The tragedy of the American education system

 

 

American schools generally led the world in educational attainment, particularly in high school completion rates, from the early 1900s through the mid-1950s, with a high point for, particularly in math, during the 1990s. By 1940, over 50% of U.S. youths had high school diplomas, a major global lead at the time. 

 

 Early 20th Century (1910–1940): The U.S. led the world in secondary schooling expansion, far outpacing other nations in educating 14 to 17-year-olds.

• Post-WWII (1950s-1960s): The G.I. Bill fueled a boom in higher education, producing top-tier, globally recognized college-educated workers.
• Mid- to Late-1990s: Often cited as the heyday of American education regarding student cohort growth and academic achievement, with trends starting to decline afterward.
• 1970s Peak: Some indicators, including the formation of the Department of Education, suggest that the U.S. peaked in comparative student achievement around 1979 before falling in international rankings by the 2000s. 

 From the peak in the 1970’s. American has not kept pace with other countries - and we are now #17. As the article below explains, we have not gotten worse, but other countries have gotten better:

 https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2015/01/why-finns-are-smarter-than-us.html

 

 We have tried a variety of ways since the 1970’s to maintain our edge in education, and one of those steps was to establish the Department of Education in 1979.

 The like below explains why the department was created:

 https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-department-of-education.html

 Keep in mind that the article above has a LOT on information, so do not get discouraged by its length.

 This week, I monitored a class at University High School, which is one of the best high schools in the country.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_High_School_(Tucson)

 University High School (UHS) is an accelerated public high school located in Tucson, Arizona. Originally known as Special Projects High School (SPHS), University High School is in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). The mission statement of UHS identifies it as "a special function high school which serves students who are academically focused and intellectually gifted and provides curriculum and social support not offered in the comprehensive high school." Since 1985, it has shared a campus with Rincon High School, a separate high school. Courses from each school can be combined, and athletics and fine arts are combined under the Rincon/University (RUHS) name.

 Special Projects High School was inaugurated in 1976–77 on the campus of Tucson High Magnet School. The goal was to provide advanced courses for the district's students and explore interest in a variety of careers. The program also was a cost saver by acting as the only place to take Advanced Placement classes rather than at each campus. Admission at this time required an I.Q. of 130 or higher.

 In 2005 and 2016, it was honored as a Blue Ribbon school.

 You are probably wondering what a Blue Ribbon School is, so here is your answer:

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

 The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program was a United States Department of Education award program that recognized exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, the Department honored high-performing schools and schools that were making great strides in closing any achievement gaps between students. The program was discontinued by the second presidency of Donald Trump on August 29, 2025. A spokesperson from the Department of Education said this was an effort to "returning education to the states".

The U.S. Department of Education was responsible for administering the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which was supported through ongoing collaboration with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Association for Middle Level Education, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Since the program's founding in 1982 under the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the award has been presented to more than 9,000 schools.

National Blue Ribbon Schools represent the full diversity of American schools: public schools including Title I schools, charter schools, magnet schools, and non-public schools including parochial and independent schools. The schools are urban, suburban, and rural, large and small, traditional and innovative, and serve students of every social, economic, and ethnic background

University High is one of the best high schools in Tucson, and is one of the best in the country.

 The link below will show you the rest of them: 

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-public-high-schools/t/tucson-pima-az/

 Basis in Tucson North is rated as the best high school in the country, but University High School is not far behind.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_High_School_(Tucson)

 Here are a few key details:

 Special Projects High School was inaugurated in 1976–77 on the campus of Tucson High Magnet School. The goal was to provide advanced courses for the district's students and explore interest in a variety of careers. The program also was a cost saver by acting as the only place to take Advanced Placement classes rather than at each campus. Admission at this time required an I.Q. of 130 or higher.

  In 1982, the TUSD governing board renamed Special Projects High School to its current name University High School. The name represents the AP classes offered at the school.

 Because Tucson is close to Mexico, it is not surprising that there are a lot of Hispanic students. In fact, there are 3 high schools that are more than 80% Hispanic. There is only ONE school where the Caucasian population is more than 50%

 What distinguished University High school is that there are a fair number of Chinese or Vietnamese students- and that could help explain its success.

 The link below shows the most diverse schools in the city, and I have taught at some of them:

 https://www.niche.com/k12/search/most-diverse-public-high-schools/m/tucson-area/

 There are some people who are opposed to DEI programs, which is utterly absurd.

