Bloggers have been speculating about a Biden/Harris education secretary. During this critical time in American history, that individual should be a black or brown woman, who has been a teacher of young children, and who understands child development. She should hold an education degree and have an additional leadership degree and experience that will help her run the U.S. Department of Education.
Children deserve to see more teachers who look like they do, who will inspire them to go on and become teachers themselves. A woman of color as an education secretary will bring more diverse individuals to the field and set an example. This will benefit all students.
Many individuals, including accomplished black men, have brilliant minds, and understand what we need in the way of democratic public education. Leadership roles should await them in the U.S. Department of Education, in schools, universities, or states and local education departments.
But with the fight for Black Lives to Matter and for an end to gender inequality, a knowledgeable black or brown woman with a large heart to embrace these times should take this spot. The majority of teachers have always been women, and while men are critical to being role models for children and teens, it is time for a woman of color to lead.
We have had eleven education secretaries, and only three of them have been women, including Shirley Hufstedler, Margaret Spellings, and Betsy DeVos. None of these women were educators or had experience in the classroom. Only two African American men have been in this role, and neither of them could be considered authentic teachers and educators. Both had the goal to undermine public schools.
The time is now for a black or brown female education secretary who will set a positive example and be the face of the future for children from all gender and cultural backgrounds.
She will have a thorough understanding of public policy, school law, and be an activist for public schools. She will be able to handle financing for K-12 and college programs. She must command an understanding of the importance of human rights, social and racial justice, children with disabilities, the needs of LBGTQ students, the children of immigrants, helping students with higher education and careers, and more.
She will build trust in a department that will not overreach, but work together with state and local school agencies to create well-functioning schools in the community.
Because the classroom is where it’s at, she will support the professionalism of her fellow teachers and reach out to parents. Long-term experience teaching, administrative experience, and an actual degree in teaching children is a priority.
It is the moment to seek ways to bring children together in their schools, so that they grow into adults who will not have to fight for what should be rightfully theirs, who won’t only have tolerance for each other, but will learn from an early age to love and support each other as people, as friends. The country and the world badly need this, and public schooling is too often ignored as the place where positive change will take place on the human rights front.
Two concerns surround the selection of the next education secretary.
Teach for America
Mercedes Schneider noted in an “Open Letter to Joe Biden: Ed Sec ‘That Has Been in Public Schools’ is Not Enough” that Teach for America Corps members, who lobby for their privatization plans, should never be education leaders. TFA corps members have not studied the needs of children or obtained satisfactory degrees to be real teachers, let alone become leaders overseeing teachers.
They don’t have the necessary background. It has always been unfair for teachers who have spent the time and money to earn traditional degrees to have to follow someone with less time in the field and less experience and understanding of children.
At best, TFA should develop a program to send teacher aides into the field for two years to work with real teachers. Then if they decide that teaching is a career for them, they can return to school to get adequate degrees. They should never be in charge of a classroom, let alone in an education policy-making position. Nor should they teach in classrooms in underserved schools where qualified teachers are critical to student success.
Corporate Bidding
The other concern is the corporatization of public schools. Laurene Powell Jobs recently came under criticism by President Trump for giving the Biden campaign $500K. It’s not against the law, but one report mentioned Jobs as a possible replacement for Betsy DeVos in a Biden administration. She has sought to transform public education, to privatize it. She is not a teacher and has not taught in a classroom. She has no education degree.
If the Biden administration puts Jobs in the role of education secretary or lets her make the education secretary placement, the Democratic party will be no better than the Republicans when it comes to education and their commitment to democratic public schools. It will be similar to Betsy DeVos buying her way into controlling how public schools run or end in America. If this or a similar scenario plays out in a Biden/Harris administration, we can kiss our public schools and the professional role of teacher good-bye.
We need a real educator and a female person of color in this role. The stakes are higher than ever before!
Here are a few of the issues the next education secretary will face:
- Help to heal children and families from the trauma of Covid-19.
- Work with schools on how to address the continuing fight for racial justice and gender equality in the classroom.
- Choose a diverse staff with matched qualifications to their jobs, to head the various departments at the agency.
