President Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon have announced their plans to eliminate the Education Department. At this time, they have laid off about half the department.
The current administration believes that education needs to be reined in because so much of what is taught is “woke.” I’m not sure what “woke” means, as it seems to be nothing more than a derogatory term. But I do know that the Department of Education does not control what is taught in our classrooms.
The federal Department of Education does not set any curriculum! That is primarily the job of the classroom teacher. There are a few state requirements: for example, fourth graders study Nebraska History, juniors study U.S. History.
The Department of Education does not set graduation requirements. Local boards of education determine each district’s requirements, like how many hours of math, science, and English a student must pass to graduate.
The Department of Education does not establish schools or colleges. Those decisions are based on local needs.
The Nebraska Department of Education and professional organizations set standards, broad learning goals. These standards outline the learning objectives and performance expectations for each grade level or subject area, specifying what students should know and be able to do. However, standards are not a curriculum, they are a framework for curriculum development. And they are not enforced beyond the local school level.
When I was a teacher, I used the standards for my various subjects as a basis for my curriculum. They guided my textbook choices. I used them to create learning objectives for my units and daily lesson plans. Those learning objectives became the basis for my assessments. All of that curriculum development was my responsibility, as I was the only teacher of most of the subjects I taught.
In other subject areas or grade levels, teachers and administrators would meet to make curriculum decisions together. That insured that students would have sequenced learning, where a proper foundation was established before harder material was introduced.
What if a teacher isn’t following acceptable standards? It is up to principals and other school administrators to deal with that by offering guidance and, if necessary, discipline.
One of the criticisms I hear from government leaders is that teachers receive tenure, and that tenure keeps bad teachers in our schools. Wow – that is not the way it works!
Teachers in our schools are probationary for three years. During those first three years, they can be dismissed for any reason. Principals evaluate these teachers regularly and give them feedback – what they are doing well, where they need to refocus, and new techniques they might try in their classes. If progress isn’t made, their employment should be terminated.
After three years of successful teaching, a person has more job security. They are under “continuing contract,” which means they will be offered a contract for the coming year unless something drastic happens. There might be a “reduction in force” because class sizes have fallen, and newer teachers are laid off. Or there might be a change in that teacher’s behavior.
Tenured teachers are not protected from being fired. There just has to be more documentation. Principals have to make classroom observations and document problems. They have to suggest changes and revisit to see if those changes have been made. Court cases where teachers have been reinstated have been based on a principal’s failure to document, not on whether the teacher offered good instruction.
Of course, teachers can be terminated at any time for illegal activities.
Will the Department of Education be eliminated? It was established by Congress, so they would have to make the final decision. But that decision should not be based on curriculum.