Sorry, I have two women working for me who are both State of Maryland high school graduates. Both are illiterate. Neither can write a complete sentence. Neither can write a paragraph and neither can write a reference letter.

I think the department of education is just a waste of taxpayer money.

School should focus on teaching the basics and not all of this fringe stuff.

A student that cannot write a sentence or a paragraph should not be promoted to the next grade and passed along.

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Anonymous wrote:Wow. I would’ve expected more people would have worked there?

Also, everyone gets paid through June 9th? That is actually a generous severance.

But who is going to take care of what the DOE did previously? Will there be more jobs in state education departments now?

Apparently it’s the smallest staff of the cabinet agencies.

It did not even exist in the 1970s.

We had a lot of "slow" people in my class in the 70s. They disappeared from the school system eventually. Would have been nice for them to get some kind of education

+1 and the very significantly disabled were kept at home or resided in institutions

You have it backwards. In the 1970s a lot more kids with developmental issues were being excluded from any form of education than today. That changed with EACHA in 1975, IDEA in 1990 and so on, which mandated that those kids WOULD be able to get a public education wherever possible, via implementing IEPs and similar measures. Now with the closure of Department of Education a lot of that will go away and those kids' families will be left to fend for themselves.

I mean, it's heartless to say it but many of those students are what has made education so expensive and also so untenable for typical familes.

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Anonymous wrote:Wow. I would’ve expected more people would have worked there?

Also, everyone gets paid through June 9th? That is actually a generous severance.

But who is going to take care of what the DOE did previously? Will there be more jobs in state education departments now?

Apparently it’s the smallest staff of the cabinet agencies.

It did not even exist in the 1970s.

We had a lot of "slow" people in my class in the 70s. They disappeared from the school system eventually. Would have been nice for them to get some kind of education

+1 and the very significantly disabled were kept at home or resided in institutions

You have it backwards. In the 1970s a lot more kids with developmental issues were being excluded from any form of education than today. That changed with EACHA in 1975, IDEA in 1990 and so on, which mandated that those kids WOULD be able to get a public education wherever possible, via implementing IEPs and similar measures. Now with the closure of Department of Education a lot of that will go away and those kids' families will be left to fend for themselves.

PP here. You misunderstood my post. Trust me, I'm someone who's old enough to be fully aware of what it used to be like and appreciate FAPE. I was a special education teacher for a very long time.

I was a teacher-not special ed. FAPE is not going anywhere. Title I is not going anywhere. More money will get where it needs to go--hopefully. But, it is not getting there now.

PP here. I sincerely hope you're right, but I've taught in areas where the poorest and neediest of kids were relegated to old, deteriorating buildings and given the most basic of materials, many of which were out of date. The more affluent areas had better, but many parents sent their kids to private or parochial schools. I'm doubtful that politicians in those school systems care that funds are directed fairly.

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I would’ve expected more people would have worked there?

Also, everyone gets paid through June 9th? That is actually a generous severance.

But who is going to take care of what the DOE did previously? Will there be more jobs in state education departments now?

Apparently it’s the smallest staff of the cabinet agencies.

It did not even exist in the 1970s.

We had a lot of "slow" people in my class in the 70s. They disappeared from the school system eventually. Would have been nice for them to get some kind of education

+1 and the very significantly disabled were kept at home or resided in institutions

You have it backwards. In the 1970s a lot more kids with developmental issues were being excluded from any form of education than today. That changed with EACHA in 1975, IDEA in 1990 and so on, which mandated that those kids WOULD be able to get a public education wherever possible, via implementing IEPs and similar measures. Now with the closure of Department of Education a lot of that will go away and those kids' families will be left to fend for themselves.

PP here. You misunderstood my post. Trust me, I'm someone who's old enough to be fully aware of what it used to be like and appreciate FAPE. I was a special education teacher for a very long time.