- Define for America the meaning of public education, demanding accountability from current choice and charter programs.
- Address the fraudulent for-profit colleges that victimize and continue to bilk tax dollars from the government.
- Figure out a plan to fund poor schools found in communities with a low tax base.
- Assist in the improvement of the education of marginalized groups including indigenous peoples.
- Replace the negative image of American schooling with a positive face to showcase America’s schools around the world.
- Determine the best way to return a vital arts program to every underserved public school in the nation.
- Figure out the best way to fund programs under the U.S. Department of Education jurisdiction.
- Restore child-appropriate pedagogy to early childhood education.
- Provide underserved schools with the resources and materials they need, so teachers do not need to pay out-of-pocket.
- Create a national plan to fix the decades-old crumbling school buildings.
- Improve and more fully fund the instructional support of children with a variety of disabilities.
- Study the jobs of the future to help guide students towards their own goals and aspirations.
- Develop an evaluative system for teachers and students that does not compromise privacy.
- Facilitate the compassionate treatment of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and end the school-to-prison pipeline.
- Support children who have second languages.
- Address the inclusive needs of LBGTQ students.
- Assist children and families who have immigrated here from other countries.
- Use technology to facilitate learning without replacing the nation’s teachers.
- Elevate and professionalize the role of teaching, through recruitment and better pay and improved role definition.
- Ensure the hiring of qualified support staff, counselors, school psychologists, nurses, paraprofessionals, and more.
- Support the critical role of periphery staff, bus drivers, custodians, school office workers, and others who keep public schools moving.
- Review the curriculum programs and help determine what works.
- Work with corporate leaders to steer philanthropy into funding initiatives that will help not hurt teachers and schools.
- Study the support for children in school, like hunger, health care, and mental health.
- Initiate a statistical research program incorporating peer review from university professors to determine how public schools function.
- Convince Americans to invest in a public school system.
- Address the problem of school privatization.
- Bring parents and teachers from both parties together to discuss the future of America’s public schools.
- Work closely with the teachers union.
- Reduce the harm still being done by NCLB and Common Core State Standards, including standardized testing.
The Biden/Harris campaign, perhaps with the help and direction of Dr. Jill Biden, will choose a real educator, a woman of color, to lead this post to forward the human rights initiative and save the nation’s most vital and critical institution, public schools.
Christie Vilsack should be the next Education Secretary.
18 years as a classroom teacher
6 years as a journalism professor
first lady of Iowa for 8 years, where she focused on education and literacy issues
worked at USAID as senior advisor on international education
I have not heard much about her or seen her out there fighting for public schools. Where is she? I also believe as I said in the post, that it is time for a black or brown female to lead. But thank you for your comment.
I do hope the next education secretary understands the critical importance of developmentally appropriate practices and helps to get rid of the pushed-down curriculum that unfairly widens the gap for at-risk learners who do not have the experiences and resources available to them prior to school entry.
This is absolutely critical! I couldn’t agree more. Thank you.
What would make Joe Biden any more likely to appoint a knowledgeable and progressive educator with meaningful classroom experience when Barack Obama pick a corporate shill?
Educators have zero leverage with Biden and Harris. Zero leverage with the DNC. In fact, the rank and file of the Democratic Party have no leverage either, as is evident by the fact that such widely-popular issues as Medicare For All, $15 minimum wage, free college, student debt relief, ending regime-change wars, etc., are not in the platform, not even receiving lip-service from the candidates.
The fallacy of thinking that Joe Biden can be moved to the left in education is identical to the fallacy that he can be moved to the left on anything. Hysteria about Donald Trump now has led a majority of centrist and liberal Democrats and organizations like teachers’ unions to pledge undying fealty to the Biden/Harris ticket in return for exactly nothing. Nothing. Just save us from Orange Man Bad.
And as long as I’m annoying people, let me add that stipulating the ethnicity and gender of the next Secretary of Education is an imbecilic, politically ridiculous move. It’s hard enough to find someone who might actually have a majority of the qualities needed to steer the national education ship away from Scylla and Charybdis. Skin color and genitalia should be the least of our concerns.
