DeVos shares data that 60 Minutes 'didn't show you'
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Mar 13, 2018
Major Gov. Scott Walker donor and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos - both of whom have focused their careers on undermining our public schools in Wisconsin - know little about the value of public education or simply do not care, as they have enacted massive, damaging cuts to public schools in favor of private schools. The 13-minute segment sees correspondent Lesley Stahl going head to head with DeVos, poking holes in every canned answer DeVos presents as evidence of a job well done.
The tweet linked to a viral clip of DeVos' much-pilloried Sunday interview on "60 Minutes".
"I give a lot of credit to the students for raising their voices", DeVos told Stahl.
To which Stahl replied, "Have the public schools in MI gotten better?"
"I don't know. Overall, I, I can't say overall that they have all gotten better", she said. Overall, I - I can't say overall that they have all gotten better.
"The whole state is not doing well", Stahl pointed out.
Donald Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos, stumbled through a TV interview on Sunday, admitting she did not know why many United States schools were underperforming and agreeing that maybe she should visit some in order to find out.
"Also missing from @60Minutes: students at charter schools in Detroit are doing 2x better than their peers".
And it didn't end there.
Stahl then tried to make the case public schools in the US are improving. Maybe try to figure out what they're doing?
'Maybe I should. Yes, ' DeVos responded. The Secretary of Education even admitted, "I have not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming". She also struggled to answer education questions during her contentious confirmation hearing before the Senate last January.
DEVOS: Maybe I should. Yes. "I think probably there, I would imagine that there is probably a gun in the schools to protect from potential grizzlies", she had said.
DeVos spoke about a number of other issues during her interview, including whether teachers should be allowed to carry guns in schools, rolling back Obama-era regulations, and being the frequent target of protests.
DEVOS: Sometimes it does.
On Friday, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law a gun control bill that was passed by the state's legislature. But I'm committed to a process that's fair for everyone involved, ' said DeVos. The reforms are helping, but there's so much more to do.
DEVOS: Well, one sexual assault is one too many, and one falsely accused individual is one too many.
Campus sexual assault advocates lambasted DeVos' rescinding of the "Dear Colleague" letter, saying it showed DeVos' commitment to rapists over rape survivors. If DeVos was coached to be as vague and non-specific in her answers as possible, she should get rid of the person giving her that advice. However, DeVos thinks those numbers are not necessarily reflective of her strategy.
