Classroom sizes are up, budgets are down; the future is looking bleak for America’s children. Much concern has been shown over the President Elect’s brash opinions on immigration and climate control, but America’s parents are focused on what effect Trump’s presidency could have on something closer to home: their children.
Donald Trump’s pick for the Secretary Of Education, billionaire Betsy DeVos, publicly supports a free market for education and choice of schools – at the cost of quality. In her home state of Michigan, a chaotic mix of charter and public schools has led to some of the worst performing school districts in the country. Due to the for-profit nature of the schools and large amounts of competition (which DeVos publicly supports), schools are keen to spend more time and money on marketing than on hiring quality teachers and enforcing advanced curriculum.
Children from low income neighbourhoods are often drawn into enrolling with cash bonuses, raffles for iPads, and other gimmicks. Sound bad? It gets worse; these iPads and raffles are being paid for with federal money that is usually reserved for public schools.
Last spring, a bill was formulated and introduced to help curb the downward spiral. The bill had a few simple provisions that are commonly encouraged and accepted across the country, like preventing charter schools that aren’t meeting education standards from expanding. DeVos spearheaded an effort to kill it. If DeVos’s history is any sign of what she will bring to the country, then parent choices are looking slim. Combined with Trump’s own promise to “Let schools compete for kids”, we’re looking at a future where schools aim to attract student bodies with chances to win the latest gadget, rather than with a high quality education.
What Parents Are Doing
Home-schooling rates have been steadily rising. Tutoring has boomed to an estimated $11 billion dollar industry as more parents look for outside options in academics; but many parents are taking education into their own hand. The internet is home to thousands of resources for parents who seek to boost their child’s education in their own household.
I recently spoke with Tanner Jeffrey, the founder of TeachByMe, a subscription service that connects parents to experienced educators for targeted and personalized lesson plans at home. He agreed with me, and explained how his service is helping parents.
“Kid’s aren’t getting the help they need at school anymore, and more and more parents are getting involved in their child’s education. We give parents personalized lesson plans so that they can target goals and deficits the same way an experienced educator would.”
Although the future looks bleak, we do have hope. While Trump strives to “Make America Great Again”, he may be forcing education into the hands of parents.