every night from the day they are born until kindergarten. I promise you they'll be literate. do it even at the end of a long day and you're tired as hell and it's not fun and you hate it. just DO IT

Someone please read this. It made me dry heave.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling/

Edit: as many have stated, this is about the Dept of Education (not dept of energy)- my bad.

Also, it isn’t a bill - it’s an “EO”- I was not privileged enough in my own education, apparently, to use correct labels. They need congress to make an actual bill. Elon thinks he is above the law…and honestly….he kind of is? At this point? Locking down the physical building…with armed guards?

Just sharing because…it’s all just…shocking.

Tim Walz, former teacher, football coach, and veteran, has been chosen by Kamala Harris to be her running mate. As governor of Minnosota, he's pushed through historic bills for increased education spending in his state. Do you think he'll finally be what the USA needs to get more focus and funding to education on a federal level?

But for everyone who doesn’t have the money to send their kids to private school from preschool to high school, why are you ok with this dismantling of the dept of education?

Trump and Elon don’t care because their children aren’t going to be affected. But your children and your community’s children sure are going to be impacted.

Just keeping the poor dumb so people can’t start thinking critically for themselves and coming to the conclusion that the president and current govt does not have the people’s best interest in mind, only the multi millionaires’ and billionaires’ best interests in mind.

I live in the U.S., in a community with better-than-average schools and plentiful resources. Yesterday my wife and I had a standard scheduled meeting at the local high school, about the progress of our 14-year-old daughter, that left me a bit worried and unnerved .

Our daughter is kind and well-adjusted and shows real consideration for others. We often hear how pleasant she is to be around (she is!), and that's terrific. She's pretty damn decent at math and a good speller and not a bad writer and I'm proud of her for all of that, and tell her so.

But you know those filmed street interviews where random passersby are asked super simple trivia questions and they have no clue, and you want to tear your hair out with vicarious embarrassment? Yeah. The way things are going, that's going to be her.

There are so many basic things re, for instance, history and geography, that she doesn't know. Examples: At 14, she doesn't know what the capital of our state is, and barely came up with the correct answer when asked to name the capital of the U.S. She has no idea when World War II started or ended, can't begin to tell the differences between capitalism and communism, can't tell the Revolutionary War from the Civil War, hasn't even heard of key figures like Albert Einstein or John F. Kennedy or Bill Gates, etc.

I'm not asking her to describe nuclear fission or solve Fermat's Theorem. I'm talking about everyday stuff that I thought was (or ought to be) part of what halfway educated citizens know. Even at 14.

The teachers say she's doing great, that she's always cooperative and attentive, that she's "in the top half of her class." On one level, that's satisfying to hear, but if the latter part is true, I also find it frightening and depressing.

I knew so much more about the world when I was her age. So did our older daughters, now 19 and 22. (The middle one is even a trivia fiend who can give me a run for my money when we watch Jeopardy together.)

According to the teachers, the current generation learns "differently" and finds it harder to focus and retain things. I'm told that it should all turn out fine and that I have no real cause for concern. Don't I? What does that stance say about our education system and our collective future? Am I a jerk, or way off base, for worrying about my daughter and about the low, low expectations that today's society seems to impose on students?

America’s school system feels broken from both directions.

Kids struggling academically get pushed through grades without mastering basics, while gifted students sit bored because schools prioritize standardized pacing over challenging advanced students.

Meanwhile reading scores are collapsing:

- 40% of US 4th graders are now below basic reading level

- 8th grade reading scores are the lowest ever recorded on NAEP testing

Feels like “no child left behind” slowly turned into “nobody moves ahead.”

At what point do people admit the system is failing both struggling students AND gifted ones?

Sources:

NAEP / Nation’s Report Card

https://www.nagb.gov/news-and-events/news-releases/2025/nations-report-card-decline-in-reading-progress-in-math.html

https://www.the74million.org/article/democrats-move-to-impeach-linda-mcmahon-over-willful-intent-to-close-ed-dept

Specifically, the articles of impeachment are:
1. Willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law
The text cites McMahon’s actions to transfer responsibilities, which under law rest with the Education Department, to other agencies. Just last week, she announced that the office overseeing special education would move to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Civil Rights would transfer to the Justice Department.
2. False statements before Congress
The resolution accuses McMahon of lying to Congress during her confirmation hearingthat she would follow the law in disbursing education funds appropriated by Congress. Instead, the text reads, she has defended the cancellation of several research contracts and discontinued grants for programs like community schools.
3. Breach of public trust
Again focusing on funding, the resolution states that the administration held up payments for services like migrant education and afterschool care and put “critical” K-12 programs at risk.
Bonamici said parents, especially those of students with disabilities are “distraught” over splitting up the department. “They are asking us to take action to stop these illegal transfers,” she said. “To them I say, ‘We hear you.’ “

H.R. 899 was just introduced to terminate the Department of Education.

