In a move that feels like something straight out of an action movie — think more robo-hero sacrificing itself to save humanity — President Trump has thrown an educational curveball by signing an executive order to start abolishing the Department of Education. If this feels like a plot twist, it’s because it’s akin to the Department giving itself an introspective boot for the greater good.
It seems like the Department of Education has been the government’s unruly teenager, racking up trillions in spending only to see schools in some areas, like Baltimore, failing to teach even a single student to read. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, up steps Trump to cut it off. Picture this: the President, pen in hand, kids eagerly watching — it’s all a bit like getting rid of clutter in a garage that was only gathering dust.
Many might wonder why the Department of Education, that is apparently about as useful as an inflatable dartboard, even existed. Yet, our test scores have taken a nosedive that would put a loop-de-looping roller coaster to shame. It’s like paying top dollar for a luxury car that doesn’t actually move. Good riddance, many would say.
Trump’s bold gambit does face a few hurdles, though. Closing down an entire federal department isn’t as easy as flipping a switch. Congress needs to nod in agreement, and with only 53 Republicans in the Senate, that magical number 60 votes seems like a faraway dream. But Trump and his supporters press on, envisioning a world where local authorities and parents, not federal bureaucrats perched in their D.C. forts, get to have a say in what and how children learn.
Critics, of course, are up in arms, grappling with the shift in control. Educators and families are being called to the frontline, urged to embrace a future where student success is a community affair, one where knowledge bloats and bureaucratic excess shrink. It’s education reform, Trump-style — a starkly thrilling departure from the past that promises to put learning back in the hands of those most invested: the students, their teachers, and perhaps most importantly, the parents.
