Tag: Education

Fighting fascism – RIP Department of Education?

by Michel Welmond, posted in Uncategorized

I am particularly saddened by the decision to close the Department of Education. I am not an expert on the American education system, having spent my career focusing on developing countries (even though my kids did all their schooling in the US). So, I am not particularly knowledgeable regarding the implications of the closure. However, I find it upsetting that the administration has decided to closethe one institution that holds education as a national mandate.

By shutting down the department, the administration claims that it is returning the responsibility of education to the states, thus reducing bureaucracy and increasing “choice” (a many-edged sword, by the way). However, considering that the states have always managed and financed education in the US, it is unclear what responsibilities (and resources!) would consequently be transferred to the states following the dismantling of the department.

The Education Law Center states that, “…the Department’s core functions have been to support states’ and school districts’ efforts to provide educational access and opportunity, equity, and excellence for students and families across the nation and to ensure that states and districts comply with key federal laws including those that protect civil rights” and claims that this objective is directly challenged by the Department’s closure.

It appears that closing the department could lead to the following:

  • The loss of federal funding (such as Title I and Pell Grants) to poorer schools and poorer students, equaling at least $100 billion. Many of these poorer schools are in districts and states that have voted for the current administration. Wealthier states and districts would likely thrive under greater autonomy, while poorer areas could suffer from the absence of federal support and regulations that ensure more equal access to resources. Ironically, but we know this from many cases, it will be the state governments that have been strong advocates of the administration that will probably suffer the most.
  • The loss of educational standards: The Department of Education sets and enforces key national standards and policies related to education, such as the “Every Student Succeeds Act” and federal guidelines on Title IX. With more variation in educational standards, funding formulas, and teacher qualifications from one state or district to another, well-funded and efficient education systems will benefit but those less capable of managing education independently will suffer.
  • The loss of education statistics: The Department of Education conducts research and collects data on educational outcomes, helping to shape evidence-based policies. The absence of this data would hinder the ability to track national trends, evaluate policies, and assess the effectiveness of educational interventions. This would make it more difficult to address issues like achievement gaps or adapt to new challenges in education.
  • Narrowing of Civil Rights and Equal Access to Education: The Department enforces civil rights laws, including those that prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, disability, and other factors. Its absence might lead to weaker protections against discrimination, potentially reversing progress in civil rights and equal access to education. It could also spell the end of special programs for underserved populations, including students with disabilities, English-language learners, and minority students.

These are only a few of the implications of the closure. I haven’t mentioned the impact on higher education, which I understand is also signficant.

Ultimately, such a move would require restructuring of how education is governed and funded in the United States. Moving responsibilities around from the top to the bottom or from one bureaucracy to another (student loans going to the Small Business Administration; nutrition programs to HHS) just creates chaos rather than efficiency.

Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, every nation has a national education strategy and system for a reason. I am not sure, but I think that the US would become one of the only countries in the world that would not have the equivalent of a national education ministry. Other federal countries such as Brazil, Germany, and Pakistan have federal/national education ministries. The point being that having a national education strategy is important in such a politicized field as education. Having none and no political instrument for defining or monitoring one is certainly a recipe for disaster.

BTW, the Department is using Title IX to go after districts and states where trans athletes can still participate in sports activities (including having access to locker rooms). The key mechanism that the government has had to fight discrimination is being used in a completely cynical manner. The administration seems more concerned about this than student academic achievement or racial equality or student disability. Regarding the future of civics education, it appears that the Oklahoma education authorities have included how the 2020 elections were “stolen” as a social studies topic. A fine example of state authority.

What can we do about the frontal assault on the education system? The American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of Professors have sued the administration regarding the closure of the Department. I came up with a few things in my last blog about education that I will copy below. I don’t really have anything new to add at this point. If you do, please let me know.

I remember a conversation I had many years ago with someone who was arguing that the most important educational investment that could be made was to elite schools. That training leaders should be the priority of education systems. I responded at the time, who wants to be the leader of a bunch of uneducated fools? I guess we have the answer to that question now.

From my blog last month on education: “…I think that the future of resistance across the board, not just education, lies at the local level. It will need to consolidate at the state level (irony of course, considering all the blabbering about states rights), but things happen at the school and school board level. Make sure that the right people (maybe you) are elected to school boards and PTAs. Attend local townhall meetings and demand to know how the disabled, other disadvantaged groups, children of undocumented workers and others are going to get a good education; challenge attempts to silence teachers, ban books, allow ICE agents into schools, or post the ten commandments; and just generally be irritatingly vocal about protecting children and education at the local level. Network with those in other school districts and other schools. Here is a list of organizations that are fighting the good fight, from what I understand.

  1. American Federation of Teachers (AFT): aft.org
  2. National Education Association (NEA) : nea.org
  3. Education Law Center (ELC) : edlawcenter.org
  4. Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) – Learning for Justice: learningforjustice.org
  5. Network for Public Education (NPE): networkforpubliceducation.org
  6. Parents Together : parents-together.org

Fighting fascism – Day Eighteen – Fighting racism is fighting fascism

by Michel Welmond, posted in Uncategorized

Considering the din from the administration’s efforts to dismantle the government of our democratic republic and establish a fascist regime, we may have forgotten that this is Black History month. This might seem a jarring non sequitar considering all that is going on, but it is striking that it seems to be barely found in the news. [I just came across a news clip from NBC News saying that several federal agencies have cancelled Black History Month activities] [On the other hand, the President had signed a memo declaring February to indeed be Black History Month and where he deemed Clarence Thomas to be a great Black American hero].

