Marc Medefind: DeVos completely unsuited to be Secretary of Education

I’m a veteran teacher, having taught for the past 32 years. Ask me about educational policy and I’m your guy. But if you ask me to be Secretary of Education, I’d be out of the running because I’m not a billionaire.

So far, most of President Donald Trump’s cabinet choices seem to be predicated on wealth rather than knowledge or experience. His pick for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, is a member of his elite billionaire’s club.

One would think this cabinet position would require a resume packed with intense public education experience. DeVos has none. She has never worked in any public school, attended public schools or sent her children to them. It’s like hiring someone who can’t read to run a university’s literature program. Her response at her confirmation hearing that guns should be allowed in schools to ward off grizzly bears was the height of absurdity.

Besides being a billionaire, why did Trump choose DeVos? Well, she was chair of the American Federation for Children, an organization that promotes education vouchers for charter schools and scholarship tax credits. As the adage goes, this is tantamount to putting the fox in charge of the henhouse, and public education will pay the price. Good luck, educators.

This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Marc Medefind: DeVos completely unsuited to be Secretary of Education."