Dept. of Education apologizes for misspelling W.E.B. Du Bois
The U.S. Department of Education apologized Sunday for a tweet that misspelled the name of W.E.B. Du Bois while quoting the late writer, historian and civil rights activist.
The tweet spelled his last name “DeBois” — a typo that appeared to mimic the name of the department’s controversial new secretary, Betsy DeVos.
I see they left Ms. "DuVos" in charge of the @usedgov Twitter feed pic.twitter.com/SW0scGm49u
— Jason Tocci (@JasonT) February 12, 2017
The NAACP, which Du Bois co-founded, was quick to mock the typo.
“‘In the Days of Loose & Careless Logic, We Must Teach Thinkers to THINK.’ – William Edward Burghardt DU Bois,” the NAACP tweeted.
The Du Bois error was left unaddressed for nearly four hours before the department posted a corrected version of the tweet and issued an apology — which also included a typo.
“Our deepest apologizes for the earlier typo,” the initial apology tweet read before a second one was issued.
"Education must not simply teach work – it must teach life." – W.E.B. Du Bois pic.twitter.com/hSg4R1rLHH
— US Dept of Education (@usedgov) February 12, 2017
DeVos was confirmed by the Senate last week, with Vice President Mike Pence casting a historic tie-breaking vote. The Michigan billionaire’s razor-thin confirmation followed bruising confirmation hearings, where critics highlighted her support for vouchers to attend private schools and the fact that she has neither worked in nor attended a public school nor sent her children to public schools.
On Wednesday, a photo of DeVos walking into her new office was posted to her personal Twitter feed.
Day 1 on the job is done, but we’re only getting started. Now where do I find the pencils? pic.twitter.com/0vRKF1opE9
— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) February 9, 2017
“Day 1 on the job is done, but we’re only getting started,” she wrote. “Now where do I find the pencils?”
“At the store,” Robin McCauley Lynch, a Los Angeles teacher, replied. “Something you should know: we teachers buy pencils and supplies for our classes with our OWN money.”
@BetsyDeVos At the store. Something you should know: we teachers buy pencils and supplies for our classes with our OWN money.
— Robin McCauley Lynch (@RobinMcCauley) February 9, 2017
And for DeVos, it seems, erasers may come in handy.
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