The DeVos Wars

It might come as a shock, but Trump’s pick for Education Secretary was controversial.  I know.  Stop being sarcastic Dave.

Anyway, in this case there were reasons for the sound and fury.  My wife, a former educator who taught in public, private and home school settings, was no fan.  In her words, she couldn’t imagine a less qualified person to be named to the position.

For my part, I told her I could come up with a list.  But I saw her point.

Why the vitriol?  Was it just a case of the usual ‘Trump! Watergate! Pearl Harbor! 9/11! The Holocaust!  We’re all going to die!!’?  Not really.  And with all due respect to my lovely bride, it’s not just a case of DeVos’s qualifications.

Terry Mattingly at Get Religion unpacks a few angles we might otherwise miss.  I like Douthat’s subtle observation that Calvinism plays like the new Communism.  Well, strike that.  We never seem at a loss to find something mitigating about Communism’s track record.  Calvinism on the other hand?

Likewise, kudos for linking to that WaPo piece about Obama’s education legacy.  FWIW, my wife was no more a fan of Obama’s track record regarding the state of our schools.  And it’s noteworthy that it was under his administration that we went from proud supporters of public education to home school.

Anyway, an interesting observation, courtesy of Mr. Mattingly.