DISMANTLING the DOE
Kudos to President Trump for dismantling the US Department of Education (DOE). It’s a huge bureaucracy whose main function is distribution of tens of billions of tax-payers’ dollars every year in College Pell Grants and Loans to millions of needy students and families who fill-out a complex form called a Free Application Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Certainly, a task each state can perform. The form is extremely complex and, as a result, many families never complete it. Since the creation of the DOE, I am not aware of any effective pedagogical programs, strategies, or curriculum they have endorsed and implemented across all fifty states that has improved teaching effectiveness or increased student academic success.
In fact, specifically, their failure to recognize and promote the effectiveness of SQ3R Study Skills, developed by the Government as part of the Army Special Training Program (ASTP) to successfully prepare 150,000 military leaders to win WWII in 1942, was a huge failure that could have solved a lot of the educational problems we have today. When the war ended they let SQ3R fall through the cracks and become the best kept secret in Education. That’s because the DOE is reluctant to promote and recommend any effective pedagogical strategies to the states for fear they will be accused of ‘intermingling with the responsibilities of the states.’ This is not a very productive relationship for the country.
Looking at it as a business man, President Trump is not satisfied with the Return-On-Invest (ROI) the USA is receiving on our huge national investment in Education. According to him, we have the highest Cost/Per/Pupil/Year (CPPY) expenditures in Education but are ranked 40th on a list of countries recognized for providing the Best Education globally. In addition, the 2024 NAEP Report (The Nation’s Report Card) published last month shows that Reading Comprehension and Math scores in Grades 4 & 8 across the country continue to plummet for the third consecutive year, despite serious post-pandemic efforts to recover. This is critical because if students can’t read they will struggle in other courses. This is unacceptable to him, and I support him for looking for more effective education solutions to increase student success and provide greater ROI to families and taxpayers. Also, it’s interesting to note that every president since Ronald Reagan, in 1985, has talked about dismantling the DOE but Trump is the only president that has taken the ‘bull by the horns’.
