DeVos Doesn’t Want Educated Citizenry

Before I begin I will make one thing clear; it is my belief that corruption and politics go together like senators and sex scandals. Further, I do not think that monetary (or other) influence(s) is unique to one party or the other. If political sell outs were baby names nearly every elected official could be called “Aiden”, “Kayden” or “Brayden”.

            Which brings me to the elected official that this piece will highlight; Betsy DeVos.

by AntarcticSpring on DeviantArt

               No wait a second...

 That's better, or at least more accurate.

            The Secretary of Education has over thirty years of teaching experience and has been known throughout her career as a champion of the disenfranchised. She has built her altruistic legacy through her work with non-profit education foundations. In addition, she has given most of her meager earnings to those within our country that are most in need.

            No wait scratch all that, our current Sec of Ed has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Political Science (Emery, 2017). Her own children never attended public schools (Emery, 2017). DeVos is also a bona fide billionaire. However, rest assured she does contribute philanthropically, and although it is hard to pin down, it seems she and her husband Dick are particularly fond of supporting Christian education (Emery, 2017). Finally, she is a proponent of what DeVos herself labels as “school choice” – going as far as saying that the federal government has a monopoly-like grip on education (Weller, 2018). She also has taken steps to eliminate student loan forgiveness. Not coincidentally, she holds an interest in a debt collection agency that focuses on repayment of past due student loans.

            There are of course, concerns with all of these things. Although, what bothers folks (but doesn’t surprise them) is what she’s done since being in office.

            DeVos, someone with little experience in public education, but seemingly at least some business experience continues to support an educational for-profit business model that yields little in the way of results. Many sources have shown that the charter schools that DeVos is so fond of fall behind statistically when it comes to their main goal, educating the nation’s youth. In fact, some studies have indicated that some of these charter schools have amassed a sad graduation rate of only 48% (Hefling, 2017). Further, many of these schools have been labeled as a contemporary form of segregation, reporting that 70% of African-American students attend schools that are nearly all minority students (Weller, 2018).

            These results are part of what makes DeVos’s unwavering support of charter schools all the more mystifying. Typically, those in business look at the benefits of what their product produces- what make the product worthwhile to consumers. In a competitive market (a market with the choices DeVos often touts) this matters because the opposition will be quick to deliver on that which is lacking in order to gain an advantage in the marketplace.

            With education, everything is different. There isn’t truly any competition, there are contracts. There isn’t really value of the DeVos brand over another, instead there are vouchers.  

            DeVos’ maiming of the country’s educational system doesn’t just stop at curling her boney fingers around another crumpled dollar at the expense of an entire generation. She has also repealed no less than 72 federal statutes that serve students with various types of disabilities (Hammerschlag, 2018).  This action is as transparent as it is repulsive. Clearly, accommodating students with disabilities is cancer to the bottom line, DeVos’ bottom line.  

            Beyond the almighty dollar, is there anything else that motivates DeVos? That becomes harder to say. As mentioned earlier she seems to support the idea of religion in schools, and this writer would state that there’s nothing wrong with that, she only needs to make sure those same religious morals accompany her own decision making.

            When it comes to DeVos we have 2 things we can use with which to form opinions on her intent; her history and her actions in office. Each of these has thus far demonstrated her intent is not to educate, but merely profit off of the idea of education.

           

References

Emery, D. (2017, February 7). Meet Betsy DeVos, Trump’s Secretary of Education Nominee.     Retrieved May 6, 2018, from Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/betsy-devos-education-   secretary/

Hammerschlag, A. (2018, May 5). Betsy DeVos gets standing ovation from Florida graduates after   religious speech. Retrieved May 6, 2018, from Arizona Republic:   https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/05/05/betsy-devos-religious-   commencement-speech-earns-standing-ovation-fla-college/583868002/

Hefling, K. (2017, October 8). DeVos champions online charter schools, but the results are poor.   Retrieved May 6, 2018, from Politico: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/08/education-betsy-   devos-online-charter-schools-poor-results-243556

Weller, C. (2018, February 7). New education secretary Betsy DeVos champions vouchers and   charter  schools — here's what that means. Retrieved May 6, 2018, from Business Insider:   http://www.businessinsider.com/what-are-charter-schools-2017-2

Group Pilot, err I mean Facilitator

            My field instructor smiled at me, “You’re going to be running this afternoon’s group.” I immediately looked behind me to make sure there wasn’t someone more qualified, or someone else he had meant to address. There wasn’t.

