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The Mainichi
05-05-2025
- Science
- The Mainichi
Editorial: Urgent action needed on worsening working conditions in Japan's public ed system
Public education has long underpinned the foundations of Japanese society. Yet today, exhaustion among teachers who directly face and support children at schools has reached critical levels. Immediate measures to address this crisis are a must. Japan maintains impressive standards in terms of children's intellectual abilities. Students in Japan have consistently ranked among those in the top countries in the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international survey conducted every three years to evaluate the scholastic abilities of 15-year-olds, since 2000, when the survey began. PISA measures students' ability to practically apply knowledge and to think across three core competencies: mathematical literacy, scientific literacy and reading proficiency. According to the latest 2022 survey, among the 37 participating member nations, Japanese students ranked first in both mathematics and science and second in reading skills. Although there is a trend internationally for students from economically advantaged households to earn higher scores, even students from economically disadvantaged households in Japan achieve high math scores, indicating narrower educational inequalities compared to their peers in other countries. Japan also ranks highly in areas beyond academics. For instance, Japanese students' sense of belonging at school is the sixth highest among OECD countries, surpassing Nordic educational frontrunners including Finland. This indicates that many children find schools to be welcoming spaces. Mounting pressure to deliver results Most elementary and junior high schools handling the education of children up to age 15 in Japan are public. It can thus be said that the comprehensive strength of Japan's public education has laid the foundation for the impressive abilities exhibited by Japanese students. Teachers not only handle subject instruction but also oversee student guidance in daily areas like meal provision through school lunch programs, classroom cleaning and school events. The shared value underpinning Japanese public education has long been the idea that "no child should be left behind." However, the reality at schools is becoming increasingly severe. "Teachers are unable to engage in meaningful, essential education work that fosters children's growth. Instead, they are becoming exhausted, overwhelmed by tasks that bring no joy or sense of purpose," says Takashi Kubo, a former principal at Kikawaminami Elementary School in Osaka. In 2021, Kubo submitted a proposal detailing these realities to then-Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui. Although Kubo was initially protesting the chaos caused by the sudden mandatory introduction of online classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the deeper message in his statement expressed alarm about the future state of Japan's public education. In Osaka Prefecture and the city of Osaka, education reforms promoting competition have been pushed forward by leaders from Nippon Ishin (the Japan Innovation Party). According to reports, schools were repeatedly pressured to increase their students' scores on nationwide academic achievement tests, resulting in prolonged hours working on administrative tasks including paperwork, frequently requiring staff to labor late into the night. Nationally, educators' burdens continue to grow. Recent revisions to national curriculum guidelines have increased the educational content required to be taught. Additionally, teachers must implement new methods in the classroom, including the increased use of IT equipment. Educators are also experiencing mounting pressure to address social issues, notably rising student truancy and bullying cases. To preserve the high quality of Japan's public education, concrete steps must be taken now to improve the continually deteriorating working conditions of teachers. The national government has already outlined relief policies for teachers, such as raising allowances provided uniformly in lieu of overtime pay, increasing teacher numbers and limiting junior high school class sizes to 35 students, following similar measures for elementary schools. However, Japan's public expenditure on education remains comparatively low internationally. In fact, the nation's education spending is among the lowest among OECD member states. Reforming teachers' working conditions is an urgent priority When Kubo retired three years ago, class sizes at his school had already fallen below 25 students. Compared to when there were 30 or more students per class, teachers had more leeway to give each student individual attention. "Engaging in shared activities with children, like playing soccer together, is valuable," Kubo emphasizes. "Rather than pursuing competitive results and outcomes, creating comfortable schools for children is what will improve true academic performance." Although the number of children continues to decline due to Japan's falling birth rate, there is an increasing need to provide carefully tailored education to a diverse student body, including children with disabilities and those with foreign roots. Creating workplaces with greater flexibility and less pressure would also help address the ongoing decline in individuals pursuing teaching careers. Amid numerous unresolved issues facing educational institutions, the government has launched measures to waive tuition fees at senior high schools. Although these policies aim to reduce the financial burden on families, some experts have expressed concerns that they may instead lead to a weakening of the foundations of public high schools. In Osaka Prefecture, where high school tuition-free policies have already been implemented, the increased popularity of private high schools has resulted in about half of public high schools failing to meet their enrollment quotas. Prefectural high schools have consequently been closed one after another under prefectural ordinances requiring they either merge or shut down after years of continued under-enrollment. Similar scenarios may soon unfold in other metropolitan areas, including the Tokyo region. Public education has supported Japan's economic growth and societal stability. As the country grapples with its declining birth rate and advances in digitalization, we must collectively consider ways to preserve and sustain public education's inherent value.
