Dear Senator Graham and Senator Scott,
I have been in classrooms for 32 years (high and middle school science). In private schools, I spent 7 years. For one-half year I taught in one of our South Carolina charter schools (2015). I returned, and remain in our SC public system after my foray into, and resignation from, ‘chartered territory.’ Over the years I taught in San Diego, Canada, Chicago, Tennessee, and now, here in South Carolina (since 2007), representing 9 systems.
Well-meaning persons who have been on the periphery, that are unschooled, unskilled, inexperienced, can ruin a classroom; a school, a system. Educating well, effectively, is an art and it is a science. The more experience, the better. Success in making meaningful, lasting, accepted, change to our antiquated system will take extensive experience, knowledge of the ins/outs, and even more importantly, experience in varied human strata, dealing with the psychology of people; an understanding of teaching and learning for both adults and children. It’s complicated and difficult. I do not glean any of the experience necessary from Ms. DeVos’ writing, or from her interview performance. I do not find either of your web sites helpful in laying out, clearly, with thoughtful comments, your personal understanding of her intentions, plans, philosophy. Rather, from both sites, to which your referred me, I recognize standardized, glib, political jargon. Where is your depth? Isn’t this a super-critical issue that will impact ALL of us for years? I fear Ms. DeVos’ apparent preference for a semi-private charter system is more about money than about effectively educating lots of human beings, LOTS of human beings…. Your support smacks of getting aboard the band wagon. The children of South Carolina’s classrooms will be relegated even longer, to the current inequalities of our poor system. It is a socioeconomically racist system. Charter schools are no solution to the dire straits of our deplorably abusive system that is charged with educating the masses. We are awfully good at educating the elite, the well-off, the privileged or rich; what of the masses? Mediocrity reigns and charter schools will not mitigate the sickness; they will be more of the same. I saw it, I see it.
Education, like war, should not be about the money. When it is, people get put in harm’s way unnecessarily; we lose them. Yes, I do argue that education is very similar to a hot war… the failures of education result in young adults without purpose, thus leading/contributing, too often, to the scourges of society: poverty, teen pregnancy, drop outs, drugs and alcohol, gangs, terror-cell attraction, mental illness, a citizenry that cannot think through the problems that they face daily, hourly. Our poor educational system and the current, shallow, propositions of ‘reformers’ do and will often lead to the devastation of suicide. Our children kill themselves directly as a result of poor educational decision making: politics.
Converting to a failing charter system from the failing public system is not an answer to educating children…it is a shift in funding. As I experienced it, the charter system is no better than the public system and can be worse.
To ask the neophyte, Ms. DeVos, to run the schools of the United States is familiar: “Just put a business person who knows money in there and they’ll get results.” President Trump, during his campaign, answered questions with regard to his ability to 'run things' by proclaiming, “I’ll hire the best people.”
Senator Graham, Senator Scott, do you believe Ms. DeVos is the best person available to President Trump; to the children of the United States, to run The Department of Education? There are hundreds, thousands, of people who have spent years and years in classrooms, then years in leadership positions, immersed directly in education and the issues that thwart quality for all (equality). They are available and exponentially more qualified to recognize/analyze the myriad problems inherent in educating humans. Experienced educators are more capable of moving toward solving those problems. Ms. DeVos’ shallow answers to profound questions with regard to education were enough for me to see, clearly, that she is not schooled well on the basic issues that we face as educators, parents, teachers, students, human beings; she is out of touch with BASIC issues, never mind the deep-rooted issues that plague education. Ms. DeVos is about charter schools and money…she may not be interested in personal monetary gain…but others are; those types are always around, you know that. Ms. DeVos may very well be the tool for those ‘business types.’
The current system is not fair to children; a shift to charter schools does not solve that problem. Putting a well-meaning business-type person in charge is out of touch with the nature of educating people; it is tantamount to sabotage. Ms. DeVos may be a nice person, I’ve known a lot of nice educators who worked hard, but they did not belong in education. The consequences of amateur and shallow decision making will continue to ravage us: poverty, drugs, suicide, dropouts, gangs, terror, poor problem solvers, and uninformed voters…dysfunctional democracy.
Educational reform is needed. I would declare it a national emergency. I do not see on either one of your web sites, explanations that convince me that YOU are fully convinced that the changes we anticipate from Ms. DeVos’ stated, shallow philosophy, will help. I urge you to think longer on it, think deeper…think outside the box, please. Why the hurry? There IS time. Why the fast decision-making process? We do not teach our children to shallow-think issues; we do not teach them to hurry into decisions; we teach them to think for themselves and hopefully make decisions that will benefit as many as possible without harming others.
C Galen Humphrey
Teacher