It’s my opinion, and you’re welcome to yours. I understand the concern about the Biden/Harris ticket, and that for many, it is now all about removing D. Trump. I have written my share of posts criticizing the Obama administration. I included in this post my concern about Teach for America and corporations.
I also believe a black or brown female education secretary would be good for driving more people of color into the profession, and be a good example for students. The majority of teachers are women, and as a woman, I would like to see a woman at the helm who brings back dignity and respect to the profession. I also believe there are black and brown women out there that meet those requirements.
Maybe you’re right, that a Biden/Harris ticket won’t change education and with Covid-19 public schools are done for. But I don’t see any other route, do you? And maybe Jill Biden, who is a qualified teacher who earned her degrees, may change the narrative.
Maybe you ought to see what policies Biden/Harris present before making such harsh judgments, Michael .I think Jahana Hayes is the perfect candidate for this position. Let’s bring positivity to an already difficult time.
Thanks for the informative article, Nancy! It was so well thought out and explained.
I didn’t make harsh judgments. I asked some uncomfortable questions. They’re grounded in recent history. If you have a refutation for their implications, naturally, I’d love to read it. But advising me to think only good thoughts is asking me to partially lobotomize myself in the face of the Obama-Biden administration (for starters) and I’m just not going to do that. I advise others to exercise similar skepticism and caution, though I don’t expect to influence many.
My nominee would be Jahana Hayes. I believe having a POC as Education Secretary would be a good idea as well. Hayes grew up in poverty, becoming pregnant at 16. She earned an A.A. at a community college, then a B.A. in education at a regional university–all with the goal of becoming a teacher. She taught for 11 years, then was named CT Teacher of the Year, then National Teacher of the Year in 2016.
She leveraged her year of travel and in-depth experiences in education policy world into a run for Congress. She is currently representing Connecticut’s 5th district in the House of Representatives.
People are always excited to name their favorite teachers or advocates as candidates for Ed Sec–but what an Ed Sec needs (in addition to a strong commitment to public education) is a wide-ranging perspective on education policy and actual experience in public schools. Otherwise, you end up with someone like Arne Duncan, easily manipulated by neolibs.
She sounds promising, Nancy. I absolutely agree about the wide-ranging perspective. Thank you for sharing.
Hayes has more potential than most. Which is why she won’t be chosen. Far more likely is a Democratic version of Michelle Rhee like Sonja Santelises. I hope I’m very wrong.
I wish whoever gets the job the best of luck. I suspect we are are going to need it.
https://networkforpubliceducation.org/board-of-directors/ any of these individuals would be trustworthy guardians of public education. Also that gutsy superintendent of schools from Long Island whom Diane often quotes from. Kids don’t see who’s Secretary of Education, they see who’s in the classroom. Getting higher wages for teachers, forgiveness of student loans, better working conditions will bring a more diverse workforce. and let teaching be fun again! Drop Common Core and all standardized testing. Running a gigantic bureaucracy is a skill set in itself. A new member of Congress, whether she was a pregnant teen or not, is not ready for this challenge.
Thanks, Lauren. Yes, NPE has many accomplished educators on the board who are supportive of public schools. I know many more.
My point is that at this time in history, at this moment, I believe we need a qualified female person of color to be in that spot. I see several on that list that would likely make fine candidates. I’m not familiar with Jahana Hayes background. I did list some of the qualifications, however, that I thought were important for the job.
I do agree about wages, Common Core, and making learning fun. But I disagree that children of color wouldn’t notice an education leader who looked like them and who spoke out in their favor and visited their schools.
I am not so concerned about the color or gender of the next Secretary of Education. I would prefer that the person occupying this office would keep such a low profile that children would not be familiar with his or her name. The future SoE should be someone who is committed to the restoration of the public sector in general. In particular, this person should be devoted to local and democratically elected governance of public schools and should take action to support these efforts, both in policy and in financial support. This person should use the power of the office to eliminate those forces that seek to destroy public education through the testing-industrial-complex and the bankrupting of local school districts. This person must view the benefits of higher education as a common good and be willing to end the practice of making obscene profits on the backs of students. This person must be wily enough to vet the never-ending flood of ed tech products and services and be able to identify and support the few that genuinely contribute to the expansion of learning. The new Secretary should foster collaboration among educators and support open educational resources and innovative teaching practices. This person should be able to leverage political relationships to advocate for robust funding of public education at all levels. She should be able to present this concept to her peers and to the American people as a matter of national security and as a quality of life issue. The education of America’s children should not be a sandbox to stroke the egos of hedge-fund managers, nor provide a tax dodge to the 1%. I am less concerned that the candidate would have a formal education background than that this person would have the knowledge, strength, and will to prosecute the ed reform predators who are draining our public education assets.
