My Uber driver does not receive Trump's approach to education

“Great!” I am enthusiastic. “He reduces the federal footprint, presses DEI back, fights anti -Semitism, takes on the craziness on the campus and the choice of school. It is remarkable.”

“Sounds promising,” she said.

“Yes,” I said. “If you are a conservative, it is like a sunny morning after four years of rain. We return to reasonable principles, authorize states and cleaning in the government.”

She took a break. “But I only heard recently that the president created a Federal Task Force to bring the AI ​​into classrooms. And I know that he sent a letter to Harvard who told you that you should make a number of changes. It doesn't sound as if he was getting Washington out of training.”

“Well, they mix apples and oranges,” I said. “You can see that someone has to make sure that our students are prepared for a world with AI. With his new executive arrangements about apprenticeships or debt discipline – they are times when we need the federal government to increase and lead. As for Harvard.

“But it sounds like you want Washington to be quite active in education,” she said. “I am confused because I thought they had just said that the president wanted to reduce the federal role. I mean, he doesn't want to abolish the Ministry of Education?”

“Not abolished, he wants to 'dismantle it,” I said. “The president's executive order beats that the Minister of Education continues to work on it. He wants to disassemble the department into pieces and then send them to other agencies.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because the department has become a one-stop shop for the teacher unions, universities and left-wing interest groups. This will offer a fresh start. The president also tries to strengthen the states and reduce the federal role.”

“I understand that. But it seems dangerous to get rid of the Ministry of Education if there are students who have special needs, like my niece or Pell grants to pay for college. Whether it is” abolishing “or” disassembling “, my concern is that these dollars will disappear,” she said.

“No, that's just not the case,” I said. “They do not cut these programs off. All of these funds will still go out – the president wants the congress to keep all of this stable. He only says that the money is managed by another agency like the Department of Health and Human Services.”

“Well, in this case I don't understand why it is so important to reduce the Ministry of Education,” she said.

I sighed. Obviously she just didn't understand it. “Look, the President is doing big changes. You should concentrate on that. For example, he has shortened the number of bureaucrats in the Ministry of Education by almost half,” I said.

“Well, that's impressive!” she said. “I bet that is an enormous saving in the federal budget for education, right?”

“It's a bit difficult to be safe,” I admitted. “I mean, we have no real figures from the federal government. But I suspected that the savings are probably around 400 million US dollars.”

“So what is it? How a 25 percent reduction in what Washington provides for education?” she asked.

“Um, it is closer to half a percent,” I said.

I saw her eyes widespread in the rearview mirror. “Wait, what?” she said. “Half of one percent?”