            “Great, can’t wait,” I lied through clenched teeth. Already I could feel the sweat building from my armpits. How could this be I thought? Why in God’s name would they want me to run group? Who called off? Are they trying to redefine the word ‘desperate’?

            And then it dawned on me…I am training to be a social worker, one who will eventually be going on to work with those that have had mental health issues, experienced trauma or been trying to live a substance-free life. While this realization did give me some comfort, I still felt my heart begin thumping as if it were about to break through the outer wall of my chest.

            After doing my best not to float away in my own nervous perspiration, I quickly worked up the nerve to ask my field instructor what exactly that meant.

            “Relax, I’ll sit in with you and see how you do for a bit, and I’ve already put together the lesson plan.”

            My mind still protested. I can’t! I’m not ready! You’ve got the wrong guy! My mouth said, “Sure, I’m ready, I was wondering when I would get the opportunity.” Stupid! Why’d you say that? Now you have no other choice but to run away. That’s right, leave at lunch, don’t come back. Ever. That will do the trick!

            Luckily, I had a full two hours to review the material beforehand. Today we would be looking at commonly held irrational beliefs and typical thinking errors. Oh no, and I was already catastrophizing the event and it hadn’t even taken place yet! I beat back the thoughts as self-destructive and set to work making scribbled notes and highlights all over my worksheets for the full 120 minutes that followed.

            Before I knew it, there I sat, face-to-face with a room full of twenty men, not much different than myself- all of them staring at the front of the room waiting to get started.  

            “Well…” my field instructor hinted as he sat next to me, arms folded.

            “Oh me? I start?”

            He nodded.

            “Alright gentlemen…” I proceeded to lay down the ground rules that I planned to use in order keep the meeting on track. It was exhilarating! That was the catalyst that sent me into a deep state of focus. I put on my reading glasses just to make sure I was centered, and the fear and anxiety that had gripped me for the last two hours left me completely.

            My field instructor turned to leave the room after only a few minutes. Oh my! You’re on your own! I felt like I was flying a plane for the first time all by myself. Keep it steady, do not screw this up!

            I set the tone; they shared, elaborated on concepts and were respectful of one another. It was a magnificent experience for me.

            Of course, in this setting it’s not about me at all.

            Following the meeting I asked the guys to provide feedback to my instructors. They did. It was honest. It was constructive. I was also not surprised that some of these gents were not shy when it came to telling me personally how I did.

            To be honest, it wasn’t all great- but nor did I expect it to be. It was my first time facilitating a group such as this. Although, they did give mostly favorable feedback. My field instructor echoed their statements telling me that I had indeed done a great job.

            It was a rewarding feeling. To celebrate the first thing I did was to come home and continue to study up so I could do better next time.

Philosophical Mumbo Jumbo

Philosophy -

noun, phi·los·o·phy \fə-ˈlä-s(ə-)fē\

2 pursuit of wisdom :  a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means :  an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs (Merriam-Webster Inc, 2017)

Recently, I just finished a course that centered on Ethics and Morality and used a textbook penned by Lawrence Hinman; Contemporary Moral Issues: Diversity and Consensus. Initially, upon entering the class I thought, what a waste of time, as if either of these things are teachable concepts.

