Authoritarian regimes always make moves early on to control education, and it only took two months from inauguration day for Trump to issue an executive order calling for The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to be gutted. The department has only existed since the 1970s, so it’s possible to make a convincing case, on the surface at least, that our education system will get along just fine without it.
But scratch the surface and we discover something more sinister lurking beneath the surface. This isn’t just about “returning education to the states.” From building charter schools to what textbooks are used, from hiring and firing to curriculum development, classroom content, and standardized testing, the vast majority of educational functions and decisions are still made at the state and local level. Indeed, private textbook companies probably have more influence over what gets taught to students than the U.S. DOE does. Then why is the current administration going to such lengths to kneecap the DOE?
On our latest episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast, we look at the current attacks on the department, and examine how white supremacy and right wing hatred of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs is driving the movement to eliminate the Department of Education.
Then, we take time to imagine a better world and what a solarpunk education system might look like.
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Please, are there transcripts available? I prefer to read over listening. Thank you.
Yes! We’ll add transcripts to the blog posts this week. Thanks for speaking up and helping us do better!