Striking Oklahoma Teachers Are Awesome; Betsy DeVos Is Still Very Terrible

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is truly a terrible person whose only interest in public education is destroying it. So of course when she opened her vile maw to say words about the striking teachers in Oklahoma, it was going to be bad. But it was even worse than any reasonable person might've guessed.

Moriah Balingit at the Washington Post reports:

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Oklahoma teachers who walked out of their classrooms to protest school funding cuts should "keep adult disagreements and disputes in a separate place."

"I think about the kids," DeVos said Thursday, according to the Dallas Morning News. She had been touring a middle school and meeting with leaders of an anti-violence initiative in Dallas. "I think we need to stay focused on what's right for kids. And I hope that adults would keep adult disagreements and disputes in a separate place, and serve the students that are there to be served."

Fuck. You.

The teachers who are striking are doing so because they need a livable wage in exchange for their labor so they can survive. They are also doing it because they think about the kids.

They think about the kids when they walk into school every day, continuing to do a job for which they don't make enough money to support themselves.

They think about the kids when they keep teaching them even though their benefits are being eroded.

They think about the kids when they use their own meager resources or hold fundraising drives to buy supplies that the school districts can't afford or won't provide anymore.

They think about the kids with every mile they walk on a protest march on feet they're tearing to shreds.

"I have bled on half of these women," said Madeline Jacobsen, a third-grade teacher at Bell elementary. "Our feet are gross and you can't reach them at the end of the day so someone literally has to help you wrap them and get your feet good."

Many had never attempted anything so intense as a 110-mile march, in this case from Tulsa to the state capitol in Oklahoma City. But they were inspired to make a statement about the need to fund education properly.

"I planned to walk five miles each day because I didn’t think I could do it all," Jacobsen said. "I have walked every single mile because I can do more with this group and this support than I can ever do alone."

The marchers are mostly women, and they have formed a tight bond. Every night, they have dinner together and go over "pluses" and "deltas" of the day. Deltas are obstacles they would like to overcome. There is give and take. The women talk through issues and figure out solutions to make everyone feel included.

...Together, the women feel they are building momentum. On Friday, the state legislature passed two measures expected to help education funding. The main goal remains.

"We aren't gonna shut up, we aren't done, this movement has gelled us together," Jacobsen said. "We are ready to fight for our kids for the long haul. We have power together."

Emphasis mine.

Betsy DeVos needs to shut the fuck up until she has walked 110 miles in striking teachers' bloodied shoes. Asshole.