 Diversity makes our country BETTER, not worse.

 Like most of Trump’s cabinet members, Linda McMahon is totally unqualified to lead the Department of Education.

 

Ever since he was sworn in, Trump has threated to eliminate the Department of Education – which he cannot do without the consent of congress.

 So far, though, Linda McMahon has done a lot of damage:

 On March 11 the department announced the layoff of half of its workforce. The actions were challenged in court, with a coalition of groups led by Democracy Forward arguing that the changes to the department would require action by Congress. Lower courts enjoined the action, but in July 2025, the Supreme Court permitted the layoffs to proceed.

McMahon has oversight over the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, a partnership of conservative organizations who are creating civics programming around the 250th anniversary of the United States. The coalition is led by the America First Policy Institute, which formerly employed McMahon. McMahon signed an ethics waiver allowing her to participate, acknowledging her conflict of interest as a former AFPI employee.^[

You’ll notice that she has a connection of the American First Policy Institute.

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

 According to New York Times reporter Ken Bensinger, key policy proposals from the AFPI's policy book, The America First Agenda, include eliminating most civil service protections for federal employees, allowing summary dismissals without appeal; expanding domestic oil and gas production by opening up new federal lands for fast-tracked petroleum exploration and drilling, and resumed construction of the Keystone pipeline; imposing supervised ultrasound requirements and mandatory waiting periods before abortions, as well as ending federal funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood; opposing red flag laws that restrict gun ownership for high-risk individuals; and supporting nationwide reciprocity for concealed carry permits, enabling a permit from any state to authorize concealed carry across all 50 states. Other policy proposals include imposing tariffs on imports, reducing corporate taxes, rolling back climate change initiatives and getting out of the Paris climate agreement, opposing transgender rights, adding work requirements for Medicaid and limiting U.S. involvement in global conflicts. It proposes restricting immigration by completing the U.S.-Mexico border wall, boosting funding for border agents, and ending legal immigration programs such as family-based visas and the visa lottery.

 You know who else has a connection of America First?

 Stephen Miller, the Nazi in the White House.

https://aflegal.org/

Stephen Miller is the Co-Founder of America First Legal. Before launching the organization, Miller served in the West Wing as Senior Advisor to the President for the entirety of the first Trump Administration. Earlier in his career, he was a senior aide to lawmakers and committees in the United States Congress. Following President Trump's return to office, Miller joined the administration on January 20, 2025, and now serves as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy as well as Homeland Security Advisor, placing him at the center of the White House's domestic and national security agenda.

 Linda McMahon does not have a degree in education, nor has she ever worked as teacher. Her only exposure to education is a brief stint on a local school board.

 How did she get her position?

 She contributed $10 million to help Trump get elected in 2024,

 https://wrestlenomics.com/articles/2024/linda-mcmahon-contributed-more-than-10-million-to-help-elect-donald-trump-in-2024-a-breakdown-of-her-political-donations/

Our education system is not perfect, and improvements can still be made.

Diane Ravitz provides a few ideas in her book, “Reign of Error”:

Reign of Error by Diane Ravitch argues that the narrative of failing public schools is a "hoax" used to justify a privatization movement that threatens American public education, despite data showing rising test scores and graduation rates. The book critiques corporate-backed reform efforts like charter schools and high-stakes testing, advocating instead for policies that address root causes of inequality, such as smaller class sizes, better teacher training, and comprehensive social services, to preserve public schools as a cornerstone of democracy. 

We’ll eventually recover from the mistakes being made by Linda McMahon and the Trump administration, but it will not happen overnight.

Be patient.

Change WILL come, and we will be better off as long as we don’t give up hoop.

 

 

 

D-Day, 2026 edition

 

 

June 6, 1944, was the day that Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy in order to force the retreat of the German forces and the eventual defeat of the Nazis.

June 6 is also a significant date for us, since it is the day that we will be starting to load all of our moving boxes into the moving truck for the trip north.

So far in our 50+ years of marriage, we have moved 12 times. The move to New Mexico will be #13, and almost certainly will be our last.

Moving is never easy, and it seems like each one has presented its own unique challenges.

Our neighbors down the street moved to New Mexico last year, and we though they were crazy, since they were both well into their 70’s. Their main reason for the move was to be closer to family, which is one of the most common reasons for moving. Now that they are settled in, their move is starting to make more sense.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past that we had vowed to never move again. We like the Tucson area (in part because both of our children had moved here), and I really enjoy working for the local school district, which provided a nice supplemental income. Most importantly, we had established connections to a number of medical professionals.

