AFGE Statement on Nomination on DeVos for Education Secretary

American Federation of Government Employees ^ | February 07, 2017 | American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr.

[vette6387]

“Unfortunately, it’s clear that Betsy DeVos, the nominee for Secretary of the Department of Education, does not value, nor is she motivated to carry out the agency’s mission.”

I guess it depends on your definition of the word MISSION!

[SuziQ]

The teachers unions are about what’s best for the teachers, and don’t give a rat’s a$$ about the students. So I don’t give one for Mr. AFT’s opinion either.

[Hostage]

The Department of Education was established Under President Carter. President Reagan wanted to eliminate it completely but he had a democrat Congress. Today the DOED has an annual budget of $73 Billion per year.

Education has historically been the responsibility of state and local governments. Education is not included in the US Constitution as it was always controlled locally.

The National Education Association (NEA) supported the creation of the DOED and derives an enormous amount of dues from its more than 5,000 employees as well as from other government unions.

With approximately a $75 Billon per year annual budget and about 5,000 employees, the annual budget appropriation is about $15 million per federal employee. A large part of the DOED budget is granted to state offices of education and their employees, then to local jurisdictions that meet ‘state standards’. It doesn’t take much to see that the entire activity is a giant vote buying scheme for democrats.

Since the creation of the DOED, America’s public school students have fallen into 3rd world status in terms of test scores. The response from unions, government employees, and those feeding at the $73 Billion trough has been “bring more money”.

In homeschool situations, a child may take online courses with teacher interaction by video, as well as enrichment courses, sports and social activities available through community centers and social media homeschool groups. The difference is stark. The test scores are higher and the attention span significantly increased. There is less distraction, there is more focus, more learning, a development of self-reliance and greater confidence.

Test scores of homeschoolers are off the charts. Homeschooling does not mean the isolation of a child at home, far from it. Homeschooling is rich and rewarding because of internet connectivity. In some regions, there are so many homeschooling activities that it is impossible to keep up with all of them. On average, more than 20 social media homeschool network messages may be received each day by homeschool parents and learning coaches. The choices are rich and interesting. The parents are committed to their child’s learning.

An example of a homeschool center at a community center: https://familylearningprogram.org

Brick and mortar public schools in some areas are now experimenting with opening and granting access to classrooms and facilities for homeschoolers in a manner of a college campus. Core curriculums are adhered to via a variety of options such as online curriculums, computer tracking, testing, and monitoring.

The point is that the old brick and mortar model of education is becoming a relic of the past and the old ways of lining the pockets of unions and federal bureaucrats are increasingly viewed negatively.

The new ways may have certified teachers that interact with students online, learning coaches from homeschool networks that cover for parents who must leave a home for work, and computerized intelligent systems that lead the learning, grade the work and keep score of progress. In a typical day’s time, a child may do 7 readings, 3 quick checks, 2 quizzes, a discussion, a portfolio assignment and an hour of online interaction with a teacher and a class. Each week usually sees 3 tests and a unit review.

Cursive writing is taught via workbooks, at community center classrooms or public school facilities open to homeschool networks, science lessons taught by kits at home or in outdoor settings such nature walks or stewardship meetups offered by homeschooling networks.

Stewardship for homeschoolers (volunteer only):
http://www.heidirosewatters.com/stewardship

Homeschooling parents have great and rich choices on how to navigate options for their children, and importantly they can be right at the side of their child’s social and educational development. There are no political correctness issues, no negative behaviors accumulated, no imbalances between rules and learning, no indoctrinations, no heavy distractions.

Homeschool kids learn with their peers and not necessarily solely with their age group. The result is ‘cross-fertilization’ and leadership experience. Rather than see a younger age group or an older one in the halls between classes or recess breaks, kids are participating with peers and picking up knowledge and social skills that are broader than age-specific class groups.

Education in the United States is set for an incredible era because of internet connectivity and options for parents and communities to join in the education of children and groups. Homeschooling is the leader into the future and not a sideshow.

The AFT, the NEA, the AFGE, and all the unions that seek to monopolize education are not only not needed, they are de facto detractors to the education of children and youth, serving only themselves by holding their hands out with demands for more money.

Secretary DeVos can do a great service for American families by simply identifying the single most important contribution that federal government can do which is to promote high-speed affordable internet for families with homeschooled children, then get out of the way as state and local institutions work with families to self-organize, self-govern, and execute plans they find work for their children. If there is to be revenue for the DOED, it should be transferred to the Department of Transportation which should be relabeled as the Department of Connectivity (DOCT) to include not only roads but communication infrastructure for education.

Finally, Secretary DeVos should close DOED down and put education advocacy inside DOCT for the sole purpose of ensuring all communities have options for connecting to high-speed local educational online networks. State and local institutions, together with parents and homeschool networks, should be solely responsible for content with weight given to parent and learning coach networks. A department such as a Department of Commerce and Labor can collect statistics on educational test scores and publish them online for communities to measure where they stand among the local networks. Curriculums are to be designed locally without any federal involvement other than a study and test of the US Constitution. All history and civics-related courses are at the choice of local communities. Whether growing blueberries or assembling a 3D printing project, the balance of curriculum design is for state and local communities to decide. The federal government is to have no other involvement other than required study and testing of the US Constitution.