Gulf Insider
21-03-2025
- Science
- Gulf Insider
Idiocracy Looms As Study Finds TikTok Rots Youth Minds
The intelligence test was invented 121 years ago. While IQ scores have historically risen alongside technological advancements, recent years have seen a slowdown—if not a reversal—in intelligence. The rise of smartphones, tablets, and social media may be to blame, and more recently, the phenomenon of the 'TikTok brain' among teenagers suggests peak cognition has arrived. A new report from the Financial Times cites a test used to measure the IQs of 15-year-olds, conducted by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). This test evaluates students' performance in reading, mathematics, and science literacy. The latest data suggests that IQs peaked in the early 2010s. Peak cognition fears come nearly two decades after the debut of the satirical sci-fi comedy Idiocracy, which depicted a dystopian future where humanity becomes profoundly dumbed down by the 2500s. FT's chief data reporter, John Burn-Murdoch , said the timing of this data marks an 'inflection point' and is 'noteworthy' because it coincides with 'our changing relationship with information,' which is now primarily online. NEW 🧵: Is human intelligence starting to decline?Recent results from major international tests show that the average person's capacity to process information, use reasoning and solve novel problems has been falling since around the mid should we make of this? — John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) March 14, 2025 Declining math and literacy skills are likely the result of a shift away from text-based learning toward visual media. Additionally, there is a broader erosion in the capacity for mental focus, which could be attributed to 'TikTok brain rot'—with youth spending countless hours each week mindlessly swiping into oblivion. It's clear that digital technologies have impacted attention span, memory, and self-regulation negatively. A surge in the share of 15-year-olds who reported difficulties in PISA tests coincides with big changes in how information is processed, shifting drastically away from reading to visual content over the two decades. Peak cognition fears suggest achieving full Idiocracy may happen at a much more accelerated timeline. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence could surpass human IQs by the next decade… 'I think today's systems, they're very passive, but there's still a lot of things they can't do. But I think over the next five to 10 years, a lot of those capabilities will start coming to the fore and we'll start moving towards what we call artificial general intelligence,' Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said at a briefing on Monday. TikTok and other digital technologies that offer instant gratification through swiping left, right, up, or down appear to have made society even dumber.
Al Jazeera
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Donald Trump signs executive order to ‘eliminate' Department of Education
United States President Donald Trump has made good on a campaign promise to begin shuttering the Department of Education, though his efforts are likely to face court challenges and constitutional barriers. On Thursday, the Republican leader held an elaborate ceremony to sign an executive order that would set in motion the department's demise. A semi-circle of children were arranged in desks around the president, each with their own version of the executive order to sign. When Trump uncapped his marker to sign the order, the children followed suit. When he lifted up the completed order for the cameras, so too did the kids. 'I will sign an executive order to begin eliminating the Federal Department of Education once and for all,' Trump said in remarks before the signing ceremony. 'And it sounds strange, doesn't it? Department of Education, we're going to eliminate it, and everybody knows it's right, and the Democrats know it's right.' But Democrats and education advocates quickly denounced the action as not only another example of presidential overreach but as an effort that would harm students across the country. 'Attempting to dismantle the Department of Education is one of the most destructive and devastating steps Donald Trump has ever taken. This. Will. Hurt. Kids,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media within minutes of the ceremony. The order called for Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, a longtime Trump ally, to 'take all necessary steps' to facilitate the department's closure, which must be approved by Congress. The Department of Education was founded in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, as part of an effort to consolidate various education initiatives within the federal government. In doing so, he created a new cabinet-level position, something Republicans even then argued would leach power away from states and local school boards. The department, however, has a limited mandate. It does not set curriculums or school programming but rather focuses on collecting data on education, disseminating research, distributing federal aid and enforcing anti-discrimination measures. Trump bemoans test scores Still, Trump has repeatedly held the department responsible for low educational achievement in US schools, an assertion experts say is misleading. ' We're not doing well with the world of education in this country. And we haven't for a long time,' Trump said at Thursday's ceremony. The US does indeed trail other countries in global standardised test scores – but it is by no means last, as Trump has sometimes asserted. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international metric for education standards, has found that American students rank as average in their test scores: above countries like Mexico and Brazil but below places like Singapore, Japan and Canada. Test scores had declined in mathematics from 2018 to 2022, something PISA attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. But achievements in reading and science remained stable. Trump, meanwhile, also tied the Department of Education to his broader campaign to cut alleged waste and fraud in the federal government, including through widespread layoffs. He explained from the podium on Thursday that he had offered buyout offers to Education Department employees. ' We've cut the number of bureaucrats in half. Fifty percent have taken offers,' Trump said to applause. He added that the employees consisted of ' a small handful of Democrats and others that we have employed for a long time – and there are some Republicans, but not too many, I have to be honest with you.' Trump has previously pledged to expel all 'Biden bureaucrats' and install loyalists instead. Critics, however, say he has targeted nonpartisan civil service members with his layoffs, many of whom help maintain government stability from administration to administration. One Trump ally who risks losing their position under the department shake-up is McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. Trump, however, reassured her from the podium on Thursday that she would remain in his government: 'We're going to find something else for you, Linda.' Does Trump have the authority? Despite his executive order, Trump cannot single-handedly shutter the Department of Education. Only Congress can formally shut down a cabinet-level department. But already, Republicans like Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have stepped forward to begin legislative proceedings. 'I agree with President Trump that the Department of Education has failed its mission,' Cassidy said in a news release. 'Since the Department can only be shut down with congressional approval, I will support the President's goals by submitting legislation to accomplish this as soon as possible.' But if such legislation is introduced, it would likely not generate enough support to reach the threshold of 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster in the 100-seat Senate. 'The Republicans don't have that,' said Al Jazeera correspondent Shihab Rattansi, reporting from Washington, DC. The Republicans only have a 53-seat majority. Still, Rattansi predicts the issue will likely end up before the Supreme Court, as education advocates prepare to mount legal challenges. The Education Department, Rattansi explained, 'is thought of as relatively low-hanging fruit' as the Trump administration tries to expand its executive reach. 'They have a very expansive view of executive power. They want to test that in court,' he said. Part of the reason for its vulnerability is that the department is relatively young: It was founded within the last half-century. But Rattansi warned that critical educational functions could be lost or suspended while legal challenges wind their way through the court system. 'What the Department of Education does is ensure equal access to education for minorities, for poor kids, for disabled children, and so on. So there's that extra level of oversight that will now be – potentially, in the short term – removed as court cases are fought,' he said. 'In the long term, though, this is all about testing the limits of executive power for Donald Trump.' Already, teachers' unions like the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are gearing up for a legal fight. 'As Republican governors at the White House celebrate the dismantling of a federal role in education, our members across the country are worried about the impact this will have on their students,' AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. 'This isn't efficiency, it's evisceration.' What happens to the department's functions? Trump's executive order does pledge to ensure 'the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely'. But critics fear programmes like the Pell Grant – which offers financial aid to low-income students – and services for students with disabilities could suffer as the department is taken apart. Trump tried to assuage those concerns on Thursday. 'They're going to be preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments that will take very good care of them,' he said. He did, however, emphasise that individual states would be taking over the bulk of the department's functions. His order specified no further federal funds would go to programmes related to 'gender ideology' or diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), two frequent targets of his ire. ' We're gonna shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible,' Trump said of the Education Department. 'It's doing us no good. We want to return our students to the states where just some of the governors here are so happy about this.' In the audience was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a former rival of Trump's in the 2024 presidential election, who likewise campaigned on dismantling the department. Still, critics like Democratic lawmaker Rashida Tlaib of Michigan argued there was no other agency capable of enforcing national standards for equal education access. 'The Department's federal funding ensures that all children, regardless of who they are or which zip code they are born in, can achieve a quality education. Without the Department of Education, many of our kids will be left behind, unable to receive the education they need and deserve,' she wrote in a statement. 'Without the Department of Education, no one will be left to ensure civil rights laws are enforced in our schools.' She added that Thursday's move was blatantly unconstitutional. 'I look forward to it being challenged in court.'
