The Trump Presidency 2.0

I do not at all mind the federal oversight of federally-related/mandated programs and funding; however, there are other departments and agencies that can do that just as easily, much less expensively, and more efficiently. Axe the DoE.

I honestly cannot tell if the decrease (worsening?) of student outcomes was because of the created of the DoE or just a correlation, but I do think that part of the reason of the decrease/worsening of outcomes was because of the move of a lot of state-level oversight to the DoE and the increased federal extortion of the states to receive federal money.

I think if we look back to various partisan initiatives led by certain administrations has created massive mission creep for what DofEd was built for.

It probably goes back before Bush but you have
  • No Child Left Behind (Bush II)
  • Common Core (Obama)
Common Core 100% led to standards at state level degrading. This was a national effort on standards that also went lower. Now, some of the Common Core framework was good per some of the educators I spoke with when I went back to talk to some of my teachers while I was in college. BUT, like any Federal Mandate the implementation is god awful.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion...well the foundation of that ended up being Critical Race Theory as we came to understand. Promoting Diversity? Makes sense. Promoting Inclusion? Makes sense. Equity? Uh...Now, I will say something. Maybe it's because Mexicans are considered white. And I appear white.

But my ethnic background has gotten me almost nowhere in life. Yet I've suffered racism from brown and white because I'm a mixed kid. Based on my current job, my loins have also gotten me nowhere. The only thing that has gotten me anywhere is my work ethic.
 
It's been a couple days since the JFK files were released. I haven't been keeping up on things very closely, so I just have one question: Who did it?
This is what Grok summarized. From other things I've seen, it alludes to a group within the CIA, connected to organized crime.
As of March 18, 2025, the U.S. National Archives released a subset of the JFK assassination files under the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Act of 1992. Based on the 10 documents available, here’s a summary of the key information and themes:CIA and FBI Operations (1950s–1960s): Several documents detail CIA activities during the early Cold War, including efforts to penetrate the USSR 124-90092-10016 and operations in Europe, such as Berlin and Vienna. William K. Harvey, a prominent CIA figure, is mentioned as Station Chief in Berlin (1952–1959) and Rome (1963–1966), with interviews focusing on his role and knowledge of assassination plots 157-10005-10141. These files highlight extensive CIA travel and technical operations, like the Technical Aids Detachment (TAD) in Frankfurt (1950–1953).Lee Harvey Oswald and Related Investigations: One document references an administrative folder on Lee Harvey Oswald, part of the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) materials, dated 1966 124-10369-10022. It includes technical details like a closed-circuit television system installed for the case, but no direct evidence challenging the narrative that Oswald acted alone is present in these specific files.International Figures and Potential Threats: The files mention foreign individuals and potential security concerns, such as Franc Pecar, a Yugoslav trade official reportedly wanting to defect to the U.S. in 1963, with the CIA considering persuading him to return to Yugoslavia 124-90110-10071. Another document references a threatening letter from Joachim Joesten in 1966, alleging a plot against the Johnson administration and mentioning the "Gehlen gang," which was shared with the White House and Secret Service 124-10369-10022.Assassination Plots and Denials: William K. Harvey explicitly denied knowledge of CIA assassination plots against Patrice Lumumba or other foreign leaders (except Fidel Castro) in a 1975 interview 157-10005-10141. This suggests a focus on investigating potential CIA involvement in assassinations, though no direct link to JFK’s assassination is evident in these documents.Redactions and Restrictions: Many documents remain heavily redacted, classified as "Secret," and require CIA approval for full release, indicating ongoing sensitivity around the information e.g., 124-90092-10016, 124-10369-10022. This limits the public’s understanding of the full context.Surprising Details: One intriguing piece is the 1966 letter from Joachim Joesten, which hints at broader conspiracies involving the Johnson administration and a "Gehlen gang" (likely referring to Reinhard Gehlen’s intelligence network, which worked with the CIA) 124-10369-10022. This raises questions about potential international intrigue, though it’s unclear if it relates directly to JFK’s assassination. Additionally, the focus on CIA operations in Europe and Harvey’s denials about assassination plots suggest a deeper examination of the agency’s activities during this period.These files, while providing insight into CIA and FBI activities, do not directly challenge the current belief that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in JFK’s assassination. However, the redactions and references to international figures and potential plots invite speculation about what remains undisclosed in the full 80,000-file collection.
 
