If only she had read “The Emperor's New Clothes” in school…

Yes, It’s Personal

I love Education. It’s more than a word. It’s more than a profession. It’s a very important concept. I would not be able to walk, write, cook, laugh, love, or live without lessons learned in life. When I watched Betsy DeVos struggle to even explain what she meant by “accountability,” I saw an idle-rich belligerently ignorant asshole who couldn’t last a minute in the trenches.

“Accountability!”

We don’t all start out in the same situation. When I drive down from Dallas and Trailer Parks by the Highway, I think about the kids born into that world. It’s all they know.

For me, life is rooted in pain. I have a chronic condition that hurts joints and my desire is to live like I’m not being held back. This is something I chose long ago, to fight, to know life and want more. In turn I look at every child as a victim or lucky recipient of circumstances. What we have to work with is what it is — James Cameron put it best in Terminator 2:

The future’s not set. There’s no Fate but what we make for ourselves.

The people who showed me it was actually possible were Teachers. They showed me how weakness could become exercise, how strength could be something between food and air that keeps life worth fighting for. Why did they do it? Why did they take the time for me?

Years have passed and I can confidently say they took the time because they loved Education. They chose their life. They wanted to make mine better.

In Their Footsteps I Followed

While the path may have taken many turns, all the while working for $10 an hour in part time gigs, I did end up getting a Masters in Education. That experience can’t quite be quantified in value, because I didn’t really know who I was at that time. All I knew was that I wanted to be more than just a Writer.

During that Masters program, I did get memorable opportunities. Knowing what a little precocious shit I was as a teenager, I actually knew how to work a room. Out of the frying pan, into the fire…

There was doing academic reviews for curriculum to spot check for compliance with state laws. It paid pretty good and I could drink while doing it from home. Still kind of depressing to see behind the scenes how material actually flowed through the system before it gets to Teachers and Students.

Let’s get real: If you’ve never been a Substitute Teacher for a classroom of High School students, then you don’t know shit about Education.

No matter how well you know your material, being the focus point of a room, being responsible for Administrative duties like Discipline — being a Teacher is more like being a Delta Force Operator than Performer. There’s so much to keep in mind and with a Mission in mind, it’s no surprise to me the attrition rate of Teachers is staggering. Within 5 years most will leave the Profession.

So when I had to buckle down and pick a career, I wrote off Education until I have enough bank to do it out of love.

My heart and soul can’t afford to put in what the Students deserve — I tried it out for myself, working bi-lingual classes, Art, English, Math, whatever I could get as a Substitute needing cash trying to turn my Degree into a living. The taste will forever be real, fresh, of seeing the lives put in front of me and all I got was $50 to do my best.

Walking on a tight-rope of watching teenagers trying to play with their phones, Trolling trying to disrespect and get a reaction, maybe their Mom or Dad has more money than I’ll ever see. That’s why I wore my slacks, my button down shirt, my best shoes that could “CLACK CLACK” on the ground and get their attention enough to see my face tell them who was in charge.

I wanted to be taken seriously, because Education is serious business.

Betsy DeVos Insults Educators and Invites Reciprocity

So I’ve been a Public School Substitute Teacher. I’ve got a Masters Degree in Education. Right now I’m writing this from my garage while some No Talent Ass-Clown with Amway Multi-Level-Marketing bankroll holds the title of United States Secretary of Education.

I’m not going to bother with any “Policy Wonk” type discussion because that would just go over Betsy’s head. Like explaining what “accountability” means. We’re dealing with a person who, without shame, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to undermine Teachers. Why?

“You can’t fix stupid” — Ron White

Because Betsy DeVos isn’t interested in Education. Betsy DeVos has a brain slug attached to her skull that pipes in a constant directive to ruin public education so that her brand of Christianity can be dominant. Let’s get that very clear.

Betsy DeVos wants your children to be ignorant enough to believe what she does.

This is the time where we should check our Religion at the door when it comes to Education of Facts — a person can be a Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic, Jew, or Episcopal and still accept that Religion is the duty of the home, of the Family to work through. The Education environment is to discuss the world as we know it, as it has unfolded, to figure out how…well, Evolve and get the fuck off this planet, as the great Bill Hicks used to joke.

Tilting At Windmills

The title is really honest — Betsy DeVos should check out as soon as possible, because she has no right to the title no matter how much she might believe it. Unfortunately for the very rich like her, they’re not used to people pointing out when something is totally stupid. They can afford to pay people to compliment them.

That’s why I laughed and cried at the Confirmation Hearing for Betsy DeVos — it was obvious she thought “Confirmation” meant lip-service, and she was woefully unprepared when she found out the Committee might actually expect her to answer. Look closely, you can see it on her face:

“Um, this is a Confirmation Hearing, not a you asking me questions hearing, so, I’m just going to act like the Entitled Rich Senior Citizen White Woman I am until you finally can’t fight it anymore and I win.” — Betsy DeVos, paraphrased

You might have money, Betsy DeVos, but as my Grandpa Jim used to say, “You don’t have the common sense God gave a pissant.” You claim to love Education and America, so prove it. Take your consolation prizes, cocktail party stories of your time in Washington DC, and fuck off.