I love the poorly educated.

 

 

During the 2016     Presidential campaign, Donald Trump said that “we won with the poorly educated. I love the poorly educated”.

Before you go any further, I should warn you that his story is NOT about Donald Trump.

It is actually a book report.

Randi Weingarten has been the president of the American Federation of Teachers since 2008, and she recently release a book titled” Why Fascists Fear Teachers”. At 177 pages, it is a quick read, and is definitely worth the effort.

First of all, what exactly is a fascist?

Here is one definition:

 Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology characterized by a centralized dictatorship, suppression of opposition, extreme militarism, and the subordination of individual rights to the interests of the nation or race. It is an anti-democratic system that seeks to create a strong, unified nation under a single, all-powerful leader and party, controlling nearly all aspects of public and private life. 

 Historically, Hitler and Mussolini are the best examples of fascists, but Trump fits the definition as well. In March of this year, Bernie Sanders and AOC took their oligarchy tour on the road.

 Trump’s cabinet in his second term is worth $381 billion – higher than the GDP of 172 counties. Elon Musk, the world richest man, spent $270 million to get Trump elected, which includes the $45 million that he spent on mis-leading ads.

 If you are wondering why Trump likes the poorly educated, consider this:

 States that tend to vote for Democrats spent more money on education.

 Here is a breakdown of per public spending by state:

 Arizona is one of the worst states:

 https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/per-pupil-spending-by-state

 I’m a fan of Heather Cox Richardson, and she is mentioned in this book. In “Democracy Awakening: Notes on the state of America”, she mentions that fascist leaders may compete for our votes, but modern democracies fail because of autocratic candidates who work within the system to change it”

 That sure sounds like Project 25, doesn’t it?

 What do fascists do when the afraid that students will learn the truth on their own?

 They ban books, and Moms for Liberty is one of the worst offenders

 According to the ACLU, more than 3000 books were banned in America, and these restrictions also app to college and universities, who face   loss of funding if they even mention DEI.

 Two months after Hitler came into power in 1933, he presided over the first book burnings in Germany, and 20,000 books were destroyed.

 A Democratic society needs PUBLIC schools, in addition to private and religious schools, yet many states, including Arizona, use vouchers to divert public money for private schools. Although the original intent of vouchers was good, the program has grown to the point that they will cause nearly $1 billion in the state’s budget

 As a result, every public school in Arizona will receive $300,000 less in state funding. 3 out of 4 students who benefit from vouchers were already attending private schools, so the vouchers effectively result in a tax break for wealthy parents.  

 https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Lessons-From-Arizona-1-Pager-FINAL.pdf

 

I’ve been a teacher, either full time or part time for more than 20 years, so can assure you that teaching is NOT an easy job- and Ranid Weingarten has been a teacher longer than that, which is why her book is worth reading.

 Another book worth reading is “Reign of Error”, written by Diane Ravitch,

 Diane Silvers Ravitch (born July 1, 1938) is a historian of education, an educational policy analyst, and a research professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Previously, she was a U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education. In 2010, she became "an activist on behalf of public schools."^[ Her blog at DianeRavitch.net has received more than 36 million page views since she began blogging in 2012. Ravitch writes for the New York Review of Books.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Ravitch

 Randi Weingarten has written an excellent book about education. Although the book itself is only 177 pages, the supporting notes add up to another 59 pages, and it is worth reading.

 

 

 

 

 

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