We are quickly approaching two major events in our country this month as we kick off 2025.
We will have the return of the Trump administration with their commitment to dismantle the Department of Education as we know it. Also, this month we will celebrate what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King’s 95th birthday on Jan. 15.
These two events are important for two different reasons. We must brace ourselves for life without the department of education and we must also embrace and examine King’s 1948 Morehouse Essay on the purpose of education as a way forward for us all.
Life without the Department of Education
The Department of Education was created in 1867 by President Andrew Johnson with the goal of collecting data on the nation’s education system. Its impact and growth continued all the way up to 1979 when President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that created it as we know it today. The focus of the Department of Education includes developing and enforcing federal education laws, administering financial aid programs, collecting data on the nation’s schools and students and conducting research on educational issues.
The Trump administration’s primary issue with the department is their belief that it is pushing a ‘woke’ agenda onto the nation’s students that includes teaching a curriculum that puts an emphasis on race and gender. As recently as mid-November, President-elect Donald Trump pledged to push all educational decisions back to the states as a solution to our nation’s problems within our educational system.
School choice, school funding, data collection, the rising cost of college, teacher shortages and student achievement will become problems each state individually will have to solve without the support of the Department of Education. The question we all must ask is how do we move forward if the Trump administration dismantles the Department of Education? I believe we must tap into our history and listen to the words of MLK.
The purpose of education by MLK
In Martin Luther King’s 1948 Essay at Morehouse College, he stated two things about education.
MLK’s first belief was “Education must enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life.” What we teach as parents at home and educators in schools must help students achieve their goals in life.
As a parent of a senior and a longtime educator, I understand the path to success has changed. The days of going to high school and getting your bachelor’s degree as a sure-fire way to success are not over but different. Success today comes with an associate’s degree, learning a trade such as plumbing, through the Army reserves, or even as a streamer.
As King mentioned, education must enable a man to become more efficient, meaning how we educate must become well organized, productive, without wasting time. I encourage parents to consider how they can efficiently educate their children with the help of their school.
Create opportunities for learning for your student that allows them to move closer to their goals in each stage of their life. Tap into your community and village to help your student learn more about different industries, workplace skills and other important areas that will help them grow. There are people within the Indianapolis community that are willing to help, we simply must ask.
Schools’ leaders and districts must find ways to create learning environments that are well organized, focused, and not wasteful. It is time to question our curriculum, our teaching methods, and the learning environment. More schools should offer internships as part of their curriculum and requirements.
Give students hands-on opportunities to gain practical and applicable knowledge while they are still in school. As a middle school principal, I am in the early stages of exploring how AI can be used as a teaching and learning tool. My goal is to equip educators and students with up-to-date knowledge and tools that are applicable in today’s society.
I also encourage school leaders to think outside the box and examine their school schedule. Are we being efficient with our time with students as they attend school five days a week, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.? This is the school schedule we have used for decades despite the ever-changing society.
Secondly King stated, “Education must train one for quick, resolute and effective thinking.”
Many parents and teachers have said this to a student: “What were you thinking?” This statement is often said when we believe a student knows right from wrong but chooses to go against everything, they know to be the right thing.
Our schools and families should educate our students to become thinkers that question, challenge, examine and pursue truth and knowledge. A resolute thinker as described by King, is a thinker who is unwavering, determined, and purposeful. As parents we must create home environments that give our children consistent opportunities to think and think effectively. These environments must include reading, discussion, decision making and debate with boundaries.
Creating this type of environment at home is challenging but necessary if we are to send our students to school seeking more and deeper knowledge. Educators use higher order questions within their curriculum to help students analyze, evaluate or create. You will usually see these skills taught in English, History, and Science, all classes with a focus on literacy. Helping our students become thinkers allows them to create a foundation for making good decisions and choices.
With the uncertainty of the role or existence of the department of education under this new administration, it is time for families and parents to take control of our students’ education. King gave us the blueprint for the purpose of education, we must now fulfill that dream beginning in our homes, schools and communities.