I was a teacher-not special ed. FAPE is not going anywhere. Title I is not going anywhere. More money will get where it needs to go--hopefully. But, it is not getting there now.

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Anonymous wrote:Rep. Mark Takano is one thousand percent correct — closing the Department of Education ensures America’s schools will resegregate. Tragic day in America.

Schools are more segregated in the northeast than they are in “red states”

Red states mix more and there are sometimes culture clashes. Blue states segregate neighborhoods and schools so they can spew virtue babble while not having to deal with each other. You see what happens when illegals are introduced to Martha’s Vineyard. Shipped out in 2 weeks with a care package of captain crunch and juicy juice. “We don’t have the spaaaaaccce!!! We’re really going to miss you fine humans!!!”” Tears and weeping !!!

Islands are like that.

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Anonymous wrote:This is just rebranding the segregationist backlash to civil rights. Republicans want state and local schools to be permitted to discriminate against whomever they wish.

We HAVE to keep spending $250 billion a year on the Department of Education. They haven’t budged teat scores, but they might be able to fight racism in some way?

Reposting for the cheap seats in the back, dumb dumbs like you, and the truly in the dark so they don't fall for you crap:

Again, someone who completely misunderstands the Ed's mission. It is the SMALLEST cabinet dept because it has a few, discrete goals, and raising test scores is not one of them:

*Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education and distributing as well as monitoring those funds--hope no one you know filed FAFSA or needs free school lunch
*Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research-this way we get to know LA and TX are at the bottom.
*Focusing national attention on key issues in education, and making recommendations for education reform--local school boards have the final say.
*Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education--IEPs, IDEA, Title Nine.

So all this accomplishes is eliminating a tiny department that protects women, special education students, poor kids, and people trying to access higher ed.

Good work knowing nothing about anything

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Anonymous wrote:What about student loans? Should we forget about the FAFSA now? My sympathies to all impacted employees. This administration is sloppy, vindictive and destroying programs that Americans are using.

"The forms, the forms, who will process the forms?! Okay, I admit, it probably shouldn't cost $250 BILLION each year to process the forms, but still! They're cutting too deep! They need to leave a few brave souls behind to process the forms!"

What are you talking about? So we just shouldn’t have student loans anymore? The rich can get higher education, but anyone that can’t afford it is out of luck? Lovely.

How many bureaucrats does it take to process the FAFSA forms?

Anonymous wrote:This is just rebranding the segregationist backlash to civil rights. Republicans want state and local schools to be permitted to discriminate against whomever they wish.

We HAVE to keep spending $250 billion a year on the Department of Education. They haven’t budged teat scores, but they might be able to fight racism in some way?

Anonymous wrote:This is just rebranding the segregationist backlash to civil rights. Republicans want state and local schools to be permitted to discriminate against whomever they wish.

We already have defacto segregation, so de jure segregation isn't really much of a stretch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I would’ve expected more people would have worked there?

Also, everyone gets paid through June 9th? That is actually a generous severance.

But who is going to take care of what the DOE did previously? Will there be more jobs in state education departments now?

Apparently it’s the smallest staff of the cabinet agencies.

It did not even exist in the 1970s.

We had a lot of "slow" people in my class in the 70s. They disappeared from the school system eventually. Would have been nice for them to get some kind of education

+1 and the very significantly disabled were kept at home or resided in institutions

You have it backwards. In the 1970s a lot more kids with developmental issues were being excluded from any form of education than today. That changed with EACHA in 1975, IDEA in 1990 and so on, which mandated that those kids WOULD be able to get a public education wherever possible, via implementing IEPs and similar measures. Now with the closure of Department of Education a lot of that will go away and those kids' families will be left to fend for themselves.

PP here. You misunderstood my post. Trust me, I'm someone who's old enough to be fully aware of what it used to be like and appreciate FAPE. I was a special education teacher for a very long time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I would’ve expected more people would have worked there?

