Tag: education

We The People

I just finished reading In the Hands of the People: Thomas Jefferson on Equality, Faith, Freedom, Compromise, and the Art of Citizenship for the second time.  Our small book club had decided to discuss it at our last meeting.  While most of you probably do not need to hear the following, I am compelled to speak out to those who say, “It’s politics and I don’t want to get involved.” Or “I don’t want to have my life interrupted by all that bad news, so don’t talk about it.”  Our Constitution starts with the familiar words, “We the People.”  Our founding fathers’ vision was revolutionary.  The government would be in the hands of the people, not kings or other individuals.  They knew they were taking a chance.  People were accustomed to having government make decisions for them, not having the option to make their own choices. 

These same founding fathers, while holding doubts about the long-term viability of their creation, believed that a well-educated and informed people would make good choices in this republican system of representative democracy.  Public education was supported by Washington, Jefferson, Adams and many others.  Educated people who had access to information, whether biased or not, could and would make good decisions.  With these dreams in mind, subsequent generations of Americans improved education and created a Fourth estate to provide good information even when it showed obvious bias.  We the People were controlling our own destiny.

However, in recent years, complacency has become common.  Many of the People have failed to keep fully informed, basing their judgment on biased or limited information.  Our education system has reduced the amount of teaching in civics, history, and social sciences.  There have been successful efforts to restrict information that does not conform to standards established by power groups.  Too many citizens have failed to realize that the government that they are criticizing is a criticism of self.  If you are not informed and engaged, if you fail to take part in your government, you have no justification for complaining.

Get informed.  Know your sources of information.  Research “hot topic” issues.  Engage in civil discussions with your friends and acquaintances.  Take time to know what your elected representatives believe.  Take part in local, state, and federal elections.  Don’t tell me “I don’t want to hear about it!”

Does the Department of Education Need to be Eliminated?

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the Department of Education.  The order directs the department to reduce its size and transfer many of its responsibilities to states and other federal agencies. Programs like student loans, Pell Grants, and funding for students with disabilities should continue, but their administration might be shifted to other agencies over time. The move has sparked concerns about potential disruptions in federal education funding and services, especially for low-income and special-needs students. 

In addition, President Trump has withheld funding for numerous federal agencies, as well as personnel cuts that Impact the operational effectiveness of those agencies.  His initiatives to eliminate DEI have resulted in threats to various educational institutions that have been deemed in violation of his desire.  His major targets have been high profile schools like Columbia.  However, a number of regional universities are under investigation for discrimination tied to DEI programs.

While purportedly looking for a better investment, the Trump administration has lost sight of the fact that education isn’t about return on the dollar in test score numbers, but it is about children.  Cuts to food and support programs should consider what happens when a child is hungry.  The impact of housing support on living arrangements also impacts a student’s learning motivation.  Our system of education is broken!  Many children are in fact “left behind”.  Education is good for the affluent, fair for the middle class, and substandard for people struggling to make ends meet.  That is why 54% of Americans function a less than a 6th grade level.  With an overall literacy rate of 79%, the United States ranks 36th.  Most developed nations have literacy rates of 96%  (National Literacy Institute, 2024-2025 Literacy Statistics).

Many of our competing countries, e.g., Finland, Canada, Japan, support early education with universal health and food support programs as well as support for counselors, mental health, basic human needs. Unfortunately, the United States is focused on outcomes through money spent of developing standardized tests.  We often spend money to determine outcomes without providing adequate support for actual education.  We don’t invest in teachers.  Salaries are poor.  Requirements for licensure are often costly and frequently not reimbursed by the school districts.  Attracting college students to these poor paying teaching jobs has become increasingly difficult.   Differences in taxing districts impact whether a school district invests in education or barely gets by.  Wealthy districts can excel.  Poor districts barely make their budget guidelines.

Too often, the United States has turned what should be an investment in humankind into a business venture.  Spending more money doesn’t guarantee a better product.  Our founding fathers stressed the need for a literate populace if their model democracy was going to survive.  America has failed to maintain the gains in education achieved over the 20th century.  The amount of money spent on buildings, extra-curricular activities and mandated curriculums has changed the focus from basic skills and understanding of our system of government to looking good on paper.

Downsizing with the intent to eliminate the Department of Education is as unfounded as most other downsizing initiatives underway under the Trump administration.  There is no doubt that there is waste in our federal bureaucracies.  This waste should be eliminated.  However, the chainsaw approach offered by the Trump administration can do only what a chain saw does.  The cuts are crude and dangerous.  What is needed is a careful review of programs by independent experts.  The recommendation then needs to be reviewed by Congress and their determination passed on to the Executive Branch. 

The United States is not a business being run for profit.  Although, in recent years it often looks like our elected representatives are there only to make money for themselves.  The United States government is a service funded by the taxpayer for all American citizens.