Department of Education: A waste of taxpayer money or a necessity to our education system?

Although the balance of power between the national government and the states has changed over the years, the federalist system is a fundamental part of the U.S. government (The White House, 2013). The states sponsor important programs to fund education, help troubled cities and provide social services. At the local level, the municipalities control a number of other services and regulations, but never fail to be in collaboration between the national, state and local governments. The constitution was put into place to support and defend the basic right of civilians of the United States (Marchant, 2003). Although the Constitution does not refer to education, operation and management of schools is made, particularly with respect to amendments to protect individual rights of students, faculty and staff. With these set laws into place to hold our country

Even though the Declaration of Independence does not mention education, our founding fathers did value education. Illustrated by the ordinances they passed “in 1785 and 1787 that granted federal lands to states to create and support public school- an institution that the nation’s founders viewed as essential to democracy and national unification.” (Jennings, p3) In 1959, the admission of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union reconfirmed the Federal government’s support of education. Three distinct elements that impact education are; laws that have been passed, the removal of the church from public schools, and the role of federal government that has evolved and changed over the years. These three factors have transformed education over the

Education is the foundation to secure an individual in having a better future and a successful career in life. Public education primarily falls upon the state and local government to take charge of, which get divided up into local school districts that are managed by school boards. School boards are “ an elected body corporate which manages delegated powers in regards to the deliver of education service within a defined territory (Duhaime’s Law Dictionary)”. Each state “has its own department of education and laws regulating finance, the hiring of school personnel, student attendance, and curriculum (Corsi-Bunker, Antonella).

Education is the key to our future and that is why it is such an important subject in the United States. Education relates to federalism by interacting with the national government, state governments, and local governments. Each level of government is responsible for improving education within their limits of power.

California has followed the steps of many American states by committing its efforts on ensuring educational developments through improved governance systems. In the last half a decade or so, there have emerged diverse levels of studies in California State majorly because of three reasons which include several legislative practices, institutions, and participation of state agencies. The California Educational Commission was created as early as 1899 with a number of 70 members to study the state’s educational program with an effort of improving it. Of much interest was the recommendation that legislation had to be twisted to form a uniform board for the governing of normal colleges and universities in California. This issue resulted in the formulation of a law that placed the normal colleges and universities in California under the State Board of Education.

I believe that education is essential to America’s future generations and how well we can compete with the rest of the world in diverse fields, therefore school funding should not be cut. The budget for the Department of Education has been reduced and cut in many ways. Some solutions the government thought they had found, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, turned out to increase the budget, rather than reduce it. The cutting of teachers’ unions and reduction of class sizes have also been suggested to reduce budget. Although some of these sound easy and appealing, they won’t necessarily help reduce the Department of Education’s spending.

The Department for Education is committed to creating a world-class state education system. They will work to improve the opportunities and experiences available to children and the education workforce.

Indirectly, or directly, one can argue, public schools are controlled by the federal and state governments. Several issues have emerged, because of the conflict between federal and state requirements for education. “Under the Tenth Amendment, any authority not given specifically to the federal government is reserved to the states. Thus, the federal government has no authority to regulate education directly; that belongs to the states” (Underwood, n. d., p. 2). To get around this, the federal government controls the schools through funds for complying with certain initiatives, procedures, and policies (Underwood, n. d.). Ironically, both the state and federal levels of government hold the district liable for implementing different agendas and legal obligations. The federal government, however, can ensure that no citizen is denied their rights or privileges, even in a private institution, because of the Bill of Rights and other amendments. Failure to comply by these amendments or statutes can lead to the loss of federal funding and legal reproductions for schools.

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Differently than some other countries, the United States has no national educational system since each state in the country has its own. However, some research from 1999 and 2006 shows that the American educational system is falling in a national scale. Experts argues that the system is ignoring cognitive and social aspects that are important for children’s development which would further help them for adult life. Studies indicates that the educational system is not achieving the real purpose of education: prepare kids for their personal and professional life. As a result, what could be worse than a school system that limits creativity and fails to develop kids with critical thinking and diverse social skills needed for adult life?

In our reading "Choices are Everywhere: Why can't we just have it all?" from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis we learned that social security, national defense and healthcare programs are the top government spending categories (2013). While I believe all three are good places, I also feel like that 528.4 million dollars could have gone to our education system (not all but definitely some). According to usgovernmentspending.com the United States, in 2014, spend $1,283,079.6 million on healthcare (this includes local, state, and federal) while $962,948.4 million went to education (Total 2014 Government Spending). That is a $320,131.2 difference between total healthcare and education funding. I believe that is the opportunity cost; some of the money that went to PP that could have gone to education.

Nelson Mandela has a quote that reads, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Mandela’s choice of words certainly embodies the nature of facilitated learning, and teachers are a major key in constituting an educational system. A great proportion of educators are armed with facts, information, and the skills required to assist learners in comprehending a practical understanding of any subject that contributes to his/ her education— which usually is referenced to public schools. Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos represents the diametrical opposite of public educations’ ideal structure, and is comprised of everything that goes against the public-school system. I strongly resist

The Republicans have decreased spending on education and have proposed to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. The Democratic Party seeks to strengthen the U.S. Department of Education by starting reforms at the state levels as well as by increasing state and federal funds

The one room, log cabin, private school began by the colonists, who came from Europe, served its purpose in the early 1600’s. As the United States increased in size, so did the education system, from the first district being formed in the mid 1700 to 1800’s. Advance to the early 1900’s and many one room schools dotted the land throughout rural areas. These small districts had to meet the standards set by the educational system. High financial costs were involved in meeting and holding these standards to provide quality educational programs and adequate school facilities. This created a burden on the smaller districts, thus the thought of consolidation; “the combining of schools, districts, or administrative units…to create administrative

Currently the education system in the United States is funded mostly on a state and local level, who always borne over 90% of the public elementary and secondary education finances (need cite). The original Department of Education was developed in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems (need cite). Fast forward over one hundred years to 1980, when Congress established the Department of Education as a Cabinet level agency, and note that education standards and improvement continue to be of great importance to the government. It is important to note that the state and federal government play separate roles in the education of students, whereas the federal government has the means to