"We have a long way to go to get back to really educating our kids. To give them a future."
I think the first time I heard someone say we should get rid of this Jimmy Carter brainchild, it was Ronald Reagan in the 1980's. Since then, many, including myself, have asked the tough question - why do we even have a Department of Education? What does it do? Do we get value out of it? Are our kids smarter because of it? If this were a P/L business instead of the government, this department would have been toast decades ago.
Some might say, "Okay Bird. We know you have in in for education. Do you have any proof the Department of Education is a waste of space?" Actually, yes - if you can believe a May 1, 2018 CNS.com article. To say this article is damning is an understatement. To have the type of statistics this article states, and then to have a federal government organization responsible for education with a headcount of almost 4,000 and budget of $70B, does not add up.
Get ready, as this is a show stopper. Nationwide, 65% of all 8th grade students are not proficient in reading, and 67% are not proficient in math. Now pull that seat belt a bit tighter. In many urban areas, the numbers are far worse than the averages. I won't go through all of them, as they are dismal. But in Baltimore (a scant 40 miles from the Department of Education), only 13% of all 8th graders were proficient in reading and only 11% proficient in math.
Wow! That is bad! It could not be any worse than those statistics. Okay - one more notch on the seat belt please. In Detroit, a city where untold millions have been poured in to rejuvenate this city, only 7% of all 8th graders were tested proficient in reading, and only 5% in math.
Some people are okay with these kids being throw aways, but I am not. Some people are okay with almost $70B every year in tax dollars being wasted, but I am not. If insanity means doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, we are certifiably nutty for allowing the Department of Education to stay in existence.
Wait just a minute Bird! Are you pinning these lousy test scores on the Department of Education? Bingo! Yes I am! If the charter of this organization is to educate, they are failing at that charter. Get rid of this waste of space. In other words - nuke it.
We have a long way to go to get back to really educating our kids. To give them a future. Ever since the 1960's when the hippies and love children have mucked up society and our education, the test results have gone south. Time to wake up America. These kids our our seed corn. I don't care where they live - they are our future.