There Must Be a Reason for the Demise of the U.S. Education System, But What Could It Possibly Be?
Given the unassailable truth expressed here, it’s hard to understand why the Trump administration is taking a wrecking ball to public education. It’s almost as if the president and his political party stand to benefit from a population of ignorant people who can’t think for themselves. Maybe there actually is some sort of value to a voter base that can’t understand that they do not benefit from tax cuts to billionaires.
Craig,
I would have thought “post Mueller’, your obsession with all things anti-Trump would calm down, but if anything you have become more desperate and irrational.
I realize you can’t bear to admit all the hype, excited rhetoric confident predictions and collusion/conspiracy theories have now collapsed.
The frantic craziness by a large part of the mainstream media, now lies exposed as a two-year orgy of lies, deceit and fantasy.
I know you are desperate to detract from being forced to concede you were just plain wrong for more than two years. (breaking up with the exciting “delusion of collusion” must be very hard to do).
But, Robespierre ? Really ? The chief architect of the “Reign of Terror ” ? Is that your new role model? A monster who slaughtered men women and children in an orgy of violence, until he himself feel victim to Madame Guillotine ?
Is that who you wish to emulate? Has your frustration and hatred become so irrational that you have now become an apologist and secret admirer of such monsters ?
O, say it isn’t so!?
Robespierre did have an admirer in Lenin (another bloodthirsty tyrant) who described Robespierre as a “Bolshevik before his time” and ordered two statues of Robespierre be erected.
Ironically, both statues were poorly constructed and crumbled away. Neither were replaced by Lenin’s successor, Stalin.
Even more ironic is the modern successor to one of Robespierre’s greatest critics, Ambassador Jean Fauchet (later Baron) is a distant related to the current French Ambassador to the US, Gérard Araud .
Gérard Araud is a very accomplished, elegant and urbane professional diplomat who has held many important post on behalf of his nation. Ambassador Araud has made no secret of his criticism of President Trump’s approach to diplomacy.
In a rare, candid interview prior to retirement, Gerard Araud,expressed a very frank and candid opinion of President Trump and the changes the President has made to the world order.
The Ambassador’s unfalttering description of President Trump as “brash” “brutal” and “primitive”, is undoubtedly accurate, yet Ambassador Araud concedes the President is usually right in his assessments and policies.
Ambassador Araud found once he got to know the President, he found Trump very perceptive and direct. He also found the President capable of being very charming, self-effacing and highly intelligent in private.
The President, according to Araud, has a talent for focusing on the underlying issue in any negotiation, and like most businessmen has little time for niceties or saving anyone’s feelings.
Arnaud concluded President Trump was shrewd, astute and openly interested in gaining the best deal for America, and Americans.
Although appalled at first by the President’s crude, candid approach, he eventually appreciated the President’s pragmatism and lack of interest in being the “leader of the Free world”..
His warning, “Underestimate President Trump at your peril”, is perhaps one the greatest compliments paid to this President.
Tax cuts have worked in the US to stimulate the economy and produce a competitive economic environment for US investment. The cuts have reduced US unemployment and started to improve real income levels.
High levels of taxation only reduces US economic growth, deterring investment and employment. High taxation only makes everyone poor!
In the US,providing public school education is largely a State responsibility. The Federal government provides about 9% of the budget.
Education has been a contentious issues in the US for many decades. The Trump administration has been reducing the number of ideologically driven programs, costly duplication’s and wastage.
Blaming the federal government is pointless, the real problems are at a State level. (but you already know that, don’t you?)
Education in the US (especially higher education) has always relied heavily on private endowments by philanthropic trust funds.
In recent years, “billionaires” have no proved so generous and the old endowments funds have been depleted by bad investments. Universities and some schools have started to invest in poorly performing “ethical” investments, rather than ensuring greater funding.
Another problem has been “affirmative action” programs. Although these programs are well-intentioned, in practice the result are often negative.
Acceptance rates at private universities can be seen in the following example.
Overall admit rate Black admit rate %difference
Harvard 10.0% 16.7% 67.0%
MIT 15.9% 31.6% 98.7%
Brown 16.6% 26.3% 58.4%
Penn 21.2% 30.1% 42.0%
Georgetown 22.0% 30.7% 39.5%
Added to the problem is affirmative action graduates are often allowed to graduate with poorer marks than would normally be accepted.
President Obama commissioned Economics Professor Alan Zagier to produce a report into the myriad of problems besetting US education.
The Zagier Report was rejected by the Obama administration, not for inaccuracy, but because it was politically unacceptable.
Among many issues, Zagier blamed what he described as “credential inflation”.
Credential inflation allowed admission of large numbered of under-qualified students into college.
This produces more college graduates than the number of new jobs requiring college degrees.He also identified the problem of graduates with the wrong sort of degrees.
The implications become obvious when receiving the gigantic dilemma pf Student loan debt. The debt phenomenon is truly a monumental social problem and economic problem that occurred long before the Trump administration took office.
The US education system is experiencing a “blow out” in budgets for nearly all State government of any political persuasion.
The factors are many and varied, the strain of educating illegal migrants, is ust one example. These children often struggle with language and common knowledge problems, while being also forced to endure social and health problems.
Residents in the “US Rust belt” and rural areas are experiencing increasing education costs, while high levels of unemployment, family dysfunction, lack of role models(especially male) etc. reduce the funding available.
Most school districts are already facing declining tax bases. The problem has been exacerbated with the cost of educating gifted children. The growth of “white flight” among wealthier parents to better school districts, and the rapid increase in parents sending their children to private schools, further reduces the quality of public schools.
The problem of US education has been developing for more than 50 years. Blaming the federal government alone, despite whatever administration, isn’t helpful or even honest.