Standardized testing has been around for a while, but No Child Left Behind really turned it into what we see now.

What we saw in FL: When I was in school, graduating in 91, we had a standardized test, but it was a "progress report" type of thing. You're in grade x and you're reading at a grade y level. Grades for teachers and students alike were based on...your actual schoolwork.

Maybe it was NCLB, but now FL teachers and schools are graded on Florida's universal test, the FCAT. Teachers openly teach to the FCAT and once that test is over, students start summer break earlier, only in class. Some classes and schools conduct their field trips, watch movies, play games...classwork is secondary to everything else. The FCAT rules supreme.

In IT we have brain dumps where you memorize the test, get a certificate without learning, and move on...but you have the cert that says you know something. That's the FCAT and its ilk: paper certs.

That to go. I don't know crap else about the state of education in America, but those have to go. I know 10 or so teachers from 3rd to 12th grade and several retired principals, and not a single one approves of comprehensive tests like the FCAT.

Those tests need to be a cherry blossom in Japan the first two weeks of August 1945.
 
In IT we have brain dumps where you memorize the test, get a certificate without learning, and move on...but you have the cert that says you know something. That's the FCAT and its ilk: paper certs.

This is pretty much what NCLB established.

If states wanted federal funds for schools, they had to develop standardized tests.
States/school districts realized "teaching to the test" creates better (on paper) outcomes, so everything revolves around that.
 
What we saw in FL: When I was in school, graduating in 91, we had a standardized test, but it was a "progress report" type of thing. You're in grade x and you're reading at a grade y level. Grades for teachers and students alike were based on...your actual schoolwork.

Maybe it was NCLB, but now FL teachers and schools are graded on Florida's universal test, the FCAT. Teachers openly teach to the FCAT and once that test is over, students start summer break earlier, only in class. Some classes and schools conduct their field trips, watch movies, play games...classwork is secondary to everything else. The FCAT rules supreme.

In IT we have brain dumps where you memorize the test, get a certificate without learning, and move on...but you have the cert that says you know something. That's the FCAT and its ilk: paper certs.

That to go. I don't know crap else about the state of education in America, but those have to go. I know 10 or so teachers from 3rd to 12th grade and several retired principals, and not a single one approves of comprehensive tests like the FCAT.

Those tests need to be a cherry blossom in Japan the first two weeks of August 1945.

So in California, we had STAR testing. If you were in AP classes in high school you didn't do STAR testing because that was considered beyond grade 12. So like I still did plenty of testing in high school, just didn't do a single STAR test after my sophomore year. Now, STAR testing was used to determine a lot of things. My Star testing got me into Advanced Math for the 6th grade...everything in STAR tests changed, but were tied to the global curriculum set for that specific grade. Let's say you were in the 9th grade and weren't even in Algebra...well you're either taking the geometry test or the test for a 7th grader...

Now, I think standards have actually dropped since I graduated high school considering the amount of Soldiers I had who were straight clownshoes. And then the amount of kids we have in our league who can't even sign their own contract let alone tie their shoes.
 

lulz at that IG post

"Average salary" doesn't consider the cost of living and a host of other things. That's a horribly bad metric to use and I'm not shitting on you. That post or take is bad. Teachers where I grew up and a radius of counties had summer jobs to pay the bills.

If anyone wants education reform, education overhaul, support year round schools with teacher salaries to match. Start there. Want to go all in? End daylight savings time.
-----
Laugh at me all you want, but year round schools with no daylight savings time and this problem solves itself at the local level (the local level is the solution here) within 5 years.
 
lulz at that IG post

"Average salary" doesn't consider the cost of living and a host of other things. That's a horribly bad metric to use and I'm not shitting on you. That post or take is bad. Teachers where I grew up and a radius of counties had summer jobs to pay the bills.

