Friday, March 21

United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education, a major move that will affect the entire country.

Trump had been hinting at shutting down the Department of Education for months, but action was not successfully taken until now. Usually, dismantling a federal department requires a majority vote from Congress, and efforts to do so have failed in recent years.

However, Trump seems to have found a loophole around that vote, as he instead signed an executive order yesterday instructing Linda McMahon, the Secretary of Education, to begin dismantling the department. While Congress will likely need to approve a bill to officially confirm the shutdown of the department, Trump seems to have initiated the process with the order.

Despite the fact that state and local governments provide most of the funding for public education, the Department of Education still maintains a budget of $268 billion. Most of this is used towards grants and loans for students, but the Trump administration has confirmed that the government's grant and loan programs will not be affected by the shutdown of the department.

Republicans claim that the money given to the Department of Education is going to waste, and cutting the department from the picture will help save those funds. Some people believe that the money is being pocketed, while others think that it is being spent on useless causes that do not provide benefits to anyone. Trump also confirmed that while the department's budget has doubled over the past few years, test scores across the country have not improved, backing his idea that the funds are going to waste.

Meanwhile, Democrats believe that the shutdown of the Department of Education could have a massive negative effect on the population. They have established that federal funding is crucial in schools across the United States, and the loss of the department could be a detriment to the education of children in lower-income families and children with disabilities. Furthermore, Democrats have stated that it would also heavily affect the lives of teachers, who would be fired due to a lack of funding.

Now, Trump seems to be slowly bringing down the Department of Education, and it does not seem like his agenda for the system can be stopped. The only lingering question is, what will the impact be on the United States, and will that impact end up as a benefit or a detriment to the country?

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Einstein failed an entrance exam to get into university-- though he still excelled in math and physics.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year. It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success. (Lionel Messi)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Vernal (adj, VER-nul) - Vernal is a formal adjective that describes something that relates to or occurs in the spring.

In a Sentence: It is such a relief after a long, cold winter to see the trees and flowers in their glorious vernal bloom.