The government’s “Black History Month” website is still in place. I guess that this particular bit of Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness was too much for the administration to handle right now. In some ways, I’m a bit surprised because rewriting history is a tried and true fascist tactic. And there is nothing more “woke” in the original sense of the term than fighting racism.

But, you would think that those combatting fascism would make more of the fact that this is the month where we are particularly vocal and reflective of one of the most important aspects of the historical development of democracy in the US: the fight against racism.

The NAACP has engaged to fight Project 2025, putting forward its own “Our 2025”. They have an “ACTION” button on their site. However, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Black Lives Matter, and the National Urban League have not updated their sites, and thus not mentioned the current events or specified actions in response to the administration’s antics. I’m not sure what they are waiting for. If you are aware of organizations whose mandate is to fight racism and are calling for action during these trying times, please let me know so I can reference them.

On USAID, a friend had a great idea, For anyone who lives in a country where USAID and USAID implementing partners have had to curtail activities, they can take video of the services that are being shut down, health clinics that are empty, etc.  If they can do this soonest, they can forward the videos to me and I will forward to my friend who can in turn make them available to persons on the Hill. 

A final point: where are the unions in all this?  The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is very active, which is reassuring. They have quite a bit going on to protest the multi-prong onslaught on civic servants. However, the AFL-CIO, for example, seems to be ignoring what is happening altogether.

A final final point: I suggest that you look at 5calls.org when you have a chance, which has a host of new initiatives:  State AGs: Prosecute DOGE for Illegal Data Breach ; Oppose The SAVE Act (H.R. 22 / S.128) – A Voter Suppression Bill; Condemn a US Takeover of Gaza; Protect Medicaid Funding; Fight Against Elon Musk’s Government Takeover ; and Protect the Department of Education.

Fair game

by Michel Welmond, posted in Africa Education, International Development

Sometimes I visit schools but it’s got a bit boring over the years because, despite my urging, my hosts usually want me to see several in a day, often no more than 1/2 hour per school.  During most visits, we walk around the site and visit a few classrooms.  Usually the school and the selected classrooms are dilapidated — government officials want to impressed upon me that the school (or by extension, the entire education system) needs more funds.  Or the school principal shows off a new laboratory or classroom or computer.  These rare displays are more heartening, but even in these cases, additional resources are requested in the name of “scaling up”.  It is fair game.  I represent an international organization after all and the needs are real. It’s just that these patent visits do blur together after a while.

School visits are more interesting when I can spend some time talking with teachers and students.  Normally, I only get to walk into a classroom for a few minutes.  The children stand up and say hello in unison.  “Bonjour monsieur”.  Sometimes they will chant a slogan or sing a patriotic song.  Always an uncomfortable moment with the adults holding forced smiles.  The teacher is usually nervous, sometimes irritated.  I’ll usually ask the teacher how many girls are in the class, what subject is presently being taught, how many kids have repeated their grade (sometimes I will take a poll).  I’ll stroll down the aisle (if there is one) and look at notebooks and textbooks. Sometimes (if time permits) I’ll ask one or two kids to recite a couple of lines from their books.  Then I ask them to explain what they’ve read.  They are usually scared witless.  I don’t think that I leave a very good impression of international organizations, Americans, white guys, or whatever.   What really ruins the mood is that I am accompanied by several government officials, who crowd the doorway and are nervous as hell that some one will say something embarrassing.  Very stressful for them, which is why they continuously want to move on to the next school.

A real school visit should last half a day because no one can keep up a facade for that long.  The conversation relaxes and I’m eventually ignored — after all, everyone has real jobs to do.  Government officials usually don’t have the patience for this kind of visit and after a while take off to hang out with local dignitaries over tea or lunch.  So I am thankfully left on my own.  I used to do more of this earlier in my career and when I was a doctoral student.  Time is more precious now, although spent hurriedly and ultimately badly.  I’ll wander around and chat with teachers, the principal, and others (the guard, the women who prepare lunch for the kids).

I’ll usually sit in the back a class for a while.  That’s probably where I learn the most.  The back rows are usually peopled with the ignored children: bad boys several years older than the others or listless kids with heads on folded arms.  Being with the older kids means I can hide behind the big ones and the teacher takes less notice of my presence.  I look over the sea of children and note that the prim and proper ones sitting in the front rows who are called on regularly whether their hands are up or not.  The middle rows are the most interesting.  Here are the boys who lunge across their desks with hands stretched towards the teacher,  “Hey, ooh, ooh” — the most hyper jump out of their seats.   The girls also raise their hands but less theatrically.  The best teachers can handle the middle masses like an orchestra.  Most struggle in a state of exasperation, spinning between the blackboard and then scanning the rows for the one who said something rude while their backs were turned. Some are tired and irritable and spend a lot of time yelling inconsequentially.  Most are trying really really hard to make a difference.

I say my goodbyes and there is a sense of camaraderie.  But even at the end of these visits there are expectations.  “So will you be able to fix the latrines? Give us books? Build a wall or fence to keep the thieves out?  Computers? Teacher quarters?” I respond with banal and vague promises that we will be helping the entire school system and that these benefits will cascade downwards to their schools.  A glint of disappointment, or “at least we tried”.  It’s fair game.

Next time I’ll describe a visit I made to a school in Cameroon about a year ago.