Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, gave a talk at the Brookings Institution. As part of it she pushed school choice, her favorite topic. To make her point she talked about Uber, Lyft, and, gosh! taxis too! Melissa McEwan of Shakesville and her readers are ready with the takedown. First, McEwan…
* Uber, Lyft, etc. all provide the same service. Schools can’t because different students have different needs.
* Charter schools can turn away disabled, immigrant, and homeless students.
* When charters drain money from public schools, special needs students don’t have a choice.
* Dr. Joan Evelyn Duvall-Flynn of the NAACP notes expansion of charter schools mirrors predatory lending. “When the tax base is low, less money is going to the public… Charter schools were leading to the resegregation of the schools.”
* Charter schools lead to the closing of public schools. Marginalized students get no choice or get a choice between terrible private schools or terrible public schools.
* DeVos says government shouldn’t get in the way. Nope. Says McEwan, “The government has a responsibility to get in the way of that.”
* This entire argument of school choice is really a dog-whistle for white supremacists. Fix white supremacy and we can fix the schools.
And from readers:
Carovee: I’m sick of the GOP comparing things that are not at all alike.
Yazikus: I noticed DeVos didn’t mention public transportation in her metaphor. Also, there are many towns and rural areas without any ride-share service.
Happyhedonist: That ride-share business model engages in openly abusive labor practices.
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