Right Criticism of Devos Appointment, Wrong Reasons
Betsy Devos was sworn in on February 17, 2017 as President Donald Trump's education secretary. The billionaire activist's appointment is controversial in that she has never served as a teacher or in educational administration. Rather, the bulk of Devos's experience is in conservative activism.
Vocal opponents of Devos have denigrated her for her advocacy for school choice, but I'd argue that her lack of suitability for the position of Secretary of Education is less a matter of her activism and political affiliation. It's no secret that the Presidency is a partisan office, and the appointee to head the Department of Education will be of the same political stripes as the appointing president.
What is most offensive is the simple reality that Devos has never worked in education professionally. All of society has an interest in advancing education and coming up with solutions to pervasive achievement gaps in American education, but to be enabled to create policies that teachers will be beholden to having never actually worked in education and been bound by education policy is an egregious onslaught towards those who do struggle daily to breach achievement gaps and deliver adequate education to America's youth.
Although, a record of Devos's philanthropy and advocacy showcase a deep commitment to student success, she will have no ability to understand how individual educators and students are affected by Education department policies beyond her insular forays into the world charter schools and school choice. In essence, she will have no choice but to resort to party platitudes on education and defer policy crafting to her staff. Essentially, America is lacking a strong advocate who understands education in America first hand. A nation outspending and underperforming its peer nations in educational outcomes, has a interested bystander at the helm of its education policy, not a proven practitioner and champion, ready to delve in and fix American schools.
Union objections and her partisanship do not weaken Devos's ability to serve well as Secretary of Education; her lack of first hand experience and more egregious the requisite to her situation ignorance of what she doesn't know about working day in and day out in the American classroom is her greatest detriment in achieving the task at hand, advancing education in the United States.