Donald Trump once mused, “I love the poorly educated,” and he’s demonstrated this with his nomination of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education. DeVos struggled to answer questions related to key aspects of the educational system. She appeared puzzled by the mention of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires schools in all 50 states to provide appropriate education to students with disabilities. She has neither administrative nor even parental experience with the student loan process. She lacks the ability to differentiate between the concepts of “proficiency” and “growth.”
DeVos cannot even make up for her experience shortcomings with a confident vision for American education. Her testimony was filled with vague, noncommittal answers, raising concern students will be left to fend for themselves in cases of for-profit university abuses (like Trump University), and campus sexual assault investigations.
If DeVos does not have enough confidence in her ideas to articulate her positions, why should we have confidence in her to properly lead American education? If she will not do her homework (how ironic!) to prepare for the biggest job interview in her life, why should we expect her to be up to the enormous responsibility of managing the billions of dollars in the Department of Education’s budget? I urge all Illinois citizens to call on Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to vote “no” on this appointment.
— Sara Kurganov, Lisle
