{"id":223,"date":"2017-09-20T02:42:09","date_gmt":"2017-09-20T02:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/?p=223"},"modified":"2022-10-21T23:49:11","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T23:49:11","slug":"the-betsy-devos-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/2017\/09\/20\/the-betsy-devos-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"The Betsy DeVos Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-224\" src=\"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/384px-betsy_devos_official_portrait1.jpg?w=241\" alt=\"\" width=\"294\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/384px-betsy_devos_official_portrait1.jpg 384w, https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/384px-betsy_devos_official_portrait1-241x300.jpg 241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 294px) 85vw, 294px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>US Secretary of Education Elisabeth DeVos is NOT anti-public schools, she\u2019s anti-FAILING schools, and so am I, and you should be too.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding the nomination and confirmation of Secretary DeVos, during the past nine months I\u2019ve read numerous quotes from incensed teachers, parents and students from across the country, including a huge dose of negativity from right here in Michigan.\u00a0 Some of the strongest objections have come out of Flint, Detroit, Pontiac and Saginaw.\u00a0 They all pretty much spit the same generalized talking point: that she is going to \u201cdestroy\u201d Public Schools.\u00a0 Quite frankly, the hard data would seem to indicate that in many places, the politicians, public school leaders and advocates have already done a fine job of destroying public education all by themselves.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Challenge 1:<\/strong>\u00a0 To the anti-DeVos public education \u201cadvocates,\u201d I challenge you to stop Secretary DeVos dead in her tracks by impressing her with your school\u2019s success record.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hard Data \u2013 What\u2019s Not Working<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Michigan Department of Education maintains a database that displays each public school\u2019s 2015-16 statewide percentile ranking based on measures of <u>student achievement<\/u> and <u>student improvement<\/u>.\u00a0 Each school district is assigned a number on the scale of 0-99, with 99 being the highest relative performance and 0 being the lowest.\u00a0 For the cities mentioned above, the numbers are sobering:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Detroit Public Schools\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 11<sup>th<\/sup> percentile<\/li>\n<li>Flint Public Schools \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 8<sup>th<\/sup> percentile<\/li>\n<li>Pontiac Public Schools \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 9<sup>th<\/sup> percentile<\/li>\n<li>Saginaw Public Schools \u00a0\u00a0 9<sup>th<\/sup> percentile<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By the way, these numbers have been relatively consistent for more than a decade, and in some cases two or three decades.\u00a0 And please spare me any claim that the MDE database has clearly been hacked by the Russians.\u00a0 Or the NSA, or Republicans, or the 1%, or a Nigerian prince.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Challenge 2:<\/strong>\u00a0 Set aside the political ideology and quit echoing the ridiculous, divisive and deliberately misleading ATF, MEA and DNC talking points.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve heard them ad nauseam: \u201cShe didn\u2019t graduate from a <em>public university<\/em>!!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cShe clearly supports c<em>harter schools<\/em>!!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cShe was <em>never a teacher<\/em>, she\u2019s <em>not even a degreed educator<\/em>!!\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It is true that Secretary DeVos did not graduate from a public university (Calvin). Neither did either one of her predecessors, President Obama\u2019s Secretaries of Education, Arne Duncan (Harvard) and John King (Harvard, Columbia, and Yale).<\/li>\n<li>She does indeed support charter schools, as did both Duncan and King. John King spent part of his career as a Charter School Principal.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s also true that she is not an educator by trade or training, though neither were former Carter Secretary Shirley Hufstedler (lawyer, judge), Clinton Secretary Richard Riley (lawyer, politician), and again, Obama\u2019s Arne Duncan (basketball player, sociologist).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If these traits are <em>so objectionable<\/em>, then <em>why<\/em> was there NO similar outcry about the Secretaries chosen by each of the most recent Democrat Presidents?<\/p>\n<p>That being said, what\u2019s especially interesting is the one talking point we\u2019re <em>not<\/em> hearing, which also happens to be the <em>only <\/em>consistent aspect of all of the opposition to Betsy DeVos; nobody is claiming \u201cOur public schools are doing a GREAT job!!