Part 1: Cheat Sheet Q&A: Can Betsy Devos really impact the current education system?:
Today's entry: Two questions for you. What do you think of Betsy Devos at the Dept. of ed? And do you think she can really cut through the bureaucracy to fix anything? I tend to agree with your view of our education system so I'm interested to hear your thoughts.
Bottom Line: Well, I can provide one solid answer for you and I can provide the best guesstimate for the other but first I think it's important to take a look at the bigger picture first. What really goes on with the Department of Education?
First and foremost it's instructive to note that the department wasn't even created until 1979 (yes it's a lingering product of the Carter administration). Today it's a 5,000 person bureaucracy federally funded with $73 billion+ annually.
It's stated purpose is: establish policy for, administer and coordinate most federal assistance to education, collect data on US schools, and to enforce federal educational laws regarding privacy and civil rights.
So it's at this point that I need to point out that since it's creation the education outcomes in the US have plummeted.
In 1980 when the Department of Education went into effect here were the top five countries in educational ranking based on UN data:
#5: Switzerland
#4: Canada
#3: New Zealand
#2: United States
#1: Australia
So only Australians outperformed Americans in the classroom at the founding of the Department of Ed. So where are we these days with 5,000+ federal employees and $73 billion+ being spent annually? In 2016 according to the WEF, the US was tied for 16th in the world. It's been a slow but steady trend downward over the past 36 years but I'll spare you unnecessary details.
I'm not one to espouse rhetoric for the sake of it - when I do it's because hard facts are behind the statement(s). Our education establishment has failed our children, our country and certainty tax payers. So back to your question about Betsy... I'll address it in part two of today's entry: