Betsy DeVos, Pr*sident Donald Trump’s pick to be his Secretary of Education, is rightfully being exposed nationally for her anti-public education agenda. As I and Mitchell Robinson have been explaining repeatedly, Betsy DeVos isn’t just unqualified, she’s DANGEROUS. She’s never attended a public school. She’s never sent her children to a public school. She’s never taught in ANY school. She’s […]

The news that Betsy DeVos will not divest her financial interest in Neurocore, a Michigan “biofeedback” company, should alarm anyone who cares about the health and safety of our children. Because this is not simply a financial issue; it’s part of a disturbing trend in Ms. DeVos’ involvement and activism in education, and her potential confirmation as Secretary of Education. […]

In his inaugural speech, the newly installed President of the United States made the following comment: “An education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge”. Incensed, I immediately wanted to share my thoughts about these mean-spirited, belittling words–but I couldn’t. Because I was in Grand Rapids at the Michigan Music Conference […]

It’s unmistakably clear that Republicans are doing everything they can to protect their corporatist benefactor Betsy DeVos from having to face any sort of real scrutiny in her bid to become the nation’s Secretary of Education. They scheduled her confirmation hearing BEFORE the U.S. Office of Government Ethics had released its report on her so that she can’t be questioned […]

Betsy DeVos believes these 5 things about government. As a career teacher, I thought I’d take this opportunity to grade Ms. DeVos’ responses as though they were answers on an exam. I understand she’s a big fan of “accountability,” so I’m sure she will appreciate the feedback, especially as she crams for her confirmation hearings, scheduled for later today… 1. […]

Former Michigan Governor John Engler is out with a new piece on The Hill touting his friend, West Michigan billionaire heiress Betsy DeVos, as a “champion for all American students.” As a resident of Michigan, this strikes me as Lord Voldemort endorsing Dolores Umbridge as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, or perhaps as Stannis Baratheon offering his strong support for Melisandre […]

Michael D’Antuono is an artist who challenges our social and political beliefs with his hard-hitting and often controversial paintings. His work has been featured here at Eclectablog before (HERE and HERE.) Just in time for the confirmation hearings of Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education, D’Antuono has a new painting out titled “Class System” that graphically depicts […]

Bullying and intimidation are the modus operandi of Donald Trump and those who support him. Through personal insults and vague threats, they attempt to make people afraid to oppose them. His pick for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, is no exception. Earlier this week, Gretchen Whitmer sent out this fundraising email as part of her bid to be Michigan’s governor […]

If you have any misconceptions about how powerful Betsy DeVos and her family’s money is – not just in Michigan but nationally – have a look at the video below. That’s Congressman Bill Huizenga who represents the highly conservative 2nd Congressional District on Michigan’s west coast. Huizenga is a former classmate of his good buddy Erik Prince, founder of the […]

[This post is inspired by a recent masterful piece by one of my real role models as a writer on all topics related to education: Peter Greene, the author of Curmudgication. Thank you, Peter, for so beautifully capturing the frustration that so many teachers feel about the standards and testing movement that seems to be dominating our work in the […]

A recent “article” featured in a post from the Great Lakes Education Project told the story of Denisha Meriweather, “an intelligent, dynamic and motivating individual whose life was changed by the school choice policies promoted by Betsy DeVos.” The title of the article on The Hill is, “Why we must give Betsy DeVos and school choice a chance.” Let me explain why […]