The Rhetorical Secretary

Since its founding in 1979, one of the U.S. Department of Education's primary missions has been to promote civil debate about the condition of our schools and colleges. Our past secretaries of education -- 12 of them in all -- have recognized that they have important rhetorical responsibilities, not only to call attention to the urgent educational topics we face as a nation but also to model and lead an inclusive process of deliberation about those topics. However, Betsy DeVos -- our 12th secretary of education -- has chosen to reject those responsibilities. In this article, communications scholar Mark Hlavacik describes how previous secretaries have used their bully pulpit, what sets DeVos apart, and why it will be important for future secretaries to return to form.