for the children

  The department of education began operation in 1980. Yes, it was established in 1979 but didn't start doing anything until 1980. Being one of those "boomers" I went to school long before that was even a thing. A department of education had been established in 1869 by Andrew Johnson (D)  but only lasted a year. Jimmy Carter decided to form that department again with the stated goal of improving the education of all American children. Mostly, in the beginning, it was just in charge of distributing funds to ensure equal treatment and access. And then, like most government agencies and departments it grew into something quite different. Today it operates more as a loan agency than anything else.  

 Ronald Reagan wanted to abolish the department of education in 1982. He felt, as I do, that the schools should be controlled locally. It created quite a bit of debate but eventually it was funded, although at a lower rate than Carter. The educational needs of those in the many different regions of the United States varying greatly. Last year the budget was 268.5 billion dollars. It is the smallest cabinet level position. It has about 4100 employees. The majority of that funding went to "financial aid" with 160 billion of that going to financial aid and the remainder divided out among eight other programs, plus fifty eight million going to other, whatever that is. But, it's for the children" that ever present rallying cry of every politician wanting to secure funding or preserve what they already have. The ever present hammer to use in their campaigns, "it's for the children." It's for the children has gotten gambling legalized, marijuana legalized and a host of other projects and programs. We have to raise taxes and fees because it's for the children.

 Has the level of education improved since 1980? Well now that is a very subjective thing to evaluate. It all depends upon the answers to the questions doesn't it? It is a fact that many more people have a college degree today than they did in 1980. It is also true that 41% of those graduates today are "underemployed" that is to say, working at a job that does not require that degree. A great deal of that is simply because of all those "business" degrees. They are a rather generic degree, easily obtained. You got the money, you got the degree. And you will get the money because, it's for the children.

 I question the effectiveness of this department of education.  "four out of the eleven, or less than half of, the officials who have led the department as secretary or acting secretary since its inception in 1980 were full-time K-12 classroom teachers at one point in their careers, according to our research team. Others though had done work in K-12 schools (like serving a big city superintendent) or taught at the university level." The secretary of education, a cabinet position, advisor to the president for education, for the children, but never taught a class. Well, when you are really the loan officer you don't need to know about that I guess. It's for the children.

 I do not think we need a department of education. If we are to loan money to students that's just fine, open a loan department. All the other services funded through that department can be funded by a more appropriate agency. Perhaps agencies with actual knowledge in the area they are supervising, now there's a thought. Not sure who would be in charge of "other" and where that fifty eight million goes, dunkin' donuts, vacations or hotel rooms? Maybe conferences, those agencies like to have conferences. Or it could be, for the children.