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I’m tired, I have a headache and I’m really glad the debates are over. Like most Americans, I have post-presidential debate hangover syndrome. Watching the debates and then arguing about them with friends (and a few strangers) into the wee hours of the morning tends to do that to you. Now that I’ve had a little time to reflect, what I find striking about the debates is that we heard the candidates’ views on a range of issues, but we didn’t hear much regarding their thoughts on education, especially from Donald Trump. Given the well-documented issues our schools are facing across the country, I found this disturbing. And as an education technology entrepreneur and a father of three, I feel an obligation to speak out. I spend every day working with and hearing from educators. Here are some key statements Trump has made regarding education, and how I feel about each point.
Trump wants to drastically cut or eliminate the Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education funds more than 250 programs that support education research, arts in public school, funding for low-income students, early education and so much more. Eliminating the Department of Education would not only cut funding for low-income students and students with special needs, but it would also mean that thousands of low-income college students would lose their Pell Grants and a shot at the American dream. Trump also believes that the government should not be in the business of providing student loans and that it should be left to private banks. While I think that private banks should certainly be among the options available to students, they often don’t serve all students due to their stringent credit criteria. The Department of Education, on the other hand, ensures that ALL students have the opportunity to invest in themselves and earn a college degree, regardless of race, class, or income.
Trump is against the Common Core. On this, we couldn’t disagree more. Trump’s claim that with the Common Core the “bureaucrats in Washington [are] telling you how to manage your children’s education,” is false. The Common Core is not mandated by the federal government. States decide whether or not to adopt the Common Core. In fact, the federal government is prohibited from “incentivizing, coercing, mandating, or promoting Common Core or any other set of standards” by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which became law in December 2015. Moreover, the Common Core was devised by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, not the federal government. The purpose of the Common Core, which provides math and reading standards, is to a) give educators concrete guidance on what skills students should have, so that they are fully prepared to attend college or become a productive member of the workforce and b) provide a necessary layer of accountability so that parents can determine if their kids are getting the education they deserve. To me, that is simply common sense.
Trump wants to subsidize private schools. Trump believes that there should be greater school choice. For once, school choice is something that Trump and I can agree on. All parents, not just wealthy parents, should have the right to choose where their child attends school. And if the schools available to a parent are subpar, that parent should have the right to move their child to a better school. Trump refers to our existing public school system as a “government-run education monopoly.” He believes that competition will solve everything. So his solution is to take federal dollars and give them to families as vouchers, allowing them to find a school of their choice, public or private. Competition is good and is sorely needed in education. However, there are better ways to support school choice than with vouchers. For example, public charter schools are an excellent way to support school choice, and this is where I think we should concentrate our efforts.
Trump wants to arm teachers. Trump has said that armed teachers would improve safety. He later clarified his position and said, “I don't want to have guns in classrooms, although in some cases teachers should have guns in classrooms, frankly." While I support the Second Amendment, I think there are places that should be gun-free, and schools are one of those places. Arming teachers is opening the door to more accidents and more violence. And teachers wielding handguns will not stop people armed with the kind of assault weapons that have been used in the most devastating school massacres.
Taken together, these policies will fail America’s students. I support education reform but these changes will not make public schools ‘great again’ for all students. We need to expand computer science programs and make sure students have the skills to get good jobs even if they don’t go to college. We also need to improve teacher development and training and we definitely need to dismantle the school to prison pipeline. And this is how we make America’s schools ‘great again’.
