From posting on US Department of Education Site, this statement from Betsy DeVos that should raise concern. Remember that there exists amongst conservatives a profound hatred for curriculum aimed at the the development of critical thinking abilities and a love for regimented instruction that asks students to repeat what they have been told to be true, to do what the teacher and text tell them to do, their teachers told what to teach and how to teach it by those in authority without questioning the value or the goodness of what they are being told to teach. No Child Left Behind mandated that empirical proof of efficacy be rendered before instructional programs would be funded by the DOE. Many programs aimed at thinking rather than mandated response to mandated content did not qualify as science-based and were defunded as were school districts that continued to offer professional development programs that taught teachers how to teach to higher level thinking ability. That the budget DeVos support” ensures funding for programs with proven results for students while taking a hard look at programs that sound nice but simply haven’t yielded the desired outcomes” is rhetoric taken directly from the NCLB mandates, NCLB understood by most sensible educators to have been a disaster, its “basic skills” orientation seen to be a profound dumbing down of the curriculum. NCLB was, after being in effect for over 10 years, was shown to be a sham supported by empirical research that was manufactured by those who for many years had pushed for direct instruction based school programs, much of the accepted under NCLB research done by those who had created NCLB and its research guidelines and restrictions and who not only created NCLB assessments but profited heavily from the sales of the programs they created, programs that were keyed to the very assessments being used to determine student achievement on NCLB standards.
This is really sick shit, really because the goals of people like the creators of NCLB and DeVos want curriculum that is about control and obedience and not about the growth of individuals’ thinking abilities, not about the development of critical thinking. Instead, it is about doing what one is told to do without questioning what is being said, what is being taught and the consequences of education that works to these goals is a citizenry that is primed to follow orders, to do what it is told to do by those in authority without ever considering the validity of the authority conferred upon those in authority.
Careful Americans for what is embedded in the cost cutting that DeVos supports is a desire to make people susceptible to the kind of irrational authority that is so prominent in Trumpworld, that was prominent during the last Bush administration, that has allowed people to believe that what is hurting them is good for them when it is not, the pain they feel felt because some are taking what is rightfully theirs and with their approval.
From posting on US Department of Education Site, this statement from Betsy DeVos that should raise concern
“This budget makes a historic investment in America’s students. President Trump is committed to ensuring the Department focuses on returning decision-making power back to the States, where it belongs, and on giving parents more control over their child’s education. It also ensures stable funding for critical programs, including Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
“The budget also reflects a series of tough choices we have had to make when assessing the best use of taxpayer money. It ensures funding for programs with proven results for students while taking a hard look at programs that sound nice but simply haven’t yielded the desired outcomes.
“By refocusing the Department’s funding priorities on supporting students, we can usher in a new era of creativity and ingenuity and lay a new foundation for American greatness.”
