I come from a family of educators – my mother, grandmother, grandfather, and uncle are members of the community that shape the future of our great nation. Needless to say, education and academia course through my veins and education is a topic about which I feel strongly. Through the evolution of human history, education has consistently been at the center of progress. Noble pursuits of truth have outweighed endeavors of greed, and the results of such pursuits are what fuel the engines of change. Education is a keystone in the structure of our society which develops indefinitely, and is considered a basic human right. During an individual’s formative years, their schooling molds them into the type of person they will be in the future. There occurs a spark in the curiosity of the young mind about the wonders of the world, the desire to know only grows with age and an insatiable craving of knowledge is what endures. Therein lies the essence of what it is to be educated.

Education is the one thing nobody can ever take away from you and it is the most valuable weapon one can posses. However, one cannot reap the benefits of an education if they do not have the necessary means to obtain one. The United States government has taken it upon themselves to make education a responsibility of the people by federally funding public schools with the money of taxpayers such as yourself. The budget that the education of the United States depends upon should be trusted in the hands of someone who has a thorough understanding concerning the necessity of an education in order to ensure that our children receive one.

Recently, it has come into the media that Donald Trump nominated Betsy DeVos to be the Secretary of Education. Yikes. To say Ms. DeVos is unfit for this position would be an understatement. DeVos lacks the financial and educational experience to lead the board of education along with its budget. DeVos has not had any sort of involvement with, or concerning, the public education system. She has never had to take out a student loan, neither have her children, she sent her children to a private institution, she has donated 200 million dollars to the development of Christian private schools, not to mention 9.4 million to Mr. Trump’s campaign – but that is a whole other conversation.

I too attended a private Catholic institution, therefore I am not criticizing her choices for sending her children to one. I am, however, criticizing the fact that she knows next to nothing about the system in which she is about to be trusted with, and she has a record for supporting for-profit education and opposing public schools. Moreover, when asked to comment on a current topic of debate in the educational community concerning growth versus development of students, she was unable to respond due to her ignorance on the topic. Shouldn't someone who potentially could be the leader of education in this country should be able to speak a few words on current debates at hand within the community?

DeVos also seems to be under the illusion that public school teachers are overpaid. I am not sure what fantasy land Ms. DeVos is a resident of, but it sure as hell is not the United States. My mother is a public school teacher and I can confirm they are quite the opposite of overpaid. I also feel the need to mention that DeVos does not have so much as an education degree and she is to be the Secretary of Education. Please tell me where the logic in this nomination is, because I’d love to know.

The environment in which children and young adults are educated should be one that fosters the development of the mind and the expansion of curiosity. A school should not be a place where it is deemed okay to keep a gun in the classroom to protect against “potential grizzlies.” Yes, you read that correctly. Ms. DeVos supports firearms in the classroom as a defense mechanism against potential grizzly bears. Annually, a grand total of three people die via grizzly bear attack. About 90 die by lightning strike, are we going to take precautionary measures against natural phenomena as well? In 2015 alone, there were over 33,000 firearm related deaths in the United States. But I’m glad our children will be protected in case Smokey the Bear decides to unexpectedly pop into the classroom.

If you care at all about the education of the doctors, lawyers, presidents, congress members, activists, business-people – you name it – of the future, this woman cannot be the Secretary of Education. Write your congressmen today to avoid both a shame and an embarrassment to this country as well as the reputation of the United States' educational system. Education is one of the most precious gifts, and it is our responsibility to ensure it is in capable hands.