The running joke under the Trump administration is that President Trump appointed head of departments based on the level of hate they have for said department. The two biggest examples constantly held up are Scott Pruitt and Betsy DeVos. Both have had awful things to say about the departments they now head with DeVos going as far as saying that she wouldn’t mind if the Department of Education was ended. While that is a very extreme stance, it does give you an idea as to why she is so disliked.
DeVos is about results, and is a big supporter of the charter school idea. Charter schools are basically for profit education institutions that are paid based on results (more or less). While the idea sounds great, there are many issues with putting a profit on education. For starters resources are unfairly distributed among schools, locations may also cause lower grades, and outside influences may hinder a child’s ability to focus while in school.
These are the issues many teachers and supporters of public education constantly promote and believe DeVos future initiatives will harm this. Based on her past comments, supporters are right to fear what may come under a DeVos administration. But the question is not be whether her new initiatives are better for the current education system but if they are better for the future of America’s children.
Objectively the answer can not be given currently, but based on past attempts along the subject, results will be mixed. The idea of charter schools or giving more money to rich private schools will not solve the issues plaguing low income students. But, in DeVos defense, no one has come up with a solution for it. While money does help (which is being cut under Trump’s new budget plans), it is not the end all solution. Betsy DeVos will not be the leader the Department of Education needs to take it into the new age of technology, but with so many people not supportive of her, the question then becomes, who is the right person to lead a department that, a year from now will most likely be underfunded with a decrease in support from its Federal government?
http://www.salon.com/2017/04/11/what-betsy-devos-needs-to-know-about-diversity-in-schools/