Republican Assault on Public Education (2 Viewers)

[MT15]

This probably needs its own thread. It ties in with a lot of different R culture wars: Attacks on universities, attacks on CRT and “woke”. Classifying teachers and librarians as “groomers”. Pushing vouchers to send tax money to private, often religious, schools. Betsy DeVos was an advocate for all these policies that will weaken public education, and there are several billionaires who also want to dismantle public education. Public education may have its faults, but it is responsible for an amazing amount of upward mobility. Kids from poor areas can still get a college prep education in a public school.

Vouchers (sometimes disguised as “school choice”) are a particular peeve of mine. Public money is diverted from poor schools to wealthy private schools, which aren’t required to offer accommodations for special needs or challenged students. Families with special needs kids are left out. Rural areas often suffer disproportionately because there are no private schools to attend, but their public schools still see the reduction in funding. Often the families who take advantage of the voucher money are upper class and the private schools simply raise tuition knowing the families are getting taxpayer money now.

Greg Abbot is being particularly vile in this area. No surprise. Voters will have to make a statement about public education. If we want to halt the growing divide in this country between the “haves” and “have-nots”, we need to pay attention to public education.

 

[MT15]

I also noticed that he never mentioned civil rights enforcement which is a very important function of the Dept of Education. Historically important.

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Trump administration is considering attempting to stop some colleges from having any foreign students if it believes that too many of them are supportive of Hamas, according to Axios.

The endeavor is yet another attempt by the White House to take aggressive action on immigration and campus antisemitism, in what some view as an effort that suppresses free speech in colleges……

“Every institution that has foreign students...will go through some sort of review,” an official told Axios. “You can have so many bad apples in one place that it leads to decertification of the school...I don't think we're at that point yet. But it is not an empty threat.”……..

Trump team considering blocking ‘pro-Hamas’ colleges from having any foreign students

‘Every institution that has foreign students ... will go through some sort of review,’ administration official says

www.independent.co.uk

 

[zztop]

Oh the irony "not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history."
Trump executive order seeks to 'restore' American history through Smithsonian overhaul
Titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," the order states, "Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive." It goes on to say: "Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn -- not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history."

 

[Dragon]

Oh the irony "not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history."
Trump executive order seeks to 'restore' American history through Smithsonian overhaul
Titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," the order states, "Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive." It goes on to say: "Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn -- not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history that makes us feel bad because we have to face the facts that our ancestors committed crimes against people we see as inferior

 

[Optimus Prime]

CNN) — Yale philosophy professor Jason Stanley, who is leaving the prestigious Ivy League university for Toronto as the Trump administration’s battle with higher education in the US continues, said mid-phone interview with CNN while walking the campus, “Hold on one second.”

A group of worried students approached the scholar as he walked the grounds of Yale Thursday in New Haven, Connecticut. Was he really leaving?, they wanted to know.

“I love Yale,” Stanley, who has taught at the university for 12 years, reassured the students. “But Marci, Tim and I, we’re gonna go defend democracy somewhere else,” he said, referring to the Yale colleagues joining him in Canada.

Stanley set off a firestorm at the highest levels of American academia last Friday, when he decided to leave Yale and the United States largely, he said, because of the direction of the country under the Trump administration.

“Suddenly if you’re not a citizen of the United States, you can’t comment on politics if you’re a professor?” said Stanley, who has written books such as “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them” and “Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future.”

“That’s crazy,” said Stanley, whose academic background is in social and political philosophy and epistemology. “That’s not a free society.”……..

3 Ivy League scholars plan to leave US and teach in Canada amid Trump administration’s higher education battle | CNN

Yale philosophy professor Jason Stanley plans to leave the prestigious Ivy League university for Toronto with colleagues Marci Shore and Timothy Snyder as the Trump administration’s battle with higher education in the US continues.

www.cnn.com