If anyone wants education reform, education overhaul, support year round schools with teacher salaries to match. Start there. Want to go all in? End daylight savings time.
-----
Laugh at me all you want, but year round schools with no daylight savings time and this problem solves itself at the local level (the local level is the solution here) within 5 years.
Make Teachers take a competency test in the subject they teach and I am in.
Problem with tossing money at teachers is crappy teachers with seniority stay and continue to put out substandard work.
 
I can't really tell the tone of this. The purpose of the Federal Department of Education is a governance office. They enforce the law. I suppose we can give what they do to the FBI and stuff.

The reason children can't read in Illinois is a Springfield problem. The reason children graduate without being able to do simple math in Florida is a Tallahassee problem.

Associations do the credentialling for schools. Then state Departments of Education are the ones who administer the laws but actually do things. Fuck up really bad, the state takes over your school, fuck up worse? Maybe they take over your district. And I can tell you most of the time that cycle is hard to break out of. So whose at the local level in Illinois for those 30 odd schools? The School board, probably Democrats who want to push things like Diversity, Equity, and inclusion.

There are plenty of other things to do, less welfare entitlements for people who drive escalades and buy beer with their EBT.

I’ll preface this with I don’t care about the department of education. However, I think education is a national security issue. I don’t think the states have a vested interest in National security and thus do not have a vested interest in education. The federal government should imo require a baseline competency, so that states cannot just write off education. I don’t know how to actually enforce this. If our populace is too dumb and fat to fight our wars I don’t think we need them to be even dumber. I think the varying levels of education even by county is insane. Where I live the public schools are enormously better 3 miles away from me than where I live. Like best in the state to middle of the pack or worse.

If we want to remain at all a global power we should be investing in education not stripping it. However I know that the DOE has little to actually do with how things are run or administered at the local level.
 
I’ll preface this with I don’t care about the department of education. However, I think education is a national security issue. I don’t think the states have a vested interest in National security and thus do not have a vested interest in education. The federal government should imo require a baseline competency, so that states cannot just write off education. I don’t know how to actually enforce this. If our populace is too dumb and fat to fight our wars I don’t think we need them to be even dumber. I think the varying levels of education even by county is insane. Where I live the public schools are enormously better 3 miles away from me than where I live. Like best in the state to middle of the pack or worse.

If we want to remain at all a global power we should be investing in education not stripping it. However I know that the DOE has little to actually do with how things are run or administered at the local level.

I agree with all of this. I know I've talked about this in the past, but the cost of schooling needs to be addressed. For sake of discussion, I think STEM in college should be free, along with the trades. But I also believe that in order for it to be free, people can't half ass it. Failure should come with a cost to ensure theirs some skin in the game. Free isn't for checking the box, it's for purpose.

Now, how do you educate your populace to be ready for college? Punish bad teachers? Are their enough others to pick up the slack? Federal assistance for higher performing teachers? Keep kids in school longer if they're not meeting a standard? Should parents be held accountable? Should we graduate everyone at 18 or do we move the goal posts a bit so we train to standard?

To invest in education you also have to invest in culture. You should see the behavior of some of the kids within the Los Angeles school system, but that shit starts at home.
 
I’ll preface this with I don’t care about the department of education. However, I think education is a national security issue. I don’t think the states have a vested interest in National security and thus do not have a vested interest in education. The federal government should imo require a baseline competency, so that states cannot just write off education. I don’t know how to actually enforce this. If our populace is too dumb and fat to fight our wars I don’t think we need them to be even dumber. I think the varying levels of education even by county is insane. Where I live the public schools are enormously better 3 miles away from me than where I live. Like best in the state to middle of the pack or worse.

If we want to remain at all a global power we should be investing in education not stripping it. However I know that the DOE has little to actually do with how things are run or administered at the local level.

I think Dept of Ed should review origin of F1 visa applications and submit opposition letters to USCIS when someone is from like China, or is a clearly likely a terrorist...
 
Back
Top