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
3 claims about the Department of Education and what it really does
As the U.S. Department of Education shrinks following massive layoffs at the agency, President Donald Trump and his allies continue to make dubious claims about the agency and education in the country. ABC News examined some of President Donald Trump's common complaints about the Department of Education and the state of education in the United States. MORE: 'Upsetting': Civil servants across the US part of Department of Education's mass layoffs Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. ranks last in the world in education among developed countries while spending the most per pupil. "So they rank the top 40 countries in the world, we are ranked No. 40th, but we are ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil," Trump said at the White House last month. "So we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we're ranked No. 40." This claim is not true based on data reviewed by ABC News. The U.S. is not ranked last in education nor does it spend the most per pupil. The White House didn't respond to ABC News' request for information about Trump's claim. It's unclear which data Trump used to base his claims. Even though the country spends a lot per pupil, the Education Data Initiative found an average of $20,387 per year of federal, state and local spending. The amount is the third-highest per pupil (after adjusting to local currency values). The country is not last in any education statistic that ABC News has reviewed. The U.S. is above average in reading and science, and about average when it comes to scores in math, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA is the industry standard for ranking students from different countries, according to education experts. There are roughly 40 member countries and economies in the OECD and about 40 more countries have participated in the last three assessments. It varies by year -- in 2015, 70 countries and economies participated; in 2018, 78 participated. In 2022, the most recently released data, roughly 81 countries took part in OECD's PISA assessments, which measure 15-year-olds' ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge. The U.S. ranked ninth out of 81 in reading, 16th/81 in science, and 34th/81 in math, according to the 2022 PISA results. The PISA results debunk Trump's long-standing claim that "we're at the bottom of every list." The next PISA data collection is taking place in 2025 -- and is expected to be released in September 2026, according to an OECD spokesperson. MORE: Department of Education lays off nearly 50% of its workforce However, this is not to say American students are always high achievers. Some results on nationally administered exams have shown concerns as of late. America's fourth- and eighth-grade students' sliding reading scores worsened in 2024, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, dubbed the nation's report card, which is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics under the Department of Education. Compared to 2022, this year's average reading scores dropped by 2 points for both fourth- and eighth-grade assessments, according to the NCES data conducted between January and March 2024. That adds to the 3-point decrease for both grades in 2022. Despite the decline in reading, there was some recovery in math in 2024, but the increase has not returned students to pre-pandemic levels. And NCES also found nearly one third of U.S. students ended the 2023-2024 school year behind grade level in at least one academic subject. It is unclear whether this data will be collected in future years if the DOE is eliminated. The Trump administration has stated that through cuts at the Department of Education, they want to return education to the states. "The president wants to return education back to the states, empower those closest to the people to make these very important decisions for our children's lives. And ... this is a first step in that process," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said to ABC News' Selina Wang when asked about the cuts at the DOE. Education is a local level-issue already as the federal education department only administers roughly 10% of public school funds nationwide, according to multiple education experts. The Department of Education does not administer curriculum or create lessons for the nation's students. It also does not set requirements for enrollment and graduation or establish or accredit schools or universities. In fact, curriculum comes from the states and local school districts. The education department doesn't teach the students taking standardized exams and assessments. The states already do that. MORE: When will the Department of Education be dissolved? Secretary Linda McMahon says she doesn't know The education department does hold schools accountable for enforcing non-discrimination laws based on race, gender and disability. The agency also administers funds for K-12 education support programs such as the Rural Education Achievement Program, which supports rural districts that may lack personnel and resources; Title I, which funds programs aimed at improving the performance of low-income and low-achieving schools; and grants for Individuals with Disabilities including the Transition and Postsecondary Programs for students. Not only does the department administer K-12 assistance, it also helps students pursue higher education through the office of Federal Student Aid through grants, work-study funds and low-interest loans. MORE: Fired Education Department worker: 'We got the sense that we were disposable.' Finally, the DOE holds schools accountable for student achievement through the Every Student Succeeds Act, which requires each state to provide data on subject performance, graduation rates, suspensions, absenteeism, teacher qualifications and more. The Education Department's mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access, according to Trump has claimed, without evidence, that many Department of Education employees weren't going to work or doing a good job. "Many of them don't work at all. Many of them never showed up to work. Many of them, many of them never showed up to work," Trump said at the White House on Wednesday. The White House did not respond to ABC News' request for comment about where Trump got this information. Based on dozens of interviews, ABC News reporting has not found any evidence of employees "never" showing up to work, as Trump claimed. ABC News has spoken to employees tasked with everything from conducting critical research projects to enforcing anti-discrimination laws for students based on race, gender and disability, among other characteristics. When the Department of Education cut nearly 50% of its workforce earlier this week, an email to those who remained employed said, "Please know that these decisions were not made lightly, and in no way reflect on the dedication and hard work of those who are leaving." Joe Murphy, whose position as a management and data analyst was eliminated at the Department of Education earlier this week, said on Wednesday that he