Thread: US Department of Education

Would someone care to enlighten me on the necessity of the Federal Department of Education.

I would say that having a nationwide body to correlate curriculum's would be of great value. It's kind of ridiculous to have students move from one state to another and have what they learned be of next to no value.

It could also be a forum for airing the great debates of the day. It would greatly educate the adult population for there to be a national discussion of what gets into the school curriculum. The shadowy realm of black robes desperately needs light shined on it. Much of the absurdity that sneaks in now would not survive the process.

And it would cost a fraction of what the DoE costs now.

since it was created, our educational system has been on a downward spiral.

It is there to grab control from states.

its is useless, and should be torn apart.

DOE's budget was doubled by the Dem's slush fund that they characterized as a "stimulus package".... was there a corresponding increase in the quality of education?

You be the judge.

Originally Posted by States Rights

Would someone care to enlighten me on the necessity of the Federal Department of Education.

Authorized under the Bureaucrat Full Employment Act of 1979 signed by Jimmy Carter.

All you need to know...

Education like most endeavors doesn't necessarily get better if you throw more money at it. However, just like most other endeavors it doesn't do better if you money-starve it.

The D. of Education only amounts to 1.5% of the federal budget. Most spending on schools is at the local/state level.



Here's a different chart if you don't like that one:
http://www.federalbudget.com/

Originally Posted by States Rights

Would someone care to enlighten me on the necessity of the Federal Department of Education.

No one will be able to do this for you. Because we have had a Federal Department of Education for a significant level of time now with questionable at best results it can be easily concluded we have zero need for it. All you really have these days is yet another bloated bureaucracy with a hand out. Those that support it suggest we are falling behind our competition in education for our kids, but cannot seem to admit that this great important of a Department of Education seems to have not been able to do much about that. Jimmy Carter was wrong then, supporters of the department have been wrong ever since, and we still get to see why today.

Originally Posted by States Rights

Would someone care to enlighten me on the necessity of the Federal Department of Education.

It is the Government organ of the NEA (National Education Association Teachers Union)...

...and the Dog that's wagged by the Tail.


We need both of them like bed-bugs for bed-time...

Originally Posted by Sluggo

No one will be able to do this for you. Because we have had a Federal Department of Education for a significant level of time now with questionable at best results it can be easily concluded we have zero need for it. All you really have these days is yet another bloated bureaucracy with a hand out. Those that support it suggest we are falling behind our competition in education for our kids, but cannot seem to admit that this great important of a Department of Education seems to have not been able to do much about that. Jimmy Carter was wrong then, supporters of the department have been wrong ever since, and we still get to see why today.

We do need it but like most government programs they get bogged down in bureaucratic BS and political agendas. The biggest problem with education in this country are the massive cultural, regional and financial differences between the nation's student body. You cannot lump poor inner city kids with suburban, apple pie kids, and affluent trust fund babies and expect them to achieve the same results.

The other problem is that the public school system worked best when the typical American family had one parent (usually the mother) on stay-at-home status, meaning that there was a parental unit at home to greet the kids and make sure they did their homework and stuff. School these days is day care for parents and most kids come home to an empty house because both parents are out working so kids have no supervision or guidance when they get home and as such will use the leeway to avoid homework.

I do not think it is as much the school system as it is the corrupt nature of officials who put pressure on the system to produce positive numbers (that's more at a local level not federal). Hence things like social promotion, state tests that the kids are given the answers to before they take it.

The truth is that some of these schools have shit for students. You have kids in the inner city who are afraid for their life going to school each day in an environment where many of these kids are suffering from PTSD, malnourishment, sexual/physical abuse and neglect. Yet they are put into a system where they are expected to make the same kind of progress as upper middle class suburbanites. This is where the system fails and again, the DoE is not the problem. Its the politicians who demand great numbers in their districts and put programs in place that do nothing for the students but make their statistics looks more favorable.

It would be no better with all schools going private. Then it will be about profit, not quality education.

Originally Posted by Disillusioned_1

Education like most endeavors doesn't necessarily get better if you throw more money at it. However, just like most other endeavors it doesn't do better if you money-starve it.

The D. of Education only amounts to 1.5% of the federal budget. Most spending on schools is at the local/state level.



Here's a different chart if you don't like that one:
Federal Budget Spending and the National Debt

Most spending on schools is at the local/state level., yep but they have to follow the UNFUNDED MANDATES of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT...