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DeVos Tweets #1


This tweet comes after DeVos' aborted visit to Jefferson Middle School Academy in Washington DC. She got up to the front doors before being confronted by protestors. At that point, she decided to not visit the school and drove away. The goal of this visit was to visit a public school in the DC area.

Now the visit prompted the Ed Secretary to fight back against the Academy. She told a Townhall columnist:
This quote all on its own is highly insulting to, not just the teachers at Jefferson Academy, but to all teachers. It implies that teachers are not doing their job correctly at this time and are waiting to be given some sort of "permission" to actually teach children. 

Her followup and mea culpa is no better. She tries to imply that teachers need "freedom & flexibility" in order to be successful. However, this implies that this alone is what teachers need. 

Burn-out happens because teachers are over-extended & unsupported. Teaching is an emotionally exhausting job as one adult is required to manage 20-30 other people who have disparate emotional, physical & mental needs. Teachers cannot leave a classroom if they feel overly emotional - they must maintain emotional composure for hours without breaks or timeouts which causes teachers to feel cynical, exhausted & depressed. 

Teachers need flexibility in the sense that they should be allowed to teach in their styles. Every professional does their job a little differently & this includes educators. Freedom & flexibility allows a teacher to modify curriculum or include different modalities to best serve their students.

But DeVos appears to want teachers to be free on all levels. There is no talk of support with money for materials & staff. Teachers desperately ask for money on DonorsChoose for reading supplies, nutrition curriculum, or just basic staff needs.

There are huge problems in schools with students that language learners, have mental/emotional needs or are learning disabled. These students routinely fall behind in a mainstream classroom because their real needs are not supported. A homeroom teacher cannot address these very complex needs on a daily basis in the way the kids need to be supported.

So this hands-off approach is a disservice. Kids need help. Adults need help. 

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