I assumed it would be one of those classes you shrug off, an “easy A” that would not take up much study time. Just answer the questions posed to you in the “expected” way and collect your credits. However, with each passing week I became more involved in the course discussions and found the subject matter more interesting. Stem cell harvesting and research, abortion, neoliberalism, the death penalty- all controversial issues that I thought I had understood, and further thought that I had thoroughly grounded beliefs within. Beliefs that lay firmly rooted on one side of these issues or the other. I quickly found out that my beliefs were not only superficial, but in some cases ethereal, having been incidentally gleaned from less-than reputable sources (skewed movies and books, acquaintances with agendas, slanted news reports etc.)

I found myself debating classmates and “winning” (as much as one can “win” in an online forum anyway). It became quite exhilarating, not to pick a side and defend it, but to really dig in and research the pros and cons and present an overarching view of a topic.

          

This spark led me to finally finish up a book i had been given months before on one of my favorite topics, Alan Moore’s Watchmen. I went back to reading Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test by Mark D. White. I suppose I thought I had just laid or reinforced the fundamentals of critical thinking with regard to personal worldviews, it might be time to explore that in a different context. That context, being one of my favorite films and graphic novels.

The book was great, particularly due to its analytical treatment of Watchmen’s characters and the issues they face from a philosophical lens. The author did a wonderful job of bringing to light issues in the story that I always noticed as being paramount, but could never properly articulate with any true direction. The essays throughout focus on the topics that are central (and some not-so central) to Watchmen’s mythos; good and evil, heroism, villainy, righteousness, politics, and neatly weaves these into philosophical concepts such as stoicism, free will and moral value, among others.  If you are a pop culture fan, or especially a Watchmen fan who is at all interested in philosophy, I highly urge you to track down a copy.  

   

After finishing both Watchmen and Philosophy as well as, Contemporary Moral Issues, I assumed I was ready for something with more gristle. I picked up a translated copy from one of the master’s of philosophy; Nietzsche. I was excited, one because I had heard his work quoted in several different formats and media over the years, and two; I was a bit full of myself at feeling I was ready to tackle such an esteemed body of literary work. The book I selected was The Birth of Tragedy, which was coupled with The Case of Wagner. The particular edition I purchased also contained a preface written by Nietzsche titled ‘Attempt at a Self-Criticism' related to The Birth of Tragedy- an analysis of his own work, some years after the fact. I thought this might prove useful, and insightful as Birth was his first published book.   

I was eager to begin soaking up the relevant knowledge, the life-altering wisdom that someone so revered would surely be able to pass on from across time.

It took me almost 3 hours just to read through the translator’s introduction!

But I wasn’t stymied yet. I kept thinking perhaps if I can get past the translator’s stuffy, academic language from the mid 1950’s, I could get to the insightful information that I really desired, so I pressed on.  Unfortunately, once that was completed I only arrived at Nietzsche’s words to discover that they themselves were made up of stuffy, academic language from the mid 1700’s. I was both astounded and disappointed that it was taking me so long to digest the book’s content.  

So Nietzsche and I, once strangers were quickly estranged. As such, his book rests on the bottom of my reading table, gathering dust as I hope I may gather the acumen to read his words without the help of a tutor, language coach, caffeine and a concordance.

My philosophical exploration remains on hold. Until, at least, I can find something more palatable. Perhaps in between “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Philosophy” and “The Complete Intellectual’s Guide to Philosophy”. I suppose the moral of the story is that my hypothetical philosophical remains on hold, in more than just the hypothetical sense.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you thought the above not representative of David’s typical writing (i.e. slow-paced, overly methodical, and painfully analytical, it is due to the fact that he was channeling Nietzsche himself.

Further, if you stumbled to this page expecting to see something representing light-hearted humor with more intermittent action scenes, stay tuned we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week (now that David has gotten this out of his system, we hope.)

Call Center: Take Two

            I was heading into work last week and saw a kid (I can say kid because he was closer to eighteen than twenty one, and I am closer to forty than thirty, both of these things are sad in their own way). Anyway, he had on a t-shirt that read “Carpe Diem”- this is absolutely true. I asked him if he was trying to be ironic. He said he didn’t know – for his part, probably also true.

