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Comment by Simulacra | Hacker News Reader

I agree, and given the current education metrics of America, I don't think a federalized education department has done much good. There's too much language and cultural differences in America to have one-size-fits-all from the federal government.

Perhaps I'm wearing rose tinted glasses, but I think schools should be governed on a state or local level. That way you can better match the needs of the students, all of the students, in that area.

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90% of funding for K-12 public schools comes from state and local taxes. That’s hardly a one-size-fits-all national system.

Would you tell me though, please, what language and cultural differences should inflect science or math or literature or history? Are you suggesting evolution not be taught where there are parents who object, or that the civil war be taught differently in the former confederacy, so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings? Those things are happening, of course. I’m just innocent of any defense for them.

I can't tell if you're playing devils advocate, but in Texas, many students speak Spanish as their first language, we also have students and other parts of the country whose first language is not English. Some of those make up the majority, if not overwhelming majority, of some of these schools. I think it's naïve to assume that they can be taught the same as the rest of the country. There's also students with attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, autism, disabilities, and all of that is best handled the local level so they can serve the local students. I get why some people prefer federalism and education, it allows for greater federal control. But clearly it's a disservice to students, or else the testing would show it.

Education is a provincial function in Canada and I think the system works great. Some provinces like Ontario struggle more than others but I think it works out well overall.

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