This is an email from BRIGHT Magazine.
A teacher who has a different handshake for every student. And, of course, there’s Betsy DeVos.
Hello Bright community,
It’s been a week. Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s pick for education secretary, is seemingly everywhere. Today, the U.S. Senate voted in the early hours of the morning to limit debate and send her nomination on for a final vote, expected early next week.
But earlier this week DeVos made the news when two Republican senators announced on Wednesday that they would oppose her confirmation. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, split from their party because of their concerns over a DeVos Department of Education. Collins said, “I am troubled and surprised by Mrs. DeVos’ apparent lack of familiarity with the landmark 1975 law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, known as IDEA.” The Senate is likely to divide 50–50, in which case Vice President Mike Pence will cast the deciding vote, the first time a vice president has done so with a nomination.
On Tuesday The Washington Post broke the story that DeVos appears to have plagiarized some of her written answers to questions from senators. Or, as the Post delicately put it, DeVos “appears to have used several sentences and phrases from other sources without attribution — including from a top Obama administration civil rights official.”
This was the same day the senate panel voted (along party lines) to send DeVos’s nomination on for a full vote in the Senate.
Now, on to our selection of great work and important news about education this week.
Why Betsy DeVos is the most polarizing education secretary nominee ever
By Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post
For several reasons, and Strauss does a good job of explaining why. One factor: DeVos falls in line with corporate school reformers who think of public education as an “industry,” but public school advocates say public schools should not be run like businesses because they’re civic institutions.
What Could Betsy DeVos Really Get Done as Education Secretary?
By Alyson Klein in Education Week
A fascinating look at exactly how much Betsy DeVos could do if she’s appointed. Not as much as you may think, and also possibly less than many would like.
New wave of anti-evolution bills hit states
By Reid Wilson in The Hill
And they take a new tack. No more mention of creationism or intelligent design. Instead, these bills in South Dakota, Oklahoma and Indiana would let teachers talk about the “strengths and weaknesses” of the evolution science being taught to students, Wilson writes.
Teacher Has Personalized Handshakes With Every One of His Students
By Eliza Murphy on GMA
You’ve got to watch the video. Pure joy. A fifth grade English teacher in Charlotte, N.C. greets every one of his students every morning with a unique handshake. Sometimes little things turn out to be big things. This is one of those times.
Jobs in Space
By Mike Mongo in Bright
Mongo is an astronaut teacher in Florida. He makes a persuasive case for 1) teaching middle-schoolers about space because when they get out of college that’s where the jobs will be, and 2) making sure these kids learn about the female, African-American and Latino astronauts who are too often left out of the curriculum, because all kids should see themselves in the space program.
‘I am heartbroken’: Malala criticizes Trump for ‘closing the door on children’ fleeing violence
By Amy B Wang in The Washington Post
The Pakistani Nobel Laureate, who was shot in the head at age 15 by the Taliban after they boarded her school bus and asked for her by name, expresses her sadness over the U.S. temporary ban on refugees from certain countries. “I am heartbroken that Syrian refugee children, who have suffered through six years of war by no fault of their own, are singled-out for discrimination,” she wrote.
