Every teacher will realize the pun.
Planned ignoring is a classroom management technique to extinguish undesirable student behaviors. No matter the misbehavior, the teacher ignores the child. Do not acknowledge what they are doing because the child really wants the teacher’s attention. Once the child replaces the misbehavior with a desirable behavior, the teacher then lavishes attention upon them to reinforce how the child should behave in the classroom.
Planned ignorance is the only way GOT can interpret the astonishing performance of Secretary Devos in Congressional hearings regarding her attempt (for a third year) to eliminate a grant to the Special Olympics.
The ignorance of the woman and her I-can’t-be-bothered attitude is not accidental. Since the disastrous confirmation hearing, in which she had to admit she knew nothing about federal education requirements for the disabled, she has made no progress in educating herself.
More than the Special Olympics is on the chopping block. If the Trump recommendations go into effect, the impact on local schools will be devastating, for example, the elimination of Full Service Schools. Fortunately, regardless of which party holds the White House or Congress, Congress almost always ignores White House budget recommendations.
Planned ignorance. Check this out when Madame Secretary actually said that larger class sizes were a good thing:
President Trump threw the Secretary under the bus when he repudiated the deletion of the Special Olympics grant. While not a focus of this post, it is interesting that Trump is not beyond the pressure of public opinion, which was resoundingly negative.
Planned ignorance. Devos has an agenda to pursue (with the blessing of Trump) and that is to direct federal money to charter schools and private school vouchers. To find that money, she must eliminate everything else.
She uses her ignorance as her defense. When backed into a corner, she responds that, given a written request, she’ll look into and respond.
Planned ignorance. After two years in Washington, why has she not studied how Congress works so she can look competent in hearings?
(Okay, I’m reaching here, but the parody of John Kerry was irresistible.)
She suggested that the cut was intended to spark increased support for Special Olympics funding.
It has to be planned. This kind of attack on the well-being of all citizens of a society doesn’t happen by accident. To feign no knowledge … planned ignorance.
Devos has tried for three years to eliminate Special Olympics funding and many other things so the money can be diverted to charter schools.
Once again, she has failed.
In a famous quote (which apparently she stole from Ted Turner), she said, “Money is how we keep score.”
Get out your record book, Betsy. You have 18 million losses to enter into your record.
Her god of Mammon is not pleased.
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