Our daughter now lives just outside Durango, Colorado. Since she is a nurse, she was well aware of the problems that people encounter as they got older – and she is right. Although she is now a 10-hour drive from Tucson, she will be less than an hour away after we move to Farmington, New Mexico.

The town that we are moving to is large enough (just under 50,000 people) that it has all the restaurants and grocery stores that we need, and it is also the home of the San Juan medical center, which is an excellent medical facility,

Last year, Sharon went through 2 major surgeries just a few months apart, and I recently discovered that I may be needing some heart surgery sometime in the next year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmington,_New_Mexico

By a happy coincidence, Farmington is just a short drive to Aztec, which has one of the few remaining A and W root beer stands in the country.

I had always been under the impression that New Mexico was a “red” state, but that is no longer true.

New Mexico has a total of three legislative districts – and all three are Democratic.

I plan to continue working for a few more years, but plan to retire for good when I hit 80. The local school district has 4 high schools, 4 middle schools, and 11 elementary schools.

Surprisingly, there are some million-dollar homes in Farmington, so it is more affluent than you might think. The home we are moving into is very similar to our current home, and our monthly housing expenses will be very similar to what we are paying now.

We started the packing process in December. Although both of us have done our share, Sharon has done the majority of the work, and we are now almost done with the process. Since we will no longer be under any deadline after we move, the unboxing process can be much more leisurely.

 The hard part of moving is that we will be leaving family and friends behind, and we will need to find new doctors all over again.

On the positive side, we will less than 5 miles from the local library, an important consideration for a couple who are avid readers. There is also a senior center in town

Farmington rarely gets over 90 degrees, a nice change from Tucson, where temperatures can hit 115 degrees during June and July.

 Moving is both terrifying and exciting, but it is a smart move for a couple who are not getting any younger.

Arizona has many positive traits, and so does Tucson.

However, New Mexico is now the “land of enchantment”.

How can you beat that?

(New Mexico is called the "Land of Enchantment" due to its stunning scenic beauty, vivid landscapes, and rich cultural history. The nickname highlights the state’s blend of mountains, deserts, and artistic, multicultural atmosphere—featuring Native American, Spanish, and Mexican influences. It was first used for tourism in 1935 and officially adopted in 1999. )

 

 

 

 

The ghost of Captain Queeg

 Humphrey Bogart played the part of Captain Queeg in the 1954 movie, “The Caine Mutiny.”

Wikipedia has a detained description of the movie, but a quick summerly can be read in the paragraph below:

·         Plot & Characters: The story follows Ensign Willie Keith, a young officer, serving under the paranoid and insecure Captain Queeg on an old destroyer-minesweeper

 Lt. Maryk, the executive officer, takes command during a typhoon, believing Queeg is mentally incapacitated.

·         The Court-Martial: The core of the story focuses on the trial where Maryk is defended against mutiny charges by lawyer Lt. Greenwald, arguing that removing Queeg was necessary to save the ship.

·         1954 Film Adaptation: Directed by Edward Dmytryk, the film features Humphrey Bogart in an Oscar-nominated performance as Queeg, alongside Jose Ferrer and Van Johnson. It was a major box office success and was nominated for Best Picture.

·         Themes: Wouk’s novel highlights the conflict between strict adherence to authority and the necessity of acting against a flawed leader, while also examining the pressure of war on military personnel

The best example of Queeg’s insanity is the scene involving a quart of strawberries, which you can watch at the link below:

 The Caine Mutiny (1954) - Frozen Strawberries Scene (4/9) | Movieclips

Captain Queeg has a modern counterpart, and it should not be hard to guess who he is.

Former GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene led the furious backlash to President Donald Trump’s foul-mouthed Easter Sunday threat to Iran, writing on social media: “He has gone insane.”

The 79-year-old president raged on his Truth Social platform just after 8 a.m. Sunday morning, writing: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b*****ds, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!”

He finished the message, posted early on Easter Sunday: “Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

 

 “It’s really difficult to cover him in a way that conveys how unhinged he is,” journalist Aaron Rupar of Public Notice told George Grylls of The Times about President Donald J. Trump. Rupar explained that political journalists are trained to think, “‘OK, what did he say that was newsworthy?’ So you…convey that to your audience. But in reality, when you actually watch his rallies, you see that they’re full of hatred, he’s lying constantly, and a lot of it is incoherent.”