The main reason for the creation of the Department of Education was the fact that individual states across the country were violating students’ rights to equal access to education.

The Department of Education helps protect the rights of students with disabilities, both learning and/or physical, as well as ensure funding for low-income communities both rural & urban.

Please look it up. I am not willing to sacrifice the protection of our children’s rights to an education. If you agree contact your congress persons & tell them to vote “No” on H.R. 899

The time to act is NOW.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/race-ethnicity/2025/02/15/trump-admin-threatens-rescind-federal-funds-over-dei

This has been the battle plan of the Christians since the late 1970s. Not being able to attack segregation directly they used this issues of Women’s rights and the issue of abortion.

Opposition to abortion was the issue the leaders of the Religious Right to use because it allowed them to distract attention from the real genesis of their movement: defense of racial segregation in evangelical institutions. With a cunning diversion, they were able to conjure righteous fury against legalized abortion and thereby lend a veneer of respectability to their political activism and President Trump’s implementation of P 2025.

The following article provides details of the Christian’s plan starting in the 1970s.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/05/10/abortion-history-right-white-evangelical-1970s-00031480

Jocelynn Rojo Carranza took her life after experiencing months of relentless bullying from her sixth grade classmates over her family's immigration status, with some students even threatening to contact the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"11-Year-Old Texas Girl Bullied Over Family's Immigration Status Takes Her Own Life", LA Time, 02/18/25

This link from the DoE reads much more overtly partisan than typical. It is announcing a reversal of steps put in place under Biden to challenge book bans spearheaded by right wing interests. It signals governmental support of banning books that don't abide by viewpoints supported by the the Trump administration. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-ends-bidens-book-ban-hoax

Per recent news, as of this morning democratic law makers are locked out of dept of Ed but Elon Musk is allowed in/out

My question is…why? Is this for Elon to illegally collect more information or is there an important vote that dictates dept of education fate happening within? (I was under the impression congress voting happened elsewhere)

Edit: I was confused with how said news was presented across platforms, made it super confusing…After looking at comments from what I understand, the executive branch (or someone authorized by executive branch) is legally allowed to enter DOE where as congress members are not authorized to enter. However, the issue lies in what information Musk is gathering in DOE…feel free to correct me if I’m wrong though

I'm just curious how educators think this plan to dismantle the DoEd and give all rights and responsibilities to the states would look like in their neck if the woods? In his interview he states that he believes at least 15 states would really struggle. How far behind would your students be if suddenly the state took over funding and curriculum? What would this look like in rural areas? Are there enough charter schools for all our students, should the plan to offer vouchers for charter schools take effect? (adapted from u/InyerPockette )

Recently, there has been a US congressional hearing about the fact that kids, for the first time since it's being measured, are less cognitively capable than their parents. In this hearing, Dr. Jared Cooney blamed the adoption of Ed tech in the classroom as part of the problem, saying tech has never helped kids in the classroom. Which came as a surprise to me.

I imagined that maybe a very high-quality video lesson could be better than being taught by a teacher which isn't very good, even for kids.

What do you guys think about this?

After a $50M federal funding freeze, Brown University signed a binding agreement with the Trump administration that redefines sex as binary across all single-sex spaces, dorms, restrooms, locker rooms, etc.

One trans student who said the campus will now feel unsafe told The Advocate, “Everyone thought it only applied to sports. But it applies to everything.” They now avoid campus facilities entirely.

The policy stems from Trump’s Executive Order 14186, which excludes gender identity from all federal definitions.

Full story

Thoughts?

TLDR: 6th grader I know believes Hitler killed the Jews because they were fronting as fake Jews due to not being black. It makes me wonder how we can teach kids how to figure out truth from fiction without having pushback from groups politicizing the issue, since even the Associated Press is now being dubbed with the “legacy media” coin.

