President Donald Trump and his administration get a political boost when Americans aren鈥檛 taught to think critically or to have a deep understanding of civics, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told a crowd at the National Press Club here.
鈥淲e have a president who says 鈥榙on鈥檛 watch, don鈥檛 listen, don鈥檛 pay attention to what you see out there. Listen to me, I鈥檓 your source of truth.鈥� That鈥檚 a very, very, very scary thing,鈥� Duncan said Thursday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to disagree and disagree vehemently on policy. It鈥檚 a different thing to say the press are the enemy of the people. And the only way an authoritarian leader keeps his power is to have people who start to believe that, who are beholden to that idea. People who can think independently, people who are going to think critically are not going to embrace anybody, president or anybody, saying 鈥業鈥檓 the source of truth.鈥� 鈥�
Duncan, who was President Barack Obama鈥檚 longest-serving education secretary, argued that unlike his former boss, Trump hasn鈥檛 set any long-term goals for the country鈥檚 educational achievement, like leading the world in college graduation rates or pre-kindergarten enrollment.
鈥淚 would almost argue it鈥檚 intentional. It鈥檚 by design. They鈥檙e not committed to having the best educated citizenry in the world. And that鈥檚 a scary thing,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淲e need to have a civically engaged democracy. And the only way I know how to do that is to have well-educated citizens. And I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 in president Trump鈥檚 best interest to have a well-educated citizenry.鈥�
On the 2016 campaign trail, .鈥� And there was a big gap in results between college-educated and non-college educated voters in the 2016. College graduates backed Hillary Clinton, Trump鈥檚 Democratic opponent, by a 9-point margin (52 percent to 43 percent), while those without a college degree backed Trump 52 percent to 44 percent, .
Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have called for giving citizens more opportunities for on-the-job training, even though they haven鈥檛 put federal financial resources behind those efforts. And earlier this week, . The Trump administration hasn鈥檛 funneled additional federal resources towards history or government classes.
Duncan was at the press club to showcase his new book, 鈥淗ow Schools Work: An Inside Account of Success and Failure From One of the Nation鈥檚 Longest-Serving Education Secretaries.鈥� (.)
During his talk, he hit on some of the biggest themes in the book, including:
The need to restrict firearms: 鈥淲e value our guns more than we value our children,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淧eople just don鈥檛 die from gun violence in other nations,鈥� he added, ticking off Australia, Canada, and Japan.
And he doesn鈥檛 think that beefing up school safety by making schools tougher targets is the way to solve the school shooting problem. 鈥淭his quote unquote 鈥榟ardening schools,鈥� that鈥檚 a cute soundbite,鈥� Duncan said. But he doesn鈥檛 see any substance there. 鈥淭his was manufactured by the NRA,鈥� he said, referring to the National Rifle Association. 鈥淗ardening schools鈥� won鈥檛 work on field trips, at recess, on buses, and more, Duncan said.
- Going beyond high school: Duncan said the country needs to move, at minimum, to a pre-K-14 system, instead of the kindergarten through senior year of high school model in most communities. 鈥淎 high school diploma is necessary, it is critical, but it is insufficient,鈥� he said. Students need some college credit or an industry certification, he said.
School desegregation: Duncan said he sees this as an important issue, but he acknowledges he didn鈥檛 do enough on it as secretary. He gave props to his successor John B. King Jr. for making it a priority.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one [area] I would give myself relatively low marks for,鈥� Duncan said of integrating schools. 鈥淲e got less done than I would have liked. Schools are a reflection of their neighborhood, of their community. That鈥檚 the first huge hurdle that we are trying to work around. Americans choose to self-segregate. That鈥檚 a conscious choice that we make. ... Too many Americans aren鈥檛 comfortable living with people who don鈥檛 look like us.鈥�
He suggested that district leaders place excellent schools in high-minority communities, because white families will follow. That鈥檚 something he tried to do in Chicago, he said.
Duncan, who is currently a managing partner at the Emerson Collective, which works on education, immigration, and other issues, was asked if he鈥檇 be interested in running for mayor of Chicago.
His answer? A hard no. 鈥淚 love what I鈥檓 doing. I want to keep working in the community,鈥� said Duncan, whose focus has been on curbing gun violence in his hometown. 鈥淭here are like, 20 people who want to be mayor. No one鈥檚 jumping to do what I鈥檓 doing.鈥