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s All About the Money, Or Is It?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development involves (and studies) the world&#8217;s most developed countries for the purpose of stimulating economic progress and world trade.\u00a0 The OECD has reported that US teachers are better paid (avg = $53k) than most of their counterparts elsewhere in the world (avg = $46k).\u00a0 The average first year high school teacher in the US earns around $38k compared to OECD nations at $31k.<\/p>\n<p>The US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics reports we spend about $12,300 per student, compared to the OECD average of $9,300.\u00a0 The OECD reports that the US spends over 7% of its GDP on education, compared to an average of 6% in the other OECD countries.\u00a0 So, we\u2019re paying teachers more, spending more on the students, and spending a greater portion of what we have.\u00a0 What exactly is all of that buying us?\u00a0 The answer\u2026, a lot less than one would hope.<\/p>\n<p>The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study that compares levels of scholastic performance in 72 developed nations.\u00a0 In the 2015 PISA study, US students\u2019 scores ranked them as follows: \u00a0Math \u2013 39<sup>th<\/sup>, Science \u2013 25<sup>th<\/sup>, Reading \u2013 23<sup>rd<\/sup>.\u00a0 Just how are US graduates going to fare in the global workplace when their critical skill levels aren\u2019t even in the top 20?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Challenge 3:<\/strong>\u00a0 Either admit that what\u2019s been tried in many schools isn\u2019t working, or roll out the data that shows it is.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What IS Working<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t <em>know<\/em> (and quite frankly, neither does anyone else) whether Secretary DeVos will be great for American schoolchildren (and their parents) or not.\u00a0 But I do know two things:\u00a0 First, that continuation of current practice or maintaining status quo in failing schools will NOT solve the problem, <em>especially<\/em> when many of the people directly involved refuse to even acknowledge &#8211; much less take responsibility for &#8211; the implications of the percentile rankings listed above.\u00a0 Second, Secretary DeVos and her family have a long history of education advocacy and philanthropy, for both private <em>and public<\/em> schools, including those schools in and around her hometown:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Holland Public Schools\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 45<sup>th<\/sup> percentile<\/li>\n<li>Hamilton Public Schools\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 66<sup>th<\/sup> percentile<\/li>\n<li>Saugatuck Public Schools\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 87<sup>th<\/sup> percentile<\/li>\n<li>West Ottawa Public Schools\u00a0\u00a0 74<sup>th<\/sup> percentile<\/li>\n<li>Zeeland Public Schools\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 76<sup>th<\/sup> percentile<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It would seem that if anyone had a legitimate complaint about public schools being \u201cdestroyed,\u201d it would be the folks from those schools listed immediately above.\u00a0 Yet, I\u2019ve seen no concomitant outcry of concern from the teachers and parents of these schools.<\/p>\n<p>I can hear my detractors already: \u201cOf course they\u2019re not worried, they\u2019re doing great, she\u2019s not going to destroy <em>them<\/em>!\u201d\u00a0 And the problem with that is\u2026?\u00a0 Shouldn\u2019t schools that are underperforming indeed be the focus of efforts to revamp the current model and rebuild from the ground up?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why Not<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The real question for my hometown and our I-75 corridor neighbors north and south is, do you want public schools like those west of Grand Rapids, or not?\u00a0 Because based upon many of the actions for the past 30 years, and especially the vehement objections since November 23<sup>rd<\/sup>, it sure seems like your answer is\u2026 <em>not<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Challenge 4:<\/strong>\u00a0 With all due respect, give Secretary DeVos a chance\u2026 you\u2019ve had yours.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Secretary of Education Elisabeth DeVos is NOT anti-public schools, she\u2019s anti-FAILING schools, and so am I, and you should be too. Regarding the nomination and confirmation of Secretary DeVos, during the past nine months I\u2019ve read numerous quotes from incensed teachers, parents and students from across the country, including a huge dose of negativity &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/2017\/09\/20\/the-betsy-devos-challenge\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Betsy DeVos Challenge&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultural-commentary-and-perspective"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1117,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223\/revisions\/1117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}