Education leaders challenge Trump assertion that students are 'deprived of all knowledge'
In his first remarks on education after being sworn into office, President Donald Trump asserted in his inaugural address Friday that the nation’s education system is “flush with cash” and that its children are being “deprived of all knowledge.”
Not deprived of some knowledge, or even most knowledge. But deprived of all knowledge.
It is impossible to dismiss what he said as a misstatement, or that it was an off-the-cuff comment made in the heat of a campaign speech. Inaugural addresses are written for posterity, and every word is mulled over, reviewed and approved by speechwriters and advisers. Trump also used a teleprompter, and read his speech flawlessly.
Education leaders in California interviewed by EdSource reacted strongly to Trump’s assertions, which they said were unfounded.
“Just like his nominee for secretary of education Betsy DeVos, our new president has confirmed in his inaugural remarks that he, too, knows nothing about public education in America,” said Carl Cohn, executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, a new state agency charged with assisting California schools to improve, and a former superintendent at Long Beach Unified and San Diego Unified.
David Plank, executive director of Policy Analysis for California Education, a joint project of UC Berkeley, Stanford University and the University of California, said that Trump’s remarks were consist with GOP education platforms.
“He is is simply restating something that many in his party have been saying for 30 years,” said Plank. “You can draw a straight line from the claim Education leaders challenge Trump assertion that students are ‘deprived of all knowledge’ | EdSource:
