In a striking conversation on the Breaking Battlegrounds podcast, Daniel Buck, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of the Conservative Education Reform Network, didn’t hold back when asked what he would do if handed the reins to American education.

With 54% of U.S. adults unable to read beyond a sixth-grade level and 18% considered functionally illiterate, Buck called the situation a “travesty.” His solution? Begin by eliminating the federal Department of Education altogether.

Buck argues that much of the $26 billion spent annually on teacher professional development is wasted on "crackpots, consultants, and salespeople" peddling the latest fads instead of proven teaching methods. Phonics, rote memorization, and silent reading—what Buck calls “tried and true” techniques—are neglected because they’re not trendy or profitable.

"These ideas don’t sell," Buck says bluntly. "But they work."

By dismantling the DOE, Buck believes we would cut off funding for unproven and ineffective educational experiments, clearing the way for a return to core academic principles.

Beyond eliminating the DOE, Buck advocates for a state and local focus on the essentials: reading, writing, arithmetic—and discipline. He criticizes the leniency in many school disciplinary policies, proposing that students who disrespect or disrupt classrooms should face real consequences.

“If you talk back to a teacher, if you throw a desk, you’re out for the day,” he said. “No going to the principal’s office for a bag of chips and an apology.”

Buck’s unapologetic approach has earned him attention as a leading voice in conservative education reform. His message is clear: Stop funding ineffective fads, scrap the bureaucracy, and refocus American education on what actually works.

Transcript

**Chuck Warren: **We're with Daniel Buck. He's a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Daniel, okay, you're king. They make you education secretary. Right now, we have 54% of American adults who cannot read past the sixth grade level. And functional illiteracy, which means they have no reading or writing skills for everyday life, is 18% of Americans. What would you do to correct that travesty?

**Daniel Buck: **A lot of what they're doing at the federal level, I'm a proponent of right now, getting rid of the Department of Education, a lot of the funds that are flowing out of there kind of bankroll these crazy ideas. So there's $26 billion spent annually on teacher professional development.

And what most of that money goes to are a bunch of crackpots and consultants and salespeople that are selling the latest fad. They can't sell what we know is tried and true, teaching phonics, memorizing math facts, reading good books silently sometimes, because that's not interesting, that's not sexy, that's not new, that's not innovative, that doesn't sell.

So all of this professional development money goes to people who are trying to sell the latest thing, which doesn't work. Continue this process that's in motion of getting rid of the Department of Education, because that alone is going to get rid of some of the crazy ideas in education,

because there won't be a giant fund of money for it anymore. And then at the state and local level, I would just focus policies with a laser-like focus onto academics and behavior. Kids are learning, they're reading, writing, arithmetic, And if you talk back to a teacher, if you cuss a teacher out,

if you throw a desk out of the room, you're out of the school for that day. You don't go to the principal's office, get a bag of chips, say I'm sorry, and get brought right back to the room.

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