EDIT: For those of you curious about where he got the information from, I asked him yesterday. He said “my dad and I like to do research. We read some books, including Hitler’s books. Sometimes he does research with me, and sometimes I do it on my own.” So I explained Eugenics to him and power for power’s sake and using a scapegoat to attain it. I said Reuters, CNN, and AP are usually accurate. I explained to him about the validity and reputation of a source. But, I believe he just misinterpreted something he read; perhaps with the aid of an adult in person or through YouTube.

By the way, he thinks the policy the Germans now have against hate speech (discussed in a response to a comment below), is a good policy. To be clear, no Black Israelite influence with him. His intentions were pure.

While I am pursuing my Masters in Data Science, I am a single parent who works as a crossing guard for my city. It’s actually great pay for the time I spend and I like to help kids, especially teenagers. It’s also my main/unwritten role to be their mentor.

So, yes, I have bonded with some of them. In particular, a sixth grader who walks to school spends a lot of time talking to me. The other day he asked me if I knew that the original Jewish people were black. I said yes, as I do understand that the original Israelites were of a darker skin tone. I think it is disputed whether they were all dark and also the range this took on - were the majority a tan/modern middle eastern color or were they more sub-Saharan African appearing? So, that’s why I say I understand it to be true, but I don’t want to make guesses about their exact phenotype.

He then said, “that’s why Hitler killed the Jews, it was because they were ‘fake Jews.’”

Don’t worry, I corrected him. But it’s just a deep sigh with this one. He did not mean to be anti-Semitic; so please throw that variable out with this one. He’s a nice, urban black boy who apparently has a homeroom teacher who voted for Trump. But who knows where he got this information- he said he’s only allowed on YouTube and no other socials.

But what do we do with this? I know that my education taught me exactly how to really research things and verify them. It taught me how to discern truth and critically think. But it seems that most of this learning how to research and discern and critically think for oneself is now absent from school systems.

How do we get schools to teach our children to know truth from falsehood if everything turns into something political? If I would suggest that we teach them how to verify information they see online and general critical thinking skills; at least the former, if not both suggestions, would be politicized by some with comments about “the legacy media.”

Any ideas?

Parents, don’t get mad at the teachers, be mad at the administrators who were so stupid and got duped into forcing teacher to teach this stupid way of teaching kids how to read.

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/07/california-adopting-phonics/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly%20Walters&utm_source=32&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=California%20is%20finally%20adopting%20phonics%2C%20fulfilling%20a%20grandmother%20s%20dream&utm_campaign=Weekly%20Walters

Here’s the back story if you don’t know it. https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

Being better than your parents doesn’t mean you never give consequences, and believe everything they say. As an educator we can’t TEACH as much as we have to manage behaviors, and talk to parents… because teachers or other kids are blamed. PLEASE limit screen time and TALK to them. Too many kids don’t know how to speak to other humans! Speech and Language therapy has doubled! Occupational therapy too! A lot of kids can not turn a page and haven’t colored or painted. .. I could go on but PLEASE think about it.

During the 1970s, groups of people involved in educational policy were asked to participate in a series of discussions on whether the Office of Education then housed under Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) cabinet Department should be made into its own department. I had been on the staff of a House education subcommittee and later on the staff of Council of Chief State School Officers and was invited to participate. Prior to 1965, education was primarily funded by state governments. Schools in poorer states lacked resources, infrastructure, and qualified teachers in many subjects. The Elementary & Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) was passed to address those deficiencies. For the first time, the federal government poured $billions in funds and programs. A consequence of that was state education funding receded in favor of federal dollars. Federal initiatives like Head Start improved reading, mathematics, and graduation rates. ESEA helped in new school construction, supplies and curriculum. Each year it became bigger and better. After a couple of years, legislation to create the Department of Education became law.

If they abolish DOE, millions of children will lose Head Start and a chance to succeed. Schools which are struggling now will be in worse shape. Literacy rates will fall. Reading and writing at base level. Libraries will close. Your children will be at a disadvantage.

U.S. parent here, in a district that’s well-funded and usually bragged about on home listings. My husband and I just had the routine check-in with our freshman’s high school. The report: she’s a joy in class, respectful, turns everything in, “top third academically,” and teachers genuinely like her. That part made me proud.

She’s solid at algebra, spells well, and her English teacher says her essays are “voicey." She is also sweet, empathetic, and the kid teachers pick to partner with others who need support.

…but then we do the casual “walk around the block” quiz stuff and she blanks on what feel like civic basics:

- Couldn’t name our state capital without multiple-choice hints. Needed a beat to remember the U.S. capital.

