Education

I believe the federal government has no business running our education system. Education should be controlled at the state and local level, where communities understand the needs of their own children. There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Parents, not Washington bureaucrats, should decide what their children are being taught, without fear of being labeled or targeted for speaking up.

Our schools should be focused on real education: arithmetic, reading and literature, science, and American history, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Slavery was a dark and tragic chapter in our history, but it is still part of America’s story and must be taught honestly. If we fail to teach history truthfully, we are bound to repeat its mistakes.

We must also teach our youth about their rights and freedoms, not just what they are, but why they exist. Every student should understand the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the amendments that protect their liberty. They should study the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers to see the debates, reasoning, and fears our Founding Fathers had when forming this nation. When young Americans know why these principles were written, they gain the wisdom to defend them against tyranny and corruption.

We should also be preparing students for success in the real world. That means teaching financial literacy, how to budget, balance a checkbook, pay taxes, and plan for retirement, so that every student can graduate with real-life skills, not just classroom theories.

Finally, I want to see our schools promote trade programs that give students the opportunity to learn a craft or skill, allowing them to join the workforce without piling up massive student loan debt. College isn’t the only path to a good life, skilled trades built this country, and they’ll keep it running for generations to come.

Our Founders believed education should be shaped by free citizens, not a centralized government. In Federalist No. 45, James Madison made it clear: “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined.” The Anti-Federalists warned that when power leaves the hands of the people, “it seldom returns without a struggle.” We’re living that struggle right now, and it’s time to return control of our children’s education to parents, teachers, and local communities where it belongs.