Last Wednesday, the White House announced that President Donald Trump had donated his second-quarter salary to the Department of Education. President Trump’s donation marks only one of many advances he has pursued since taking office to increase educational opportunities for children in the U.S., especially for women in science. Earlier this year, the president also donated his first quarter wage to the National Park Service for the conservation of national parks and monuments.
According to the White House, Trump’s donation of one hundred thousand dollars to the Department of Defense will be used to fund a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) camp for students. The camp will aid in encouraging students to pursue an interest or future career in STEM subjects. As reported by LN: The donation follows his recent approval of the visas of six girls from Afghanistan tirelessly seeking to compete in the July 16th international robotics tournament in Washington, D.C. after they were previously twice denied, marking potentially significant progress for women in repressive nations. President Trump has taken even further steps to improve STEM education, especially for female students:
Earlier in the year, President Trump signed the INSPIRE Act which encourages NASA to have women and girls participate in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and to pursue careers in aerospace. He also signed the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act which aims to enable the National Science Foundation to support women in the sciences.
As reported by USA Today, President Trump's 2018 budget may also improve U.S. STEM education by investing $1.4 billion in public and private school choice and decreasing the Department of Education’s budget by $9 million. This decision comes at a critical time when standard public education has proven to be a failing system for our nation’s youth, as evidenced in a previous article at Liberty Nation:
Among the 35 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development … the U.S. ranked 30th in math and 19th in science.
These statistics are unacceptable if Americans wish to become world leaders in STEM once again. In fact, in some parts of the U.S., such as Chicago, Illinois, only 5% of teens meet state standards in science, reading, and math in the lowest-performing high schools. Encouraging students to pursue a STEM field is increasingly critical for the future success of our nation’s economic and innovative progress.
Members of President Trump’s staff have also worked to encourage STEM interest in students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and President Trump’s daughter and advisor, Ivanka Trump, recently hosted a summer reading event to get “young girls, ages 6-10, excited about learning” STEM. DeVos explained that the future success of America’s economy requires that:
Engaged students, boys, and girls are prepared for STEM careers. We want to encourage as many children as possible to explore STEM fields in the hope that many develop a passion for these fields.
Thankfully, President Trump is attempting to undo the damage imposed on the U.S. education system. Through his donations and devotion to STEM and school choice, the U.S. may once again become the world leader in STEM.
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