Donald Trump appears poised to make good on his campaign pledge to dismantle the Department of Education. The president-elect’s frustration with the wayward direction of federal education is understandable — and shared by millions of Americans. But shuttering the Department of Education won’t change that direction. So let’s make a promise to America’s kids first.
The new administration ought to create a “Kids First” education plan that empowers students, parents, and teachers — rather than administrators and bureaucrats — and prioritizes real-world academic achievement over the failed pedagogies of the past.
When Jimmy Carter established the Education Department in 1979, U.S. schoolchildren were ranked first in the world for academic proficiency. Since then, we’ve fallen to 24th place.
