message that charter schools are the answer, and our small community to the exclusion of all the other children in those small rural towns should be what is important, not the overall referendum. My wife got up and politely told him that every child in the district counted and the timing of his sudden interest in the welfare of children in the district looked more like enhancement of his huge real estate investments where he was seeking exclusivity in the community. He was not happy. My wife was not happy. The referendum failed the first time, and kids were at risk at diminished programs, and this sob never did anything with a charter school which seemed to be the buzz word for rich people twenty years ago. Some charter schools do work. Most are failures. Attacking teacher's rights to a collective voice at the education table is wrong.

This woman is the wrong fit for the job. Teachers are the backbone of American education. Rich folks do not give a chit, and in the mean time those kids in those small rural communities do matter.

Again... what would you suggest that the leftists in Congress do to foil her imminent confirmation?

Please try to stay on point Poindexter.

2seaoat wrote:http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/betsy-devos-omitted-dollar125000-anti-union-political-donation-from-senate-disclosure-form/ar-AAlQL9u?li=BBnb7Kz

I am always suspicious of education reform which centers on destroying collective bargaining of teachers and replacing the same with more administrative BS handcuffing teachers from doing their job. [...]

National Education Association General Counsel Bob Chanin stated in July 2009.

Chanin: "It is not because we care about children. And it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power. And we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues...."



Says it all, does it not?

The drop in American math and science scores in relation to the world start and end with incompetent administration of education where politics intervene in curriculum and the very lucrative book business which the newest and best fad results in utter confusion and disjointed curriculum when every five years a new superintendent has the new best thing for students, or a board member who is running for a higher office decides to experiment like my next door neighbor's tenure on a school board as an avid Republican attacked one of the lowest paying districts in Illinois which caused a complete breakdown as programs were cut, students lost opportunity, and ultimately the atomic option was exercised and there was a teacher strike.....he went on to another political appointed job, his mission was accomplished, but the children of the district lost three years of their education, and the teachers were NOT empowered, but for their right to collectively bargain and be at the table to give their input into education.  I love it when people talk about things they have no idea about, but at least there is consistency.  I want teacher input.  I want teachers to be empowered and equal partners in the education of my grandchildren.  I do not want wealthy people seeking to destroy America's crowning achievement.....the American public education system.

PkrBum wrote:Again... what would you suggest that the leftists in Congress do to foil her imminent confirmation?

Please try to stay on point Poindexter.

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