David Graham of the Atlantic had this to say yesterday:

“In an earlier, somewhat more innocent era of Donald Trump’s social-media posting, one could still chuckle darkly at his 2017 declaration that his approach “is not Presidential - it’s MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL.” But as the war in Iran bogs down, his communication has far surpassed the merely bizarre and become entirely unhinged.

 

When Trump feels cornered, I have written, he lashes out most fiercely—which might explain the wild statements and actions emanating from the White House over the past few days.

 

The nadir (for now) was an Easter-morning Truth Social missive in which Trump threatened that “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

Trump reiterated the threat during a press conference this afternoon, saying, “The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.”

Targeting civilian infrastructure such as power plants and bridges is likely illegal. Trump would not be the first U.S. president to flout international law, but he would be the first to advertise it ahead of time on a social-media site he owns. The threat is also strategically dubious. Installing a more pro-American regime in Tehran would require the existence of some authority that is both able to govern and willing to work with Washington; these sorts of strikes, or even threats, make that less likely. (Trump insisted that he’s heard pleas from inside Iran to continue bombing.) And using the threat of martyrdom to scare the religious zealots currently in charge seems possibly counterproductive.

Topping that post will be hard, but this morning the president tried. In a vague and threatening new post, he shared a short clip of a crowd of shoppers—most of whom were people of color, some of whom wore hijab. They were minding their own business and indulging in the quintessentially modern, capitalist American pastime of hanging out at what appears to be Minnesota’s Mall of America, soundtracked with Gary Jules’s rendition of “Mad World” from the Donnie Darko soundtrack.

 

These outbursts come as the administration finds that military might alone is not enough to win a war. Trump is now threatening to attack civilian infrastructure, because nothing else has forced the Iranian government to buckle.

 At the start of the war, he seemed to be feeling smug, emboldened by his quick success in Venezuela, but any sense of joy has evaporated fast. Last week, the president delivered a White House address in which he could have attempted to either deescalate the war or else define what victory would look like. Instead, as my colleague Tom Nichols wrote, Trump did neither.

 

American wars in the Middle East have backfired before, but the negative effects of this one have become apparent at record speed. American and Israeli strikes have killed many top Iranian figures, but the regime remains ensconced—and its control of the Strait of Hormuz suggests that Iran may actually be in a strategically stronger position than at the start of the war. (Iranian leaders today rejected a proposal for a cease-fire.) The U.S. military is burning through ammunition reserves. The likely next step, Thomas Wright argued in The Atlantic last week, is a ground war.

 

I have read roughly 25 books about Trump, and all but one of them (Corey Lewandowski's book) have either implied or stated specifically that Donald J. Trump is insane.

The best book, though, is “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump”.

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

The authors argue that Trump's mental health affects the mental health of the people of the United States and that he places the country at grave risk of involving it in a war and of undermining democracy itself due to his dangerous pathology.

Consequently, the authors claim that Trump's presidency represents an emergency that not only allows but requires psychiatrists in the United States to raise alarms. While it has been repeatedly claimed that they have broken the American Psychiatric Association's Goldwater rule—according to which it is unethical for psychiatrists to give professional opinions about public figures without examining them in person —the authors maintain that pointing out danger and calling for an evaluation is not diagnosis. They have criticized the APA for changing professional norms and standards, saying it is dangerous to turn reasonable ethical guidelines into a gag rule under political pressure.^[

There are two ways to remove this dangerous man from office prior to January of 2029 -  impeachment and the 25^th amendment.

If you read the paragraphs below, you will realize that neither one is likely to happen anytime soon.

U.S. Representative Tashid Talib was the latest to sound the alarm:

US Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Tuesday urged President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to immediately invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office following his genocidal threat to wipe out the “whole civilization” of Iran.

“After bombing a school and massacring young girls, the war criminal in the White House is threatening genocide,” Tlaib (D-Mich.) wrote on social media. “It’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment. This maniac should be removed from office.”

As the paragraph in the link below points out, she is far from the only one holding that opinion.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/25th-amendment-trump?utm_source=Common+Dreams&utm_campaign=860f5e0430-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_01_22_03_27_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-941c0cefb1-601493885

Ratified in 1967, the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution clarifies presidential succession and establishes procedures for handling presidential incapacity or vice-presidential vacancies. It ensures an orderly transfer of power if the president dies, resigns, is removed, or is incapacitated, allowing the Vice President to become President or Acting President. 