Also, everyone gets paid through June 9th? That is actually a generous severance.

But who is going to take care of what the DOE did previously? Will there be more jobs in state education departments now?

Apparently it’s the smallest staff of the cabinet agencies.

It did not even exist in the 1970s.

We had a lot of "slow" people in my class in the 70s. They disappeared from the school system eventually. Would have been nice for them to get some kind of education

+1 and the very significantly disabled were kept at home or resided in institutions

You have it backwards. In the 1970s a lot more kids with developmental issues were being excluded from any form of education than today. That changed with EACHA in 1975, IDEA in 1990 and so on, which mandated that those kids WOULD be able to get a public education wherever possible, via implementing IEPs and similar measures. Now with the closure of Department of Education a lot of that will go away and those kids' families will be left to fend for themselves.

This is just rebranding the segregationist backlash to civil rights. Republicans want state and local schools to be permitted to discriminate against whomever they wish.

Back in the '70's, I taught in a school system that had experienced a strike shortly before I began teaching. The strike was run by the teachers' "association."

As a result of the strike, the only people that benefited were the leaders of the strike. The person in charge who led the strike was fired--but was hired by the association and made 6 times the salary of a beginning teacher.

The others who helped and encouraged the strike were also fired. EXCEPT, that they were brought back to the system two years later in supervisory positions. This was clearly the result of a "deal."

Later, in another school system, I saw the "benefits" of a teachers' union. In particular, one terrible teacher who was moved around and put on "probation" before she was finally fired. A waste of a year for more than one elementary school class.
I saw our "building representative" spend much of her time on "union duties" rather than teaching. Pushing us to "work to the contract" and do no more than minimum. At that time I was working in a school with awesome teachers, and we ignored her. That is not always the case.

Check out the pay of those who lead the unions. Check out all the compensatory time they get. Look at where the money is going. Sadly, the money does not get to the classroom teachers. And, even worse, it does not get to the classroom. It is peeled off at every level of bureaucracy.

Check out the programs and see where the money from the Dept of Education goes. I taught Title I. A great idea that enriches lots of people long before it gets to the classroom. I suspect this is true with many programs. Just look at the mess it has made of student loans.

Sure, there will be problems, but the funds are better spent at the need--not in ivory towers.

Anonymous wrote:So cruel. You can downsize government and change priorities without wanting to inflict trauma on govt employees.

But that’s the whole point.

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Anonymous wrote:So what isreplaces it? Vouchers for the poor masses to send their kids to the fundamentalist Christian school of their choice?

Lots of really uneducated kids being "homeschooled"

I was home schooled, because school was failing me. Went back and ended up graduating top ten.

I learned first-hand how inefficient school is. When I could get all the lessons done by the time the bus got to school.

That doesn’t make school inefficient. That means school is done at scale and your being homeschooled was done only for you.

People really need to understand efficiency better.

Not PP but Yes, educating humans at scale --especially K-8 --is dehumanizing and inefficient. It's done bc in our country education is inextricably linked with childcare. We do it like this bc we've created a society where both parents have to work. But it is hardly any kind of "gold standard" for educating children and it causes a lot of family conflict. Part of burning the Dept of Ed to the ground is a reflection of a larger zeitgeist back to hyperlocal governance. People hate having their families lives impacted by such massive systems of governance and this is partly a symbolic rejection of that

Sure, it works if one parent, most likely the mother, doesn’t work and devotes the next 18 years to teaching, sure. Or you’re so wealthy you can hiring a governess and a handful of teachers (with the appropriate degrees) to do your bidding.

American public school education is the most expensive in the world because of teachers unions, administrators, embezzlement, and federal meddling. Eliminate the whole thing and the average family could have $35,000 a year per child to spend on education.

Citations needed. Most states don’t even have teachers unions. Looking at you, South, where you’re lucky to earn $40k teaching 30 kindergarteners who have more in common with a feral cat than a child.