            I did start me down a path of thought. See both of us are employed in a call center. Yes you know, one of those tall office buildings where a bunch of drones with headsets attempt to talk to regular people about a whole myriad of things. Perhaps you haven’t paid your bills, maybe you just got into a car accident, or it could be that you’re overburdened by money, and someone is desperately trying to sell you something.  Me, I work in tech support, employed by a vendor company that I can’t mention,  for a primary company I can’t name, that supports products I can’t freely talk about.

            Confidentiality. You understand, I’m sure. Rest assured, whatever it is I may or may not do, it doesn’t involve national defense, or require security clearance. However, there are lots of problems with this job.

This gentleman is showing call center managers where they can stick it to their employees.

            The main thing is, I’ve already done all this before. I mean I’ve been at this for a month now, and all I can think about is how everyone I’ve been introduced to I’ve either met before, and / or done their job in a previous job of my own. In my training class there was the know-it-all (not me this time, more on that in a bit), the trainer, the hip one, the professional, the manager, the burnout, the person that can’t be bothered to take anything seriously (also not me), the team lead, the immature one, the conspiracy guy, the section manager, the loud mouth (sorry, still not me), and a few others.

            Before I get into where I fit in with all of these caricatures, let me give you some insight on the type of company we are dealing with…

            …We started the class with 23 souls, by day two we had lost two people. They just vanished; no one knows what became of them. By the end of week 1,  two more had dropped, one for sleeping in class, and one that was fired for having “court” and missing too much of the “training”. In week 2, two more people were terminated for dozing during class, and one for attendance on that Monday. He just showed up at lunch on day 6, with no explanation, and no phone call. Midweek of week 2 a few more dropped, one of which was due to DCS taking her kids (or that’s what she told me). No judgment here, DCS takes a lot of kids, or so I’ve heard.  The other two were let go because of cell phone use in class. This particular employer thinks the world will end if a cell phone comes in close proximity to a work computer. That brought us to week three when two of the people in class decided they needed to fight one another. Perfectly normal, and professional workplace behavior, right? However, I suspect because we had lost so many people they let it slide. Two days later these two were at it again, one of them terminated because he had been deemed instigator. Finally, on the last day of training, again another person vanished, and another failed to complete an exam we needed to pass in order to remain employed. By the end of the three week training we were down to nine.

            And then there was me. Again, having done all this before, I wasn’t sure if this particular place was where I needed to be, I still am not sure, if I’m being honest. My perspective is at least different. I’m not the know-it-all, or the class clown, or even the loud mouth.

            It’s much worse. I’m the old guy. And by old, I mean oldest actually. And that’s only because two of the sleepers that were fired had waved bye-bye to fifty years old long ago. I wear glasses in class, I check CNN instead of Snapchat on my breaks, and God help me, I contribute to the general goings-on during class! Sadly, this is the only part of this experience that is new. I find it hard to relate to my whippersnapper classmates, and harder still to relate to the members of management I’ve met. Notably, I have left out my previous career accolades, as I didn’t want to intimidate anyone. At least I’m the socially awkward one, a role that I am used to, and can carry well.

            Clearly, I am less than thrilled with this job. So is it the fact I’m starting at the bottom all over again? Possibly, I take issue with the job because of its menial, repetitive nature? Perhaps, it’s because I lack the passion for the work. Or maybe, just maybe it’s because it’s a call center.

            Someone once told me that call centers are places where dreamers weep and creativity goes to die. If that’s true, I’ve both wiped my tears, and come back from the dead. Unfortunately, now feel like I’m marching right back down that path to the slaughterhouse.

            Also, do you hear that ringing? Somebody answer that damn phone! Oh wait, that’s my job…

Knowledge is Pricey

                Max walked through the promenade for only the second time. He was still in awe. Surrounding Max were students just like him, bright eyed wonder lit up their faces as they strode to their destination- to their destiny he presumed. Banners flew brightly on the old style lampposts that flanked the wide cobblestone walk. They displayed bold words designed to motivate, empower and drive new students from all over the world; Success!, Determination!, Discipline!. Beneath each one was the school’s logo in bright yellow; SDU.

                 In the main courtyard the lampposts and their banners followed the pavement in a more intimate circle. In its center was a statue of the school’s mascot, the powerful T-Rex. Max paused and inhaled deeply as he took in its majesty. He didn’t seem to notice that the copper creature’s arms were ridiculously exaggerated, looking more like the arms of a grizzly bear with a bicep fetish than the upper appendages of the extinct lizard king. Instead of noticing this obvious flaw, Max found himself swelling with pride again, and smiling even brighter than before.  He was now a T Rex as well; he still could hardly believe that they accepted him, even with his outstanding grades. He just needed to find a way to pay for it all.

                After allowing himself a moment to reflect, Max pushed on towards the conglomeration of administrative buildings just a few yards ahead. As he took them in, he had but a brief and ominous view of them. Max could’ve sworn that despite the rest of campus being lit up by the autumn sunshine, the admin buildings had a foreboding look to them, as if the sky just beyond them was about to break loose with a terrible and dark storm that would solely lash out at those buildings. The vision, though fleeting, made him weak in the knees for just a moment.

                Max shrugged it off and giggled at his own silliness. With another deep breath he regained his confidence and marched inside. At the front desk he approached the young woman seated behind it, “Hi there, I’m Max Herring, I have an appointment with Martha Nunez at 9 o’ clock.”

                “Good morning Max, Martha’s prior appointment is running a little long, but she’ll be right with you.” The receptionist was bubbly and smiled, Max thought her demeanor was genuine, he immediately liked her. “Go ahead and sign in.” the young lady pushed a small clipboard towards him.

                Max gladly picked up the pen that was attached by a long spiraling cord and filled in the following:

Name	Appt W/	Date	IN	OUT
Max Herring	Financial Advisor	8/8/37	8:59

                Max took a seat on the fashionable chairs in the lobby, red leather cushions with ample back and rear space, but no arm rests. Max figured they were expensive by the looks of them. Heck, not having any arm rests made them extremely fancy as it was, he could only imagine their cost! The rest of the waiting area looked pristine and glowed with newness. As Max looked around at the tall glass walls and sleek, modern furnishings he thought it might resemble a swanky fish bowl.

                After a few minutes a polished older women in a pants suit strode out from the catacombs of offices behind the receptionist. “Max Herring?” she let her voice go, although pleasant, the sound resonated through the room. Max didn’t find it odd that she did this despite the fact that he was the only one waiting.

                He stood, “That’s me.”

                The woman came forward, hand extended, as Max shook it, she said, “Welcome to State of Disparity University. I’m Martha.”

                “It’s a pleasure to be here ma’am- and to meet you.”

                Martha smiled and led Max behind the reception area and down the hall to her office. Max walked in and saw that it was decorated with SDU memorabilia to the point of near clutter; foam fingers, posters, plaques, tiny T-Rex dolls, the collection’s centerpiece was a red football helmet emblazoned with a yellow T Rex silhouette; it had an autograph scrawled across it as well. Max recognized it immediately; it was SDUs famed coach of several decades, Rick Mostly.  The T Rex’s dominated the NCAA football rankings; it had been that way since time immemorial. They only recruited the best.

                “Go ahead and have a seat Max.”

                Blushing a bit, Max sat realizing he had been slightly distracted by Martha’s display of knick-knacks.

                “Alright,” Martha grabbed a paper file and laid it before her on her desk. “We are here to try and figure out what sort of financial options we have available for your tuition.”

                As Martha opened the file Max asked meekly, “Oh my parents couldn’t be here, but they wanted to make sure I ask about Direct Data Download?”

