Abolishing the Department of Education (DOE) has gained traction among Republicans, including Representative Aaron Bean (R-FL), who recently told The Floridian that he wants education to return to the states. This would effectively abolish critical race theory (CRT) at the federal level.
We asked Rep. Bean why he believed Democrats are against abolishing the Department, which he suggested was because "some people like the control that the Department gives because they are able to say, 'If you play along with what we want, everything has strings attached, and if you play along with the deep state, then we will reward you with extra money.' So again if we are totally honest, the role [of education] would be much better run at the state level, we will have that debate. Hopefully we will have that debate, and Trump [is] certainly elevating it with Elon [Musk] and Vivek [Ramaswamy]."
The Floridian noted that the Sunshine State has eliminated CRT within the Florida curriculum and asked Rep. Bean what a plan to abolish CRT at the federal level might look like.
"Well, again, the federal government does not have a role in curriculum. Our hearing yesterday really just shined the spotlight on the best curriculums around the country where there is critical thought being taught, how to be growth-involved. We also spotlighted some of the worst programs where young people are taught that our country is a bad country and that because of your race, you are oppressed and, taking away time from teaching reading, science, and math. Our scores if you look at our report card versus other industrialized countries, we are mediocre. We are just mediocre. We should be leading the front, but we have gotten away from our mission of teaching the basics," the Florida Congressman continued.
We asked what Bean intended to bring to Washington from Florida. He pointed to Jacksonville's Tiger Academy and KIPP, which he claimed produce students with an 84% chance of getting into college.
"What is the magic? How do they do it? How do they teach these kids? And it turns out there is no secret; it is just extra time. School days at some of these schools go to five o'clock and they have a Saturday once a month where you come in and you spend extra time. They focus on reading. If you cannot read, it is hard to learn science, math, or anything else, and there is a focus on more time to make that happen," Bean concluded.