If Biden is actually considering Powell Jobs, kiss public education good-bye.
I agree with much of what you say, but the low profile comment is puzzling. Why? I believe just the opposite.
An accomplished POC female would be a wonderful example for all children. Seeing this person visiting their schools, reaching out and treating them and others thoughtfully and with kindness…there could be nothing better in the way of role modeling and giving kids hope for the future.
I probably did not express that very well. What I would NOT like is another high profile, very wealthy person who grabs headlines with controversy and/or nonsense. I do not believe that the federal office needs to be so involved in dictating the nuts and bolts of teaching and learning – they are not really qualified for that. They should be giving financial and social support to our Schools of Education to continue research and teaching about the most effective instructional methods for teachers. The SoE should definitely model the value of teaching as a profession.
Public education is a big pot of money and that attracts financial predators. Note that some of the hedge funders who are now proponents of ed reform used to squeeze profits and tax benefits out of nursing homes and related pharmaceutical companies. There is nothing to substantiate their reasoning that privatization somehow leads to better schools. It is simply about using financial shell games to extract low-risk profit from government-backed entities. This is why I suggest the low profile type for Secretary of Education. Of course this person must be a figurehead and maintain productive and influential relationships. But I believe that this must also be a person of profound integrity as well as exceptional shrewdness, strong-willed enough to chase those wolves from public education’s door. This SoE must take steps to refill that depleted pot of funding. The predators will put up a fight to keep their hands in the till and this person must be up to the challenge.
I guess I don’t see a Secretary of Education rock star as being the one. We need more of a Guardians of the Galaxy team.
We’re shaking hands. But while I wouldn’t say we need a female POC to be a rock star, I’d want them to enter Detroit schools, and every other struggling urban and rural school with a cheerful and outgoing personality to change the narrative from negativity to positivity for public education. They’d have to back that positivity with better funding and actions that demonstrate they are about REAL public ed. and not privatization.
Thanks, Laurie. I appreciate your comment and interesting thoughts. Now’s the time for this debate and your ideas are spot on.
Thanks for your always thoughtful replies, Nancy. I am sure we are on the same page.
Sounds like you are describing Linda Darling-Hammond! She would be an excellent choice.
I once hoped President Obama would choose her. But he chose Duncan. I don’t always agree with her, but she is certainly qualified. It will be interesting to see. Thanks for commenting, Dom.
I retired from Education after 50 yrs. as teacher, administrator and College Professor. In New York. I am not sure yet who it should be, but it must be an Educator or former educator. Whoever it is has to do what former secretaries have not done, they must be visible to the teachers around the country, visit to as manny schools and colleges as possible. and not just just for a photo shot, but stay and talk with teachers for a good length of time. Have open forums all year long where teachers may express their views to their he secretary, let them know who you are and you care about them.
Thanks, Neal. I agree. A POC female can do this.
“ Replace the negative image of American schooling with a positive face to showcase America’s schools around the world.”
This goal might be the most challenging of all for a professional who has spent their career inside a classroom, administrative building and/or professorship. The K-12 school privatization industry has VASTLY outperformed their traditional public school counterparts in the area of marketing and public relations over the past 30 years. They have been quite successful in convincing millions of American parents and taxpayers that traditional public schools are hopelessly ineffective, bureaucratic, expensive and biased towards a liberal political agenda. They have neutralized the opposition by gaining the support of voters in red states, and the people they elect to state legislatures, who will fully embrace their agenda.
