I've been teaching for twelve years, and thinking a lot about the potential impact of Trump's potential plans for education, such as abolishing the Department of Education or implementing a federal school choice program. It concerns me since it feels like these changes could reshape everything, from funding to curriculum decisions. How are you feeling about it - excited or unsettled?

Privatizing works so well for the prison, insurance, and hospital systems, it can't be that bad for schools. <sarcasm>

I am uncertain how much would actually change here in MA. Education here is pretty well supported. I know that this is not the case everywhere. I am trying not to worry about it right now. I have no control over it, so at least for now, I go to work each day and do my best with what I have right now. 🤷‍♀️

I am excited because our education system as is, is failing our children and has been for decades. We have fallen in the world in math and reading. EVERYthing needs revamped in our country and we have to go back to basics. I am a 54 year old Social Studies teacher and I did not start in education as a teacher until 2020 after I graduated from college. My first career was a stay at home parent. As a teacher in a mostly rural area but near Fort Bragg (Liberty) I see a very diverse student and teacher population and see how we have failed our kids. Something has to change. Students are apathetic and what I have noticed is that we teach to the 10% of students that want to learn and be here. The rest think they are going to become the next big thing (influencers) so they can be disrespectful to all adults in their lives. So I am excited to see what our new president will do not only with education but with our great country.

Unsettled. I know as a sped teacher in a poor school district a lot of our funding comes from title 1 funds - feel free to correct me if I’m misunderstanding, but this is federal funding right? Where will my salary come from if the dept. of ed is closed? Where will the money to help pay for specialized supplies, curriculum, and related service personnel come from? People keep saying it will come from the state but I don’t see how the state will make up that difference.

I live in NY so I feel like maybe it won’t be as impactful on me and my students as it might be in other states, but I have a lot of anxiety about my future right now.

I’m honestly a little torn. On one hand, school choice sounds promising in giving families more options, but on the other, I’m concerned about the potential loss of federal oversight and the way it might affect funding. It’s hard to see what the long-term effects might be, and I’m uneasy about how it will affect my students.

How did we manage prior to 1977? Education must have been terrible in comparison to today ! Why the Federal Government was coming to improve things after all.

I’m worried for all of the children and teachers who may be negatively affected. I watched a long interview from our current secretary of education and he said a lot about how our federal government protects students that are the most vulnerable like my autistic son. Any disruption to his education could be catastrophic. If it wasn’t for the federal government, his rights and my rights as a tax paying citizen would not be protected. He gets excellent services right now. and it has changed our lives. The federal government is in charge of funding student grants and loans. My coworker was able to get her loans forgiven through the program that is currently in place. There are programs that protect students who are second language learners and students from other marginalized populations. Title 1 is also included. All of these services are in flux if states take over. Some will have excellent services and and some will not- just like our healthcare system. The goal is to level the playing field. He believes in school choice too but not at the expense of taking funding away from public education and local schools which is where the majority of students attend school.