Bill Maher: Democrats ‘Own’ America’s Broken Education System
'Club Random' host scorches party for unflinching allegiance to Teachers Unions
Bill Maher did his usual President Donald Trump bashing on this week’s “Club Random” podcast.
He’s been a chronic thorn in the real estate mogul’s side. That hasn’t changed since he broke bread with the 47th president last month.
Maher still holds his fellow Democrats’ feet to the fire early and often. He did so again this weekend, slamming the party for its failure to educate the next generation of Americans.
Guest Jillian Michaels lamented her son’s poor reading skills, pinning some of the blame on the excessive COVID-19 lockdowns. That was particularly true for blue states like California, where the fitness guru called home during the pandemic.
“How much did the teachers union play a role with regard to-“ Michaels began, connecting the Teachers Unions’ decrees with extended school lockdowns.
“Tremendously!” Maher said, jumping in. “Are you kidding?”
The Teachers Unions led the charge to shutter schools indefinitely. That’s despite what the American Federation of Teachers’ president, Randi Weingarten, has said after numerous studies pointed to declining test scores tied to pandemic closures.
She claims the union fought to get kids back in class. Reality begs to differ.
Her union threatened “safety strikes” in 2020 and successfully lobbied the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make it more difficult to reopen schools in person. The union’s lobbying worked. In at least two instances, the union’s suggestions made it into the CDC guidance nearly verbatim. The CDC wasn’t following the “science.” It was following the “political science.”
Maher expanded the conversation to the big educational picture. And it’s not pretty.
“Democrats absolutely have to own education. Because that is their portfolio in the government. They wanted it. They own it. If you go to the Democratic convention half the delegates are teachers,” Maher said, exaggerating while making his point.
The comedian took a beat to praise teachers in general and acknowledge they work hard for modest pay. But he wasn’t done.
“The Democratic party is way too beholden to the Teachers Union and the Teachers Union has to answer to the fact that kids don’t know anything,” he said. “Forget the reading, which we shouldn’t because that’s super important … what are they reading? What are you making them read?”
In some cases, it’s sexually-drenched stories that many parents want removed from their local schools.
“I talk to too many young people who don’t seem to know anything,” Maher added.
The lockdowns are one thing, the other is Common Core that doesn’t teach reading or math or anything approaching academics.
“modest pay”
I’m so sick of this canard. The average teacher salary is $59K, which is about the same as the overall national average. This for people who work 25+% fewer days than everyone else, have “Cadillac” benefits in most cases, and their work day ends before 4 PM.
Oh, did I mention that the average education major scores below the median on the SAT/ACT and has the second-lowest GRE median? We have the dumbest college graduates educating our kids.
If anything, they are OVERPAID.
My grandchildren and our society will pay a large price for the breakdown and performance of American education – especially since the DOE usurped financial responsibility from parents and students’ extended family support. More loan funding available was license for schools to raise prices. Adding social programs to replace academics lead to the present dumbing down of education.
large price for the “breakdown”
NOT a “breakdown” but a deliberate destruction, especially purposeful in inner cities.