The 25th Amendment (Section 4) can be invoked against a U.S. President by the Vice President acting together with a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments (the Cabinet). They must submit a written declaration to Congress stating the President is unable to discharge their powers and duties. 

Bipartisan Policy Center +3

 

• Who Initiates: The Vice President leads this process.
• Who Must Agree: A majority of the Cabinet secretaries (or another body designated by Congress).
• Actionable Step: They submit a written declaration to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House.
• Result: The Vice President immediately becomes the Acting President.
• If the President Contests: If the President declares they are fit, the Vice President and Cabinet have four days to contest this, and Congress must assemble within 48 hours to decide the issue. A two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress is required to keep the Vice President in

 

****************************************

 

Impeachment of a U.S. President is a constitutional process where the House of Representatives formally charges the president with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors". A simple majority vote in the House impeaches the president, followed by a Senate trial requiring a two-thirds vote for conviction and removal from office. 

U.S. Senate (.gov) +3

 

The Impeachment Process

• Initiation: The House of Representatives holds the sole power to initiate an impeachment inquiry, usually through the Judiciary Committee.
• House Vote: Articles of Impeachment (charges) are drafted and voted on. A simple majority of those present and voting is required to impeach.
• Senate Trial:

 The Senate tries the case. For a president, the Chief Justice of the United States presides.

• Conviction & Removal: A two-thirds supermajority of the Senate is required to convict and remove the president. 

U.S. Senate (.gov) +2

Grounds for Impeachment

• The Constitution (Article II, Section 4) limits grounds for impeachment to treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
• "High crimes and misdemeanors" is generally interpreted to mean serious misconduct, abuse of power, or violation of public trust. 

Library of Congress – Constitution Annotated (.gov) +3

Consequences

• Removal: Conviction results in automatic removal from office.
• Disqualification: The Senate may vote to disqualify the individual from holding future federal office.
• Criminal Charges: Impeachment does not protect a person from subsequent criminal prosecution. 

U.S. Senate (.gov) +2

Historical Context & Examples

• Andrew Johnson (1868): Impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act; acquitted by one vote in the Senate.
• Bill Clinton (1998): Impeached on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice; acquitted by the Senate.
• Donald Trump (2019 & 2021): Impeached twice—first for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, second for incitement of insurrection. Acquitted by the Senate both times.
• Richard Nixon (1974): Resigned before the House could vote on impeachment articles following the Watergate scandal. 

For now, the most that our fellow American’s can do is to keep attending rallies. Even more important than that is to simply voted for enough Democrats in the 2016 midterms in order to place enough people in congress who can enforce some guardrails before Trump does even more damage.

Although Captain Queeg lost control of the Caine, he never suffered any other consequences, and was evenutally transferred to a naval supply  depot in Iowa.

There are two parallels between Captain Queeg and Donald Trump:

1)    Although Trump was impeached twice, the Senate was unable to get enough votes in either case to remove him from office.

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

 

The House of Representatives of the 117th U.S. Congress adopted one article of impeachment against Trump of "incitement of insurrection", stating that he had incited the January 6 attack of the U.S. Capitol. The House impeachment managers formally triggered the start of the impeachment trial on January 25 by delivering to the Senate the charge against Trump.^[1] The trial in the Senate started on February 9.^[2] At the trial in the Senate, 57 senators voted "guilty", which was less than the two-thirds majority needed (67) to convict Trump, and 43 senators voted "not guilty", resulting in Trump being acquitted of the charges on February 13, 2021.^[3

The articles of impeachment were submitted to the Senate on January 16–31, 2020, initiating an impeachment trial. The trial saw no witnesses or documents being subpoenaed, as Republican senators rejected attempts to introduce subpoenas. On February 5, Trump was acquitted on both counts by the Senate, as neither count received 2/3 votes to convict.

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

2)   There was little doubt that Captain Queeg was insane, just as there is little doubt that Trump is insane, and his Easter Sunday posting on his social media account is more proof.

If you want more details on Trump’s erratic behavior, the best sources are Rachel Maddow on MSNOW, and Heather Cox Richardson in her newsletter “Letters from an American:

 

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/