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Ronald Reagan on Education
President of the U.S., 1981-1989; Republican Governor (CA)
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1980 platform plank: abolishing Department of Education
In 1980, Ronald Reagan campaigned for the presidency on a platform that included abolishing the U.S. Department of Education. Only recently created by President Jimmy Carter as a political favor to the teachers' unions, the department had failed to
deliver either better test scores or more rigorous curriculum dedicated to academic excellence. That sounded like a good idea to me, because I have never believed in federal control of the schools.
The vast majority of parents can figure out for themselves how to educate their children and how to provide them with good values. And if some parents can't do so, well, there's most likely someone nearby who can step in. That's what I mean by local
control and by the wisdom of letting the fifty states--all those separate laboratories of democracy--chart their own courses on education. The challenge of good schooling, I firmly believe, is best addressed as close to the student as possible.
Source: Core of Conviction, by Michele Bachmann, p.116
, Nov 21, 2011
Supported mandatory prayer in the public schools
One focus of the Reagan administration from the beginning was an agenda of social issues ranging from opposition to abortion to support for mandatory prayer in the public schools. Much of the social agenda of
the conservative fundamentalist supporters of the president was adopted by the executive branch, but Reagan had little success in gaining its acceptance by Congress.
Source: Grolier Encyclopedia on-line, “The Presidency”
, Dec 25, 2000
Supported school prayer but didn’t push it
Reagan did not devote much energy to other aspects of his so-called “social agenda.”
Some of the items, such as his call for a constitutional amendment to restore prayer in schools, were never more than throwaway lines intended to comfort the Religious Right.
Source: The Role of a Lifetime, by Lou Cannon, p. 813
, Jul 2, 1991
New patriotism: Teach national pride and civic spirit
One of the things I'm proudest of in the past 8 years [is] the resurgence of national pride that I called the new patriotism. This national feeling is good, but it won't last unless it's grounded in thoughtfulness and knowledge. An informed patriotism is
what we want.Are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents? Those of us who are over 35 or so were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American. But now some things have changed. Our spirit is
back, but we haven't reinstitutionalized it. We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom--freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special & rare. It's fragile; it needs protection.
If we
forget what we did, we won't know who we are. I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result in an erosion of the American spirit. Let's start with some basics: more attention to American history & greater emphasis on civic ritual
Source: A Patriot's Handbook, by Caroline Kennedy, p. 71
, Jan 11, 1989
Targeted Dept. of Education to be abolished, but failed
The great social concerns of education and public health became back-burner issues for the Reagan administration.
Reagan’s anti-government vision had no room for a federal Department of Education, which he had pledged to abolish if elected president. It was one of his silliest promises, and no serious attempt was bad to keep it
Source: The Role of a Lifetime, by Lou Cannon, p. 813
, Jul 2, 1991
Page last updated: Apr 28, 2013
