The hard-left, union-owned, Carter-era incarnation has engineered a disastrous dumbing down of our nation’s children.

Amongst the many bogeymen that Democrats are trotting out to scare voters away from the Republican Party this election cycle, their favorite continues to be The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and the supposed “extremist” policy suggestions it outlines for the next Republican president.

One specific idea that has caused irrational critique is to eliminate the Department of Education. As this proposal happens to align with Donald Trump’s desire to minimize the involvement of the federal government in public education and return the power to the states, this has only added fuel to the Democrats’ insistence that Project 2025 is directly tied to the former president.

Of course, anything that minimizes governmental control over any area of American life sends Democrats into a panic. Yet, they cannot seem to articulate a concrete defense for keeping this agency intact (like promising to improve academic outcomes), and the lack of such defense illustrates how their goals have little to do with providing actual education to future generations.

Instead, the DOE has alliances with the teachers unions that seem more interested in political agendas than in what benefits parents and their children.

Earlier this year, a committee hearing was held with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in which he was heavily criticized about his support of student loan bailouts — a move that has been shut down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

Along with the known fact that this request directly infringes on the rights of taxpaying Americans, forcing non-consenting parties to pay on a financial contract they did not sign up for, Democrat Senator Joe Manchin reminded Cardona, “Your debt is $34.5 trillion and growing everyday, and we’re dumbing down on top of that.”

Essentially, those at the highest levels of education have no problem tying hardworking Americans to the financial obligations of young adults whom they knowingly send out into the world with little relevant skill or knowledge to contribute to society.

Cardona is also known for his unwavering support of gender ideology. This year, in celebration of “Trans Day of Visibility,” he shared an enthusiastic message to those who embody the anti-truth concept of being able to choose your gender. He highlighted the fundamental delusion of these views by telling children who have fallen victim to this destructive belief system that their new expression of self is rooted in their “gift to see things as they could be.” From the mouth of an “expert” in learning, Cardona is denouncing the critical need to comprehend things as they are.

Furthermore, Cardona has been anything but shy about his belief that teachers know students better than their parents, therefore parents’ input and goals for their child’s education are irrelevant to the conversation. In a since-deleted tweet from May 2023, Cardona stated, “Teachers know what is best for their kids because they are with them every day.”

The views and beliefs from the top of the educational pyramid in America speak for themselves. However, the radical influence of the far-left agenda does not end there. Two of the largest teachers unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, play a significant role in what kids today are learning and are exposed to — and the loud and proud statements of the presidents of these organizations tell us everything we need to know.

During this year’s annual conference for the AFT, the organization’s president, Randi Weingarten, went on another one of her signature rants. Instead of focusing on the struggles of today’s students, including the aftermath of having been locked out of their classrooms during COVID, or offering ideas and words of encouragement on how to get these forgotten students back on track, Weingarten’s politically charged tirade garnered so much attention across the Internet that she caught the label of an “unhinged lunatic” as a result.

Not a flattering name to be tagged with, especially for someone who is supposed to be a leading voice in children’s education.

Widely circulated on X, Weingarten’s tirade was described thusly: “The teachers’ union president screamed and shouted at her members as she warned of looming violence and fascism if Trump wins the 2024 election.”

Continuing on, the failing math and literacy scores of students across the country did not make it to the list of concerns of Weingarten, or any of the other prominent speakers of the event. Instead, the noted hazard at the center of their remarks was anyone who questions the material they choose for their pupils of any age — regardless of the content — while targeting those who promote the idea that parents are the primary authorities on their children’s upbringing, especially during the hours that they spend in the care of their teachers.

Behind Weingarten on stage, she posted several headshots of those she felt the need to warn her fellow educators about. Those on the list include Donald Trump, Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik, researcher Christopher Rufo, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Oklahoma School Superintendent Ryan Walters. Weingarten referred to each of these individuals as billionaires and/or extremists.

It is telling that while purporting to care about children’s safety and wellbeing, Weingarten would target Raichik as someone to fear. Raichik’s social media account rose to prominence during the 2020 school closures, as she simply started sharing TikTok videos that teachers had posted of their proud promotion of gender ideology and pride flags. The tone of their content was usually one of being thrilled that they were able to do these things without parental permission or awareness.

Anyone with a stake in public education should have been grateful to discover the countless ways that parental rights were being dismissed. However, Weingarten’s relentless criticism of Raichik, and anyone else who simply shares what the activist arm of the Left is doing, is their idea of what warrants a PSA.

Another interesting choice as a designated “threat” is Walters, someone who has openly denounced woke politics in the classroom and has pushed to restore actual education in public schools. It’s as if Walters wants to improve academic outcomes, while the president of the teachers union is becoming unglued at the idea of losing her grip on young minds.

As such, it is clear that Weingarten’s and Cardona’s idea of what is dangerous to students is not whether or not they fail academically. Instead, it is those who expose the political activism being pushed on young minds under the guise of curriculum and inform parents of classroom activities after their teacher shuts the door.

As it is, the Department of Education and those of the highest influence in this field have shown no interest in prioritizing learning and academic success for those within the very system they lead. Therefore, as education has been eliminated from their agenda, there is no good argument for maintaining the department for which educational needs were meant to be met.

Written by Samantha Koch for The Patriot Post ~ July 25, 2024