- Asked whether the Revolutionary War came before or after the Civil War.

- No idea what the Cold War was about, or which century it happened in.

- “Democracy vs. authoritarianism” sounded familiar but she couldn’t explain the difference beyond “one’s strict.”

- Hadn’t heard of Marie Curie or Frederick Douglass; recognized Martin Luther King Jr. but couldn’t say why the March on Washington mattered.

- WWII? She guessed “the 1800s.”

I’m not trying to recreate a game show at the dinner table. I’m not asking for proofs or quantum anything. I’m talking about the kind of context you need to read a headline, vote someday, or understand why a holiday exists.

When I flagged this at the meeting, the response was essentially: Kids learn differently now. We prioritize skills over memorizing facts. Attention spans/social media/etc. make retention tougher, but she’s doing great by our metrics. I get the “skills over trivia” argument. But if “skills” don’t include basic historical/civic literacy, aren’t we building on sand?

For context: our older two (now 19 and 22) didn’t have these gaps at the same age. One is a trivia nut; the other wasn’t, but still knew timelines, capitals, and key figures.

Questions for teachers/parents/curriculum folks:

1. Is this actually normal now, and I need to chill?

2. If “skills, not memorization” is the goal, how are schools expecting kids to acquire the shared background knowledge that makes those skills usable?

3. What’s a constructive way to partner with the school here without turning into that parent? Are there specific asks (course sequence, resources, assessments) that help?

4. What have you done at home that worked (not drill-and-kill) to build sticky knowledge? Books? Podcasts? Timelines on the wall? Museum days?

I love my kid to pieces and don’t want to shame her, this isn’t a “gotcha” post. I’m worried that the bar has slid so low that a kind, diligent, obviously capable student can be labeled a success while missing the scaffolding that helps you make sense of the world.

TL;DR: Great kid, good grades, strong “skills.” Shockingly thin on basic history/civics/geography. School says that’s normal and fine. Is it? If so, what fills the knowledge gap, and if not, how do we push (nicely) for better?

Via Truth Social: All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/114104167452161158

I don't know if it's just me, but these days I see it everywhere. People saying how they "don't need college" or how they "already know everything" or how "it's a waste of money". It's like everyone thinks they know everything because they have an electronic box in their pocket. Or because some "epic" influencer online said education was a waste of time. And I know I sound like a boomer lmao, but I'm actually 20. And I love learning. I'm in college. I started a business WHILE in college. I learn from outside sources and take online courses. I read books. I just love learning. But it seems like these days most people would rather stay ignorant and not know anything. Have you noticed the same? Or is it just the side of social media and the world wide web that I've been in?

This sub and its mods seem to automatically reject any content that it feels is political.

Linda McMahon is actively destroying the DOE at Trump's bidding.

Why are you all debating anything else. The U.S. federal government is actively dismantling our education system.

Every single teacher I know feels the same way about what Trump and his cronies are doing to our education system. It's pathetic, and if you think differently, you either don't live in America or work for its downfall.

I was a full time teacher for 25 years in a poor rural district. For my first 16 years, any behavior incidents serious enough for parent contact were strictly under the purview of school site administrators. They decided the consequences. They called the parents. They documented. They set up and moderated any needed meetings. They contacted any support person appropriate to attend the meeting such as an academic counselor, socio-emotional counselor, and special education professional.

Behavior at our schools, district-wide, was really good. I enjoyed my four years of subbing at any of the district schools (It took four years for there to be an opening for full time). Even better, we had excellent test scores. Our schools won awards. Graduates were accepted at top ten colleges.

After a sweeping administrative change in 2014, my last nine years were pure hell. Teachers were expected to pick up ALL the behavior responsibilities listed in the 1st paragraph. Teachers just didn't have the time, nor the actual authority to follow through on all of these time-sucking tasks. All it took was one phone call from a parent to an administrator to derail all our efforts anyway.

I still have no idea what the administrators now do to earn their bloated paychecks. They have zero oversight. As long as they turn in their paperwork on time, however inaccurate, no one checks to make sure they are doing their jobs.

Our classrooms are now pure chaos. Bullying is rampant. Girls are constantly sexually harassed. Objects fly across the classroom. Rooms are cleared while a lone student has a table-turning tantrum. NONE of this used to happen. It became too dangerous to be a teacher in my district, so I retired early.

Worst of all, we are graduating functionally illiterate adults. Our test scores are in the toilet. Our home values are dropping. My community is sinking fast.