Okay, this is honestly getting so very, very silly.
Does Betsy DeVos think that by smiling when she spouts her horsesh*t answers to serious questions about the Education she's being asked by MEMBERS OF CONGRESS that anyone is fooled? Does she think we are all so profoundly stupid and ill-informed we don't recognize gaslighting 101? Of course, the answer is yes, and that is what is so very, very silly.
Silly Betsy. Betsy Smiles-A-Lot got her @ss handed to her by Rep. Lucy Roybal-Allard from California today, when challenged about her sick fantasy/justification for larger class sizes. DeVos had claimed,
Students may be better served by being in larger classes. If by hiring fewer teachers, a district or state can better compensate those who have demonstrated high quality and outstanding results.
(OR you could pay all teachers the wage they deserve.)
Rep. Roybal-Allard cited actual research conducted over decades, which concluded that of course, smaller classes were better for both students and teachers. She asked DeVos for any evidence-based research she had to back up her own statement. Devos responded,
DEVOS: Well, that must be in my written testimony, and I would just comment to the fact that given education freedom initiatives, there are different kinds of environments in which students learn well. Some students can learn better with larger classes, with more students to collaborate with, to learn with...
Yeah, but Betsy, can you just cite what research you're using to try to foist this educational malpractice on the kids you couldn't care less about, not to mention the teachers? So said Rep. Roybal-Allard, basically.
DEVOS: There's plenty of research that will undergird the fact that mandating a specific class size doesn't yield results.
ROYBAL-ALLARD: If you could just provide that information...
DEVOS: If you would submit a question for the record I would be happy to do so.
Sure, Betsy. Kids TOTALLY learn better in larger class sizes. They also learn better with more distractions around them. We should not only increase the class sizes, but we should shoot ping pong balls around the room for the entire time they're learning. Also, I think it's really good for them to be in physical discomfort. Is there any way we can simulate a fly buzzing around their ear while they're taking a test? I'm sure there is plenty of research that will undergird the fact that mandating NOT having a fly buzzing around your ear during a test doesn't yield results.
{Editing later to add:} And just for fun, watch the video again with your eye on the guy behind Devos. A facebook friend of mine pointed him out. That's Anthony Cody. He's the co-founder of the Network for Public Education.
