My mother had to drop out of school when she was 14 years old. Back then, only a few decades ago, really, only the well-to-do and wealthy go to go on to high school because you had to pay to attend. My grandmother and grandfather, poor working class people living in the Deep South, could not afford the fees. My mother, one of the smartest women I have ever known, deeply mourned that lack, that loss the rest of her life.

Had I not had a public school education, I could not have become a National Merit Scholar and Valedictorian of my high school class. I could not have attracted the attention of Bryn Mawr College, and the institution would not have offered me the generous scholarships and grants which allowed me to obtain a Bachelor’s degree.

Education changes lives. Education changes families. It changes neighborhoods, cities, countries, and the world. Not one penny spent on educating a child is wasted.

America embraces public education. It is the foundation upon which our freedoms and our opportunities for the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd centuries will be built. Without education for all, regardless of financial circumstances, without education for all which invests in all of our children, regardless of race, creed, color, or financial circumstances, America knows our children will always be left behind by the best and brightest of other nations.

You, Betsy DeVos, bought the job you have. All of America knows this. You are not, in any way, shape, or form fit for the job. Again, all of America knows this. I have no idea what you thought you were buying, but the real job of heading up America’s efforts to educate its children, all its children, is not a rich woman’s part-time play toy.

You are a dabbler, if you do not know what the word means, here is a good definition:

You are no more suited to, no more qualified for, no more capable of helping America develop a world class education plan for the nation’s children than a toddler wielding a scalpel is of removing a brain tumor.

Betsy Devos, if you really want to help America’s children, then do the right thing. Resign immediately.