#115 - The Miseducation of Betsy DeVos

Show Notes: During today's show, we debrief Betsy DeVos' terribly embarrassing interview on 60 Minutes during our first segment. What are the impacts of having an education secretary with such little experience and investment in and around public schools? In our second segment, we have Tara García Mathewson from The Hechinger Report about the lack of physics teachers in schools with high poverty levels and schools that are composed largely of students of color. Tara García Mathewson is a staff writer for The Hechinger Report where she covers national education issues. After graduating from Northwestern University, Tara worked at the Daily Herald, Illinois' third largest newspaper where she covered city government and education in Chicago's suburbs. Tara grew up in rural Western New York, and currently lives in Boston. "Physics is widely considered to be a building block for a range of STEM disciplines— science, technology, engineering and math — and taking the course in high school is strongly correlated with getting a degree in a STEM field. Educators, policymakers and the general public agree that education in STEM is important. STEM occupations, jobs data show, pay more, and employment in STEM fields has grown at a faster rate than overall job growth." In our final segment, we discuss new playground/recess ideas in Britain, and Casey leads us through a quiz show that will blow your mind! Resources Mentioned/Referenced: WaPost Transcript of 60 Minutes Interview DeVos Takes Shot at 60 Minutes Interview https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/betsy-devos-calls-60-minutes-a-waste-of-a-half-hour Analysis of PISA and TIMMS The Hechinger Report page for Tara Garcia Mathewson One reason students aren't prepared for STEM careers? No physics in high school In Britain's Playgrounds, 'Bringing in Risk' to Build Resilience