I don’t see how any future SecofEd can be successful unless they have an outsized public persona and a talent and appetite for public relations and, yes, politics. More than anything else, they MUST help turn back the BS narrative that public education is an unnecessary burden and convince local voters, property owners, parents and Chambers of Commerce that public schools are an engine for Economic prosperity and not an obstacle to it. This cannot happen by simply being good at what they do as an Ed professional in the Public Ed profession.
The aforementioned Congresswoman from CT sounds like a very appealing candidate to me.
Good points. Thank you, Patrick. You always make a lot of sense.
I’m surprised that you made no mention of teacher unions, the next SoE needs a close collaboration with the NEA and AFT. The teacher unions represent teachers across the nation. Without standing shoulder to shoulder with union leadership initiatives will just be public relations, w/o teacher buy-in SoE is just another bureaucrat
Absolutely! Thank you, Peter. A big mistake on my part and I shall add them to the list. I probably unintentionally pushed them aside because I am concerned about some of the current union initiatives. The makings of another post.
I agree with the thrust of your essay. Yes, the next S of E should be a woman of color. But you seem to go from a “black or brown” woman to a black woman. Are you eliminating from consideration other parts of the rainbow.
Also, none of your bullet points makes reference to the need to rethink the way testing has been conducted in districts throughout the country. It’s long overdue for the Feds to give clear direction to the states on preferred ways to assess children. A strong S of E, who has spoken out against the detrimental impact NCLB and the Common Core have had on the public schools over the last 20 years, would go a long way to putting education on the right track.
Oh no! I made that mistake I think only once and corrected it. I sometimes write and read too fast. I definitely mean any woman of color. Thanks for pointing out my mistake.
I also referenced testing in the list here.
“Develop an evaluative system for teachers and students that does not compromise privacy.”
My fear is that there’s too much emphasis on the old testing. Even those who want to privatize schools criticize testing and use it to condemn public schooling.
The testing to be concerned more about now is embedded online nonstop assessment which threatens to jeopardize student privacy.
Thank you. I did see your concern about testing and privacy.
I’m glad you are also fearful of online testing becoming an ever-present part of school life — in the name of adaptive instruction and personalized learning. But, for sure, it will provide a rich marketplace to technology giants, whose first objective is to flood schools with hardware and software products. This will have an impact on the role teachers will play–how they are deployed and perceived.
My earlier comment was more focused on all the paper and pencil testing that has dominated education and stolen time and purpose from students and teachers. The wasted hours spent in test preparation and test taking post- NCLB and Common Core-aligned exams is sinful. There has been virtually no educational return. Opportunity squandered!
We need a Secretary of Education who has understood the harm caused by such massive testing and an administration in DC that supports policies that will let her lead us out of this morass. Respectfully.
Absolutely agree, Fred. I’ll add something about NCLB and Common Core. You reminded me that Common Core still influences curriculum materials. Almost everything has CORE in it. Thank you for your comments.
I would strictly talk about what matters for public education. If you mention anything else, they would say something like
I appointed A. B., a black woman, and now you complain that she supports vouchers and charters. Be happy that part of what you wanted is fulfilled.
Think about King. Was his appointment helpful in any way to public education?
NO! That’s why I listed the qualifications this individual should have in a Biden/Harris administration. I also noted that out of 11 education secretaries only 3 have been women and the only 2 black men (including King) had a privatization agenda. The 3 women education secretaries did too.
We are watching society change when it comes to social justice, and women are also fighting for employment equity. There are many women who are persons of color who have the qualifications for this position. Their representation in the education field, a field that has always been dominated by women, would be good for children to see at this important time in history.
This message flourished with the V.P. job and Kamala Harris, and I think it is also the right decision for education.
Even though we disagree here, I always enjoy hearing from you, Máté.
Lily Eskelsen Garcia is the right person to fulfill this position. She has fully understanding of the needs for improvement in our educational system. Her love and passion for our students success has been recorded through the years, starting as a “lunch Lady” then becoming a teacher, and the leader of NEA has given her the tools to lead with a bigger vision, she understand the importance of cultural diversity and fully inclusion in our classrooms. She is genuine and dedicated, a well rounded leader!
I like Lily too. My only concern is that she supported Common Core. Thanks, Miriam.