We asked education majors at Temple how they felt about the confirmation of Betsy DeVos

Let’s just say they’re not too thrilled

On February 7, 2017, Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Donald Trumps pick for Education Secretary. The vote came down to a tie-breaker, and, despite night-long protests, Vice President Mike Pence broke the tie by voting to confirm DeVos.

Since DeVos has no prior education degree or experience with the public school system, people around the country are deeply concerned about the future of public schooling – especially current college students working towards an education degree. Following DeVos’ first day in office, she sent out a tweet celebrating her success, but also asking where she could find pencils.

This tweet provoked many responses from education students on Twitter, reminding her that teachers had to pay for their own school supplies. In response to DeVos’ ignorance towards the inner-workings of public schooling, we thought it would be interesting to hear how aspiring teachers felt about her confirmation and how they assume it might affect their job outlooks.

Elizabeth Doyle, Junior, Early Childhood Education 

Elizabeth said that after hearing about DeVos’ confirmation, she was “very upset.” “I felt bad for the little girl that was in Starbucks with me, because that child might not receive a proper education.” Elizabeth questioned the state of education in the United States because she was not yet licensed, but still had more experience in education than DeVos.

Elizabeth believes that, despite education being regulated differently in different states, DeVos’ confirmation would affect her job out look because, “When somebody changes something major in education, it trickles down.”

Hannah Keogh, Senior, Early Childhood Education

 

In response to DeVos’ confirmation, Hannah said she, “Wasn’t even surprised anymore,” and that she “kind of expected it.” While Hannah does believe that this will impact getting a job in the future, she does not want to worry about it right now, as she has many other things going on.

Dakota Korn, Junior, Middle Education Major and Bridget McKnight, Junior, Middle Education Major

While Dakota believes that DeVos is “completely unqualified” for this position, he does not think that it will affect his ability to get a job. However, he is concerned about what the status of his job would be.

Bridget does not really follow politics, but said, ” [I] saw that everyone was upset about it.”

Ernie Tyler, Junior, Early Childhood Education 

Initially, Ernie said he was, “Disappointed that we chose someone who clearly has no background in public education.” However, Ernie is also not too thrilled about the Common Core and No Child Left Behind acts. He says that regardless of who is in office, he is still looking forward to working in the Philly school district after graduation. “To me, it does not matter who is in office, I am going to be the same teacher I know I can be and give my students the education that every child in America deserves.”

Lindsay Coupe, Junior, Early Childhood Education with a concentration in Special Education

Lindsay was also appalled at DeVos’ confirmation. She believes that DeVos, “Has no right being secretary of education because she has never been in a classroom before, and she doesn’t know the joy of teaching and the accomplishment an educator feels after a child achieves their goals.”

In terms of a job search, Lindsay is mostly concerned about the lack of money in education. She says it baffles her because, “No one would be where they are today without school and without teachers,” and also added that she thinks DeVos “lacks [the knowledge] of the inner-workings of a classroom.”

Julie Blackmon, Junior, Early Childhood Education with a concentration in Special Education

Julie told The Tab that she is frightened by DeVos’ confirmation. She said, “Her lack of any relevant experience as an educator gives me no hope that she knows how to properly fund our school systems, which will steal opportunities from students all over, but especially those with low-income families.”

Julie is still hoping for change, but also says that in order to overcome DeVos, “Teachers and members of public education need to stay strong and do everything they can to support their students and schooling.”

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