felt "disposable." "We got the sense that we were disposable in a certain sense, especially those of us in the data space," he told ABC News. Victoria DeLano was an Equal Opportunity Specialist in the education department's Office for Civil Rights serving people with disabilities. DeLano said she believes she was the sole employee within the OCR who was stationed in Alabama. "It's horrifying that the Office for Civil Rights, to begin with, is understaffed, but then, when I was locked out of access to work last week, to think, OK, one more person that was taken out of the equation," Delano said. "These students have no one else. They can still file complaints with OCR. Please understand OCR is understaffed at best, and OCR right now does not have external communication with you all. So I don't know where they turn," she added. A regional Department of Education employee, who received the reduction in force email on Tuesday and spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said their civil rights office was abolished. Offices in major cities including San Francisco, New York, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago and Dallas have shuttered, and the three U.S. Department of Education buildings in D.C. will eventually be consolidated, according to senior department of education officials. "All those disabled kids, which is the bulk of our docket, will not be helped," the employee said. 3 claims about the Department of Education and what it really does originally appeared on
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Musk cuts waste and progressives melt down. He must be on the right track. I Opinion
At the behest of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk is flirting with audits of the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Education and the Pentagon. Forget wine and roses on Valentine's Day: That might be the most seductive sentence I've read in a long time. A president and his top advisers are actually doing something to bring financial responsibility to the federal government? It's enough to make a fiscal conservative swoon. Of course, not everyone is feeling the love. Democrats and much of the mainstream news media are howling like a dog that's lost its dinner. They've charged Trump with an unconstitutional overreach and Musk with being power-hungry. But taxpayers should be standing by with prosecco and praise for the administration's efforts to turn nonsense into common sense. Consider one of Trump's latest pronouncements: The president on Sunday ordered the Treasury Department to stop making pennies because they have long been a losing proposition for taxpayers. In its 2024 annual report, the U.S. Mint said that each penny costs 3.69 cents to produce and distribute. Even progressives' newspaper of record, The New York Times, noted last year that 'the necessity of abolishing the penny has been obvious to those in power for so long that the inability to accomplish it has transformed the coin into a symbol of deeper rot.' So goodbye, bad penny, and good riddance. Of course, Washington bureaucrats stopped pinching pennies a long time ago, which means Elon's Musketeers have a lot of ground to cover and waste to uncover. Last week, he posted a poll on X asking his 217 million followers if the Department of Government Efficiency should audit the IRS. More than 90% answered in the affirmative. And an audit of the auditors − the IRS employs more than 90,000 workers − does seem very much in order. Thankfully, Musk is just getting started. Trump said in a recent interview that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will soon target spending inside the Department of Education and the Department of Defense. Last year, the Education Department received $268 billion in funding − the sixth highest total of any agency. Despite all those billions, our students and our schools have fallen behind. In a 2022 test of 15-year-old students worldwide, the Program for International Student Assessment found the United States placed 16th in science. Our children did even worse in math, ranking 34th. As a parent, I want to know why tax dollars devoted to education aren't delivering a better return on our investment. Opinion: Trump and Musk should gut USAID. America needs to fix our own house first. Taxpayers also deserve to know that the Pentagon, with a 2025 budget of $850 billion, is spending with precision to safeguard our nation. Trump has said that Musk will find billions of dollars in waste and fraud in this department. I don't doubt it. The hunt for waste and fraud is exactly what Americans want − a Reuters/Ipsos poll in late January found 61% public support for Trump's plan to downsize the federal government. Even some critics of Trump and Musk acknowledge that they are likely to find "awful examples of wasteful spending," as Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna put it. Last year, a Government Accountability Office report estimated that federal agencies handed out $236 billion in 'improper payments' during the 2023 fiscal year. Yet, nothing changed − until now, thanks to Trump and Musk. Still, Democrats are accusing both men of overreach. "We've got Donald Trump and his co-president Elon Musk, and they're just running a wrecking ball through (the government),' Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said on MSNBC. Warren also told protesters outside the Treasury Department last week that "Elon Musk is seizing power from the American people. He is here to seize power for himself." Opinion: Trump's tariff threats are tumultuous for consumers. That won't fix the economy. Since when is ensuring that taxpayers' money is spent appropriately a power-hungry move? Do Democrats really want to be in a position of defending waste and fraud? I've got news for them: This is exactly what Americans voted for and what the federal government needs. A new CBS News/YouGov poll found that almost 60% of Americans describe Trump as "effective," that 70% agree he's doing what he said he'd do during his reelection campaign and that 53% approve of his job performance. Trump and Musk were clear on the campaign trail that they would implement DOGE, and now they're doing it. As president, Trump has the responsibility and the power to ensure that federal agencies operate efficiently and spend tax dollars effectively. He's not overreaching; he's doing his job. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. The U.S. government is wisely built on a system of checks and balances. But the government's misuse of tax dollars has gone unchecked and our budget has been unbalanced for far too long. If Musk can help save us from Washington's standard operating procedure of fiscal irresponsibility, then I say go for it. Can you imagine if our federal government ran as efficiently as Amazon? If it had the same standards of excellence as Apple? Or the innovative spirit of SpaceX? Be still my beating heart. It all seems wildly romantic. Nicole Russell is a columnist at USA TODAY and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@ and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump drops a bad penny as Musk saves taxpayers billions I Opinion
