Former teacher welcomes DeVos’ confirmation

I look at the attacks on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her supposedly being “unqualified” for the job and think that the critics are hypocrites. Most of the education secretaries over the years have been political appointees who had little or no educational experience, and whose main qualifications were party loyalty and protecting the status quo.

For that matter, the current head of the University of California, Janet Napolitano, had absolutely no educational background at all before leading the country’s largest higher-education system.

The anti-DeVos crowd, especially the politicians and teachers’ unions, are scared that she’s going to kick them out of their comfort zone, and make things better, not for them, but for the students. For far too long, public education has been structured, scheduled and funded for the convenience of adults.

They’re now acting like spoiled children whose candy and toys are going to be taken away. No wonder they’re screaming; the kids will finally come first, not them. It’s a major paradigm shift that’s long overdue.

By the way, I taught in public schools for over 30 years and know what I’m talking about.

This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Former teacher welcomes DeVos’ confirmation."