The American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said that her members are indifferent to the prospect of the Department of Education being abolished.…
“My members don’t really care about whether they have a bureaucracy at the Department of Education or not,” Weingarten said.
I would definitely agree that as an educator that having a federal DOE has done absolutely nothing to improve education in the US as numbers have demonstrated. I know that is also the view of many in the profession as well.
This department is a classic case of an added layer of useless bureaucracy which takes money from the states in order to turn around and send it back to them! I’m pessimistic on the future of education in the US as I’ve noted already:
Nonetheless eliminating the DOE will be a step in the right direction to empower people at the local level to find ways to improve the situation.
well except test scored have increased in the past 50 years on standardized tests.
“Contrary to what you may have heard, average student achievement has been increasing for half a century. Across 7 million tests taken by U.S. students born between 1954 and 2007, math scores have grown by 95 percent of a standard deviation, or nearly four years’ worth of learning. Reading scores have grown by 20 percent of a standard deviation during that time, nearly one year’s worth of learning.“
She doesn’t want less government, but is okay with other agencies picking up the slack. This is interesting as it shows how the DOE is not so much about “education”:
Mental health issues among students are alarmingly prevalent. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five children ages 13 to 18 experiences a severe mental disorder at some point in their lives. Schools are often the first line of defense in identifying and addressing these issues, as they provide a structured environment where children spend a significant portion of their day. Without the support from the Department of Education, schools would struggle to navigate these challenges.
Relying solely on state responsibilities for mental health resources is a precarious proposition. States vary dramatically in their funding, priorities and ability to address mental health issues. While Connecticut ranks among the best states for access to mental health services for children, Texas is often cited as one of the worst, highlighting significant disparities in care across the country. This inconsistency means that a child’s access to mental health support would depend largely on their zip code, perpetuating inequality and leaving many students without the help they desperately need.
"My members don’t really care about whether they have a bureaucracy at the Department of Education or not," Weingarten said. “In fact, Al Shanker and the AFT in the 1970s were opposed to its creation. We thought it should stay within HEW (Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) because of the whole child.”
All the teachers union hierarchy cares about is that more and more teachers are hired into to the public education system as that means more money for them.
