The InformED Report for January 19, 2017 began with John B. King Jr.’s exit interview with NPR and his call, made weeks earlier, for states to end corporal punishment in schools. It then turned to the debate over his likely successor, Betsy DeVos, with a sharp challenge from Senator Elizabeth Warren and a defense from a Michigan ally. The spotlight went to a young founder using film and media literacy lessons to change how students see themselves.
In this edition
- In an exit interview with NPR, Education Secretary John B. King Jr. said schools and educational opportunity “can save lives.”
- King had urged state leaders to end corporal punishment in schools, citing harm to students and its disproportionate use on students of color and students with disabilities.
- Senator Elizabeth Warren told Betsy DeVos there was no precedent for a nominee with her lack of experience in public education; a former Michigan Chamber of Commerce CEO defended her record.
- Tony Weaver Jr., 22, founded Weird Enough Productions to counter media stereotypes, and its curriculum had reached more than 1,500 students.
John King’s farewell: “Schools can save lives”
King had little time in the job. He was confirmed by the Senate in March 2016, after Arne Duncan stepped down at the end of 2015, and he knew the next president would almost certainly replace him. In his exit interview with NPR’s Cory Turner, he described the principle that had guided him as a teacher, a principal and then as deputy secretary: protect children, especially those who have been traditionally marginalized, including children of color, English language learners, students with disabilities and those living in poverty.
King’s own story shaped that view. Raised in Brooklyn, he lost both parents by the age of 12 and credited public school teachers with keeping his life on track. In the interview he said education is fundamental to the long-term success of the economy and of democracy, and that the country needs strong public systems from early childhood through higher education. Asked about vouchers, which both Donald Trump and DeVos supported, he said they were “not a scalable solution” and that the better answer was strong public schools, district and charter, held to meaningful accountability.
One of King’s last formal acts on school safety was a letter to state leaders, sent in November 2016, urging them to end corporal punishment in schools. The Department of Education said the practice had been repeatedly linked to harmful short- and long-term outcomes for students, and that the data showed it fell disproportionately on students of color and students with disabilities. “No school can be considered safe or supportive if its students are fearful of being physically punished,” King said. For superintendents in states that still allowed the practice, the letter was not binding, but it set out clearly where the department stood.
Warren challenges DeVos, and a Michigan ally responds
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts sent DeVos a long letter before her confirmation hearing, the Boston Globe’s Annie Linskey reported. Warren wrote that “there is no precedent for an Education Department Secretary nominee with your lack of experience in public education.” She said DeVos had “virtually no experience” with student debt, school accountability standards or school improvement, which Warren described as the core responsibilities of the job, and she included 41 questions for DeVos to answer at the hearing.
Among the few public defenders was Jim Barrett, a former CEO of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, who wrote in the Lansing State Journal that the national media was spreading misinformation about her. “For nearly 30 years, Betsy DeVos has been leading the charge for expanded choice, improved quality and enhanced accountability in education,” he wrote, as reported by Breitbart. Barrett chaired the board of the Great Lakes Education Project, a pro-school choice group that DeVos had funded and served on. Both accounts deserve to be read with that in mind: Warren was a political opponent, and Barrett a long-time ally.
InformED Report spotlight: making room for every kind of hero
Tony Weaver Jr. was volunteering at an elementary school when a boy he mentored told him he could not dress as his favorite superhero for Halloween because he did not look like him, Karim Abouelnaga reported in Forbes. The boy planned instead to dress as a character from the video game Grand Theft Auto. The exchange stayed with Weaver, who had grown up wishing he could see positive role models on television who looked like him.
At 20, Weaver founded Weird Enough Productions, a media company that fights misrepresentation through original content and media literacy education. Weaver said he wanted to make sure “everyone knows that no matter who they are, they can be a hero.” By the time of the Forbes article, when Weaver was 22, the company had produced eight short films on issues such as police brutality, biased news reporting and gender norms. Its curriculum had reached more than 1,500 students, and it was building a digital tool to help teachers bring media literacy into daily lessons. For schools, the story was a reminder that media literacy can be as much about how students see themselves as about how they judge a news story.
Further reading from that week
- Central Western Daily: Violence in our schools spreads: 13 incidents reported in two terms
- Risk & Insurance: Schools Face Increasing Violence
- The Huffington Post: Spare The Rod And Educate The Child
Sources
- Cory Turner, “‘Schools Can Save Lives’: An Exit Interview With The U.S. Education Secretary,” NPR Ed, January 9, 2017.
- U.S. Department of Education, “King Sends Letter to States Calling for an End to Corporal Punishment in Schools,” press release, November 2016.
- Annie Linskey, “Warren takes aim at Trump’s pick for education secretary,” Boston Globe, January 9, 2017.
- Dr. Susan Berry, “Former Michigan Chamber of Commerce CEO Defends Betsy DeVos,” Breitbart, December 27, 2016.
- Karim Abouelnaga, “Why This 22-Year-Old Founder Created A Company To Combat Media Misrepresentation,” Forbes, January 9, 2017.
About the InformED Report
The InformED Report is edCircuit’s short news program on education. This edition first ran on January 19, 2017. In 2026, edCircuit re-presented it with a new anchor and this full written account. Both report the stories as they stood on that date and link the original reporting, so readers can see exactly where each claim came from.
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