authored by Adam Ellwanger via RealClearEducation,
Imagine these words as the first speech delivered by the incoming Secretary of Education.
Today, I am here to deliver bitter medicine: American education has failed. Teachers and parents, administrators and government—and even students—all bear some responsibility.
The most common explanations for our educational crisis are inadequate funding, overuse of standardized testing, and systemic prejudice. They are false.
Our schools do not lack funding—no country spends more on public education.
The poor results of standardized tests indicate our failures; they are not the cause.
Our schools are not prejudiced—the most aggressive education reforms since 1955 directly aimed to eliminate systemic discrimination. For decades, we ignored signs of trouble, but the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the depth of our challenges. The problems are so pervasive and complex that there is no quick fix. We cannot merely repair; we must rebuild.
Since 2020, American families have struggled mightily. The declining quality of education prompted affluent families to opt out of public schools, leaving middle- and working-class families with diminished resources and influence to push for reform. States' refusal to enact school choice reforms widened the wealth gap and limited generational mobility.
Poster Comment:
Randi Weingarten, Teachers' Union President, is the most dangerous person in America according to Mie Pompeo. I despise him but a broken clock is right twice a day.