Musk and Trump – Saviors of Learning?

Until we find a better system of learning for our kids, we have a moral and ethical responsibility to provide the best K-12 educational system possible for current students, their families, and their communities. Blowing up the current system, without a viable alternative for students to migrate to, won’t work. We learned this during our non-profit education work in Houston several years ago now. At the same time, we invested millions in a personalized learning lab school, our organization continued to work with traditional K-12 principals, English/Language Arts teachers, and math instructors to make sure they were providing quality learning opportunities for the children currently enrolled in their schools.

 Today, EducationWeek published an opinion piece written by former secretaries of education Arne Duncan and John B. King Jr. Both men served in the Obama administration, Duncan from 2009 to 2015, and King from 2016 to 2017. Duncan and King write:

“Over 80 percent of America’s children attend one of the nearly 100,000 public schools across the country. Nearly 16 million students are pursuing their American dream by seeking a college degree. Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education would harm them all and put America at risk.”

“As former secretaries of education, we have traveled the nation’s highways, city streets, and rural roads across all 50 states to witness firsthand what is and is not working in our schools. We saw amazing students achieve miracles in classrooms and vulnerable students conquer learning challenges under the guidance of brilliant educators. We visited Title I schools that support low-income communities, talked with parents who rely on IDEA funding to provide the services their children with disabilities need, and met with students using Pell Grants to attend college.”

“We listened to teacher concerns about crowded classrooms, outdated materials, and outmoded facilities. We listened to parent concerns about safety and the cost of college. Above all, we heard their faith and trust in the power of public education to secure a bright future for their children. In all these conversations, we were only asked how our government could do more, not less.”

“From the GI Bill for returning World War II veterans to the Eisenhower-era push for more science education, presidents from both sides of the aisle have recognized that public education is a matter of national interest, and right now, we are falling behind. According to a recent international assessment, the United States was outperformed by 17 other nations and regions in math, science, and reading. In a tense, competitive world, the military is our best defense, but education is our best offense.”

“Yet today, in our nation’s capital, there’s a war being waged on public education by Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. Instead of figuring out how to improve reading or math literacy, increase school safety, or make college more affordable, people who spent little time in public school and never used a Pell Grant to go to college are trying to tear down the system responsible for supporting education opportunity in our local communities. This is happening without legislation, debate, or input from the public. And education isn’t the only target.”

“Consider what has happened to USAID, an agency tasked with alleviating poverty and promoting democracy around the world. The agency was all but shuttered in a matter of weeks – the sign on the building was removed, employees dismissed, and its website shut down. Only with the intervention of a judge were the funds for the agency’s programs temporarily unfrozen.”

“Today, there are parents across America who could lose access to preschools and child care because Musk and the Trump administration shut down the system that provides funding for Head Start programs.”

“Today, individuals who answer only to Musk are rifling through data that include the personal information of folks who have received federal student aid – which could include FAFSA forms listing family income, debt levels, and credit histories – and now a court has allowed all of that to temporarily contninue.”

“As secretaries of education, we’ve not only visited communities to celebrate when things are going well; we’ve also been there to offer support when things go horribly wrong. For one of us (Duncan), the hardest day on the job was traveling to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut to support grieving families who lost their children in the deadliest elementary school shooting in U.S. history.”

“When the nation faced the worst economic crisis since the Depression, the Education Department stepped in to keep schools whole and keep kids learning. When the worst health crisis in a century struck America and the world, the department offered guidance and financial support to public schools, states, colleges, and universities. In painful and challenging moments, Americans are always there for each other, and the Education Department has been part of that work.”

“In addition to serving at the national level, we have both held local and state positions. We share the view that education is primarily the responsibility of states and districts, which account for 90 percent of education funding. We know that the best ideas for improving learning will not come from Washington but from teachers and leaders on the front lines.”

“But we also know that 50 states and 13,000 school districts operating independently have often fallen short. The nation has a long history of states setting standards that don’t require college readiness, schools districts denying education to vulnerable populations, and parents left to fend for themselves when their kids were falling behind. Protecting the civil rights of students was central to the Education Department’s founding in 1979.”

“So we call on every parent who is concerned about preserving access to education for your children to make your voice heard. We call on teachers and education leaders to speak up on behalf of the partnerships we have built over the years to create schools that serve all children and to build a higher education system that is the envy of the world.”

“We call on business leaders who rely on public education to produce a competitive workforce to join the debate. And we call on elected leaders at every level of government – and especially Republicans whose support for the Trump administration’s reckless actions is enabling this assault on schools and families – to make your voices heard.”’

“We cannot allow people with little-to-no experience in public education to dismantle what we have built together. The stakes could not be higher.”

ABPTL readers know that I’m not a big fan of our current public education system. There seems to be more wrong with it currently than right.

But, it would be one thing if Elon Musk and Donald Trump were going to use the money saved by down-sizing or closing the U.S. Department of Education on providing support for black, brown, and poor families, currently suffering in our traditional K-12 system, to offer them a new system of learning. A new system of learning built on defining, planning, executing, and evaluating progress in reading, writing, problem-solving, and character development.

Who thinks that money saved is going to go to creating a new system of learning for kids stuck in “sucky schools”?

No, I’m guessing whatever money is saved from closures, terminations, and general down-sizing is headed to America’s billionaire and millionaire class, along with America’s corporates, in the form of a big, fat tax refund. So the rich continue to grow richer, and kids stuck in “sucky schools”, well, they just stay there.

Until we create a better system of learning for our kids, we need to stand on moral and ethical ground and work to take care of our kids, all our kids, in our present K-12 school system.

No one wants change more than I do, but I’m not looking to Elon Musk nor Donald Trump to be the ones leading that change toward a better system of learning.

Friday News Roundup tomorrow. Til then. SVB