Wednesday's Senate hearing for Betsy DeVos' confirmation as Education secretary highlighted why school reforms are crucial. As Democrats tried to dismantle her credentials, other observers saw how Donald Trump's nominee could actually change the education status quo for the better.
But what is the education status quo in America today and why should it change? Defenders will say that it is about public education and its improvements. It is about standardization and giving all students equal opportunities.
The state of Education, however, has not reflected a balanced status quo in decades. There are a host of problems in the public education system, such as lack of funding and resources as well as underpaid teachers who are important to the institutions.
Standardization, on the other hand, has been failing students as their evaluations do not match their skill sets or interests to help them learn better. The status quo has made learning and teaching uninteresting.
Meanwhile, DeVos' entry in Education has been seen as a threat to dismantle and and destroy the public school system as shown in her confirmation hearing, according to Chicago Tribune. Yet senators who doubt that DeVos would be good for the status quo are private school-educated themselves or have kids and grandkids in the private school system, not the public school system.
The status quo has long needed a complete reform and DeVos' supporters say her plans to push school choice might be the answer. According to Gloria Romero and Larry Sand of USA Today, defenders refuse to see that DeVos is putting parents, not the government agency or state, at the forefront of children's education. By providing options like vouchers or charter schools and education savings accounts, she would be letting parents map out and plan their child's education better.
A survey conducted by EdChoice revealed that even as 83 percent of students are from public schools, only 28 percent of parents admitted that this was their choice. Given the chance, 41 percent preferred private school education, 28 percent preferred public school and 17 percent preferred charter school.
