All over Facebook lately, much of the anger and hatred about the current administration is centering around the importance of the public school system, and the refusal to accept Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. I read an article yesterday that highlights the strong opposition activists are expressing so much so that they legitimately protested and blocked DeVos from entering a school in D.C. It is her lack of experience in education that has gotten many outraged, including myself.
People have turned to reflecting upon their own experiences in the public school system since they were children. Doing this has become a form of coping and working through this difficult time. For some this overemphasis of education may seem like a small problem in a world where detainment and travel bans thrived not too long ago. But for myself, Betsy DeVos is a terrifying symbol of the future that this nation holds.
I am a product of public schools. I attended more elementary schools than the norm due to frequent moving as a child. I started my public school education at P.S.150 in Sunnyside, Queens, where I resided in the Talented and Gifted program, receiving accelerated, level-appropriate education. From there, I moved to Jamaica, Queens, where I attended the neighborhood elementary school, P.S.82. The change from my previous public school to the new one was a drastic change because the overall environment felt very different and foreign, especially to a first grader.
But despite the difference and changes that I had to undergo as a new student, the education I received was no lesser at my new public school. The teachers were kind, effective and were truly invested in shaping each and every child in the best way possible. When I moved to my current neighborhood, Bellerose, Queens, I attended P.S.133 which again, felt like a deeply different experience from my previous school, but nonetheless contained teachers that were very inviting and helpful.
I endured the horrifying effects of puberty at M.S.172 and moved onward to Townsend Harris High School, where I obtained skills, ideas and knowledge that was rewarding in every possible way. I am a product of the public school system and I have learned a great deal about the significance and power of education. Having to consume the reality of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education is deeply saddening to me because it brings to question the value that public schools will contain moving forward.
