Why LBJ’s Great Society Gets a Failing Grade in Improving Education

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s vision for a Great Society unleashed an army of bureaucrats on American schools but produced little or no improvements to public education in 54 years, according to a new report published by The Heritage Foundation.

The report, titled “The Not-So-Great Society,” delves into the impact of Johnson’s string of initiatives—among them Medicare, Medicaid, and various social welfare programs—on American education. Scholars from the leading think tank, as well as some outside experts, contributed to the report.

One-third of Johnson’s touted War on Poverty invaded classrooms across the United States, which, the president said in 1965, is where “your children’s lives will be shaped.”

“The federal Head Start program had as its goal—to quote Lady Bird Johnson—to ‘rescue our disadvantaged children’ [and] utterly has failed in that mission,” Lindsey Burke, director of Heritage’s Center for Education Policy, told an audience gathered Monday in Washington for the think tank’s annual President’s Club meeting.

“We have spent $240 billion on Head Start since it was launched as a small summer program in 1965,” Burke said during a panel discussion about the report. “We have seen no impact on parenting practices, children’s social and emotional wellbeing, their access to medical care, nothing. What we have today, that legacy, is a $9 billion federal jobs program, to be honest. Head Start employs 255,000 adults.”

The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act also expanded the federal government’s role in education, with the stated goal of closing the achievement gap between rich and poor students. But it hasn’t achieved that goal, Burke said.

“Since 1965 when the Great Society launched, we have seen federal education spending quadruple, and yet that achievement gap remains [the same] between poor children and the more affluent kids today, a four-year gap in learning. We have not moved the needle at all,” Burke said.

The problem hasn’t just been K-12, as 90% of all student loans to pay for college now come from the federal government.

“That means if a student defaults or if there is generous loan forgiveness, it will come directly from the taxpayers,” Burke said. “Today, a slightly lower percentage of low-income students attend college than in 1965. So, it has failed on that metric.”

Data shows that school choice policies making it easier for parents to send children to private schools have improved student performance, graduation rates, and civic engagement, said Patrick Wolf, distinguished professor of education policy at School Choice at the University of Arkansas.

Data on civic engagement measures political tolerance, political involvement, political knowledge, volunteerism in a community, and racial integration, Wolf said.

He said 56 studies showed school choice had a positive result on civic engagement, 34 studies found no difference in impact between public and private schools, and three found private schools had a negative effect.

“In summary, yes, there is evidence that school choice boosts achievement. Yes, there is a clear pattern that private school choice enhances educational attainment,” Wolf said during the panel.

“Basically, access to private schooling makes young people more, and not less, civically minded. Really, the summary is that school choice is good. It’s great for our society.”

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Snowflake students at Oxford University are latest to demand clapping is banned because applause noise could trigger anxiety as they call for 'jazz hands' to be used instead

Snowflake students at Oxford University are the latest to demand that clapping should be banned because applause noise can trigger anxiety and want 'jazz hands' to be used instead.

The idea for a British sign language alternative for clapping involving the waving of hands was put forward at the student union's first meeting of the year on Tuesday.

Sabbatical Officers Roisin McCallion, Vice President for Welfare and Equal Opportunity and Ebie Edwards Cole, Chair for Oxford SU Disabilities Campaign, successfully passed the motion to mandate the encouragement of silent clapping.

They argued that alternatives to traditional clapping have been in place to aid accessibility in some organisations since 2015.

The ban on clapping would be at student union meetings and events where traditional clapping and cheering 'presents an access issue' to those with anxiety disorders.

One former student, said: 'Oxford University Student Union is always seeking to be more accommodating for students. Especially for those with accessibility issues. 'But this idea will not work and is completely ludicrous.'

The use of jazz hands - where students wave their hands in the air - is the British Sign Language expression for applause and is deemed a more inclusive gesture.

It comes after the University of Manchester Students Union passed a motion to do the same thing in September last year.

Ms McCallion said: 'The policy was proposed in order to encourage the use of British Sign Language clapping during our democratic events to make those events more accessible and inclusive for all, including people who suffer from anxiety.

'Inclusivity is one of the Students' Union's founding principles.'

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Australia: Maths to be compulsory for NSW students

What if a student has no talent for maths? Will they be unfairly held back?

Maths will be compulsory for all students up until Year 12 under a back-to-basics overhaul of the NSW curriculum.

The NSW government will make maths compulsory for year 11 and 12 students under a plan to ensure school graduates have key numeracy skills.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the NSW government would begin consultation with education stakeholders over how mathematics could be incorporated from kindergarten to the end of the HSC.

“We promised to take the curriculum back to the basics and today we are taking the first steps to deliver on that commitment by prioritising maths,” Ms Berejiklian said in a statement on Thursday.

“My vision is for every child in NSW to have the necessary maths skills to succeed in life, whether that’s managing home budgets or preparing them for the jobs of the future in science, technology and engineering.”

Earlier this week an interim report into the NSW Curriculum Review was released, which signalled the start of a major shake up to the NSW curriculum.

The state government on Tuesday released the interim curriculum review headed by Professor Geoff Masters covering kindergarten to year 12.

It marks the first shake-up of the system in 30 years.

The report suggests reducing the amount of curriculum content so students can develop in-depth subject knowledge and develop the skills to apply knowledge “in the real world”.

This includes a sharper focus on maths, English and science.

It also proposes “flexible progression” for students through the public system, which would involve using levels of attainment to organise syllabuses, so students are recognised and challenged according to where they are on the learning scale.

Premier Berejiklian said the review’s emphasis on fundamentals aligned with the government’s aim to give young people the tools they need to get ahead in life after school.

“The NSW government strongly supports a back to basics approach,” she said in a statement.

“Students need to have strong foundations in maths, English and science to be prepared for the jobs of the future and for attaining lifelong skills.”

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