school's out forever

Alice Cooper might be right.

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 899) to do away with the Department of Education. So Alice Cooper might be right: school's out forever?

It boggles the mind: in third-world countries, people struggle to get their children into schools. Heck, in some countries, opponents of education try to kill children (girl children, specifically) who dare to try to get an education, and still those families try to send their children. That is the value of education in some parts of the world.

Yet we're trying to get rid of the agency whose mission it is "to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access." Which part of the department is the issue? Promoting student achievement? Preparing for global competitiveness? Fostering educational excellence? Ensuring equal access?

The Department of Education wasn't founded until 1979. Yes, you read that correctly --1979. Prior to that time, education was highly decentralized and left up to the states. There has been a move to do away with it, the argument being that it is unconstitutional and should be left up to the states. That's why this bill is being proposed now. 

But it wasn't until 1918 that all of the states in the United States agreed children should go to elementary school (up to age 14 was mandatory, I believe?). Up until that time, states could choose whether or not children were required to go to school at all. In 1900, only 34 of the 45 states that made up the United States required children to be educated in a school. Think about that.

Do we think we can keep being successful as a nation with a workforce that is uneducated? I don't see how anyone could think this is a good idea. The Department of Education is far from perfect (I work for them, so I can say that and know what I'm talking about), but the alternative is about as far from perfect as you can get.