On Many Children Left Behind

The Latest news coming out of the Schotus Administration is that they do not care about all American children.

They only care about some of them. The rest they are preparing to leave behind, despite the misnamed law of “No Child Left Behind” that they are meant to enforce.

There have already been moments, during the Confirmation hearings for Betsy DeVos where it was apparent that children with special needs were going to be completely ignored in terms of how funding and efforts were directed because the new Education Secretary has no clue that there were laws that required her to be aware of those things.

This is followed by the remarks she has made after visiting schools where she describes the attitude of teachers who need either more pay or more funding for basic supplies (since the overwhelming majority of teachers have to buy their own supplies for their classrooms) as “wanting more” and seeing that need as an attitude problem, coupled with their needing to be told what to do.

Rumor — substantiated and being readily remarked on by many — has it that the Administration is going to roll back the transgender directives put forth by the previous administration.

Doing so will ensure that the historic mistreatment, neglect, abuse, and violence against trans children continues and is not met with resistance from the federal or regional authorities.

There is one bright spot in regards that aspect, at least: Gavin Grimm’s case is going to be heard in March, and deals in one of the major issues and could provide clarity that supercedes this.

However, the Grimm case is no easy or certain victory, and will be decided, with luck, before the confirmation of Gorsuch. It could set Trans rights back decades, or advance them forward in opposition to a transphobic establishment.

However, the problem isn’t that these things are happening.  The problem is that we have to remark on them at all — both these groups of children have needs that are somewhat outside the normative ones.

When these needs are not met, they are much, much more likely to do poorly in school, to have to deal with multiple issues relating to their health and welfare, and will not be safe nor receive concern and compassion in many cases from administrative peoples and groups.

This is active, intentional violence against some of the most marginalized people in the nation. People who cannot effect change themselves at this point in their lives, who’s ability to advocate for themselves is extremely limited, and who are subject to the ignorance and hostility of people they do not even know simply for the fact that they exist and live.

This is, then, literally leaving children behind, and demonstrating that they do not care for all Americans and especially all American children.

This is the future of our country — and they want them as broken, uninformed, and gullible as possible.