>>>No that's insane. I would want a person who knows something about public education to be in charge of public education.
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>I think Trump picked her because of her long-term advocacy for alternatives to public education, including her firm commitment that every child gets a chance to go to the best school that suits their needs and abilities rather than just being assigned based on geography and availability. FWIW this concept is far from unique: in addition to majority public schooling, New Zealand currently has a furor over publicly funded "charter schools" for certain populations opposed by Teacher Unions, as well as fearfully expensive private schools similar to those in the US and some religious schools that accept public money in exchange for adherence to some standards.
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>I agree that not everybody can send their kids to a $50K per annum private school, which risks elite Sneech behaviors and disparity. Yes it is true that some private schools deliver exceptional results that risk glass ceilings for others- as an example, St Cuthberts School for Girls in Auckland does so well for students that 94% of girls who stay to year 13 go on to earn a university degree, including those with learning disabilities or other disadvantage. So I "get" the concern that so-called choice risks hollowing out of public education as a provider of last resort, locking in further disadvantage based on the size of your wallet.
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>Nancy is of course a 1%er billionaire so I get the concern that she may have sent her kids to a St Cuthberts and now has "let them eat cake" philosophies. However, and at the risk of cliche: I perceive familiar and very positive old money behaviors, including her acknowledgment that with great privilege comes great responsibility that she needs to show, AND a healthy reflection that her role is to serve, not to try to accumulate power or manna. Not the first time I've seen a difference in people from Michigan rather than New England. ;-) She may yet earn our admiration as a fierce advocate for *all* kids to be given opportunity and encouragement to rise to the level they deserve whether their grandpa gambled successfully on the stockmarket or not. I hope so...

I assume you mean Betsy not Nancy....

Betsy DeVos has no business heading our public education system. All she wants to do is let every duffus who wants to turn a profit open a 'school'. You want our education system to turn into a bunch of Trump Universities ??? Just do a google search on her and look around (find reputable sources of course) and I suspect you will come to the same conclusion - she's not the person for the job. During the hearing she sat there trying to defend failing concepts proven not to work. It's absurd that anyone would even consider her for the job let alone appoint her. But seeing how her family gave zillions of dollars to the GOP I guess some feel that makes it ok for her to have the job.