                Martha visibly winced at the question, “Oh Max, unfortunately DDD is not covered by your financial aid or any of your scholarship dollars.”

                Max seemed stunned, “Oh why not?”

                “Well SDU has to adhere to federal laws concerning direct data download- as you know students that receive DDD gain the ability to learn in real time, by having the knowledge directly input and interpreted via a computer chip that is implanted in the occipital lobe of the skull. This of course guarantees the receiving student will retain the knowledge at a rate of 97% or higher. Because of recent legislature concerning the implant portion of DDD the government ruled that neither financial aid, or scholarships may be used towards Direct Data Download as it was classified as a medical procedure, rather than a pursuit of higher education.”

                “I see, so what does that mean for me?” Max now seemed a bit anxious.

                Martha paused for just a moment, when she finally spoke she had this to say, “Well Max, DDD is still available to students like you at the standard tuition rate of $2000 per credit hour,” Martha snickered like a hog, “of course that’s for you as an undergrad. The rate is much higher for master’s students, and even steeper for doctoral candidates.”

                Max was stunned. “Oh well neither myself or my folks can afford that, what are my other options?”

                “My suggestion for you would be to enroll in the standard courses at $1000 a credit hour- that’s a savings of fifty percent! Those would qualify you to use that pesky financial aid as well as your modest scholarship dollars. Then identify any courses you think you might struggle with and utilize direct data download for those credits. So for instance, I can see the math scores on your transcript are less than stellar, I’d think about possibly using DDD for those. What do you think?”

                Max’s eyes narrowed, he felt it was time to get serious. “I am prepared to accept a rate of no more than $750 per credit hour.”

                A squeaky laugh escaped Martha’s lips, “Why Mr. Herring are you haggling with me? I think you’ll find our pricing more than fair.”

                Max’s face hardened, “Well I can go down the street to your competitor and get a guaranteed rate of $725. You’ll find I’ve already done my research.”

                “Pish posh Mr. Herring. I’ll tell you one thing of the utmost importance, these days the quality of your university is just as important as the curricula that makes up that education. If you settle for less to save a buck, it will cost you in the end on your resume, because simply put employers want to see that degree from SDU. Anything else is viewed as subpar.”

                “Alright, well I guess we have nothing further to discuss,” Max abruptly rose from his chair and headed for the door.

                Martha moved with the speed of a jungle cat, and stepped in front of him before he could exit. “Now let’s not be hasty Max,” she looked him in the eye, “What do I have to do to get you into classes at SDU?”

                “Well I’d really like to try out that direct data download for a few of those math courses you mentioned.”

                Martha sighed, but her reply was as chipper as ever, “Okay, okay. Let me go talk to my boss and I’ll have him run some numbers and see what we can do.”

                Martha was gone for several minutes, when she returned a man with a wrinkled suit and bad hair plugs returned with her. “Max this is my manager, Ken Glenn.”

                “Max, pleased to meet you, have a seat, relax please. Ken Glenn, director of credit hour sales for SDU,” he extended a hand. Max shook it. “Thank you for stopping by today. Martha discussed with me some of your educational needs and I believe we can get you out the door today for around $70,000 – that package includes 15 credit hours of DDD- a bargain at $1200 each, so we gave you deep discounts there. Not to mention if you purchase today you’re eligible for a free meal voucher good for $100 of food at the school café (offer expires at the end of fall semester). And finally, once we take your scholarship dollars as trade you’ll only be looking at just over 60k.”

                Ken remained standing, but slid a towering stack of papers in front of Max’s nose. “Have a look-see; I believe you’ll find that contract very appealing. Martha and I really had to dig deep to get it to work on paper but I’m sure you’ll be excited to see the results. We want you at SDU- not the competition. What do you say future SDU alumni?”

                Max gave the contract a cursory flip through. Doubt had etched the young man’s face, but nonetheless he looked up at Ken and Martha who’s faces were eager and anxious. “Ok yes, I’ll do it! I’m an SDU man all the way! Where do I sign?”