We know him to be a blow hard but how is he on the issues? If you view his site you will find a drop down box with five positions, none of which are education. I think the ten people reading this knew I was going there. Really though, how can you mess up your position on education? I sharply disagree on almost all of his positions and I even disagreed with Obama on education. But education is the purest of the issues. If a candidate truly cares about the development of the middle class and the sustainability of a strong economy, you will have a well developed position on education. I do not feel this is the case with Mr. Trump.
In a nutshell this is Trump's position on education. The Common Core is junk, school choice and competition will make schools better, and cut down (way down) the Department of Education. The Common Core business is anti Obama and Jeb Bush rhetoric. I have found no real substance in his argument against the Common Core.
One thing that Trump has said about the common core is that education should be local and not run by Washington bureaucrats. I can live with that. Except that in the same breath he supports school choice and competition. This is code for the privatization of schools. This is not the answer fixing "local" public schools. This would reduce kids to products and means to earn a profit. What else would you expect from a business tycoon. Take this into consideration, education is the only public service that has not suffered some sort of privatization. When you let companies in the mix of already campaign fund driven politicians, you do not improve the lives of kids. You simply make them subject to the same politics as every other issue that we get upset about. Not only that, what happens when private companies fail in a community? The school changes hands when the next company comes in. How is that a "local" education?
The Department of Education is not as wasteful as some think. It definitely doesn't eat up the budget as much as military spending. Why is the DOE a target of not just this Republican but others as well? The DOE grants student loans. If we offer fewer or no student loans, then we lose an opportunity at social mobility. Poor kids stay poor with few options within their reach. Lets be honest, fewer college educated people means more low wage labor. Perfect for the successful corporate businessman.
If you want to see a real education platform that seeks to do what schools by nature do then take a look at Bernie Sanders. Schools by nature build the future citizens of this country. Sanders is the only candidate that I can fully support when it comes to education at every level. Education will not make or break this presidential election but voters from each party need to take a serious look when they go to the polls. Don't be distracted by the deals that Trump can make for you on 2nd Amendment rights or the illegal immigrants that he seems to have no problem hiring. A candidate's position on education will tell you where their true priorities are for our country. My hope is that Republican voters come to their senses and say no to the deal-maker.
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/07/18/trump-common-core-way-of-taking-care-of-the-people-who-dont-give-a-damn-about-ed/
