To the Editor:
It matters whom we confirm as Secretary of Education.
It is not easy to educate the over 63 million students who attend grades K-12 and 2-year and 4-year public institutions. Students come from a variety of backgrounds with different abilities and aspirations. Assessing their needs, setting curriculum for today’s world and separating practices that work from those that don’t are real challenges. Plus, low teacher pay and stressful working conditions make it difficult to attract and keep exceptional teachers. Yes, it’s a tough job, but a rewarding one, and one we cannot afford to screw up. Our democracy relies on our public education system.
I know because I am a public school educator and administrator with 37 years’ experience working under different administrations whose policies did not always reflect an understanding of the classroom. There is nothing more frustrating than to want excel at a job you love — and then be thwarted by public leaders who don’t get what you do.
Ms. DeVos may have the best of intentions but, in truth, I see no evidence of the background or experience to tackle this job. Someone who attended parochial schools is seeing education through a different lens which limits her view. This position requires academic credentials in education and experience with and commitment to public education.
No, more charter schools (poor track record) and vouchers are not the answer, which seems to be where Ms. DeVos wants to take us. I favor solid instruction in writing, humanities, sciences, arts and math, instruction which prepares students for global realities and encourages students to think critically and creatively. We need to tend to the melting pot that is our public classroom. Diversity is our heritage, our founding principle, our strength and our future.
In the end, most students will continue to go to traditional public schools where there are good, hardworking, caring teachers who thoughtfully craft programs of study and successfully implement them — often against the odds. Let’s support these teachers and take seriously our responsibility to the next generation of students. We can capitalize on the strengths of public education and accept the challenge to improve, but we first need someone at the helm who gets it.

Sue Jefferson
Washington