by Jeff Davidson –
Progressives, BLM advocates, and social justice warriors detect racism, real or not, everywhere they look, particularly in education.
Imagine that a young Isaac Newton, Madame Curie, Henri Poincare, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Albert Einstein, Alan Turing, or, for that matter, Pythagoras, Euclid, or Archimedes was newly enrolled in a Portland, Oregon grade School.
Exposed to this state’s absurd edict regarding how math is to be taught – to make it less “white,” and to remove the onus of showing your work and reaching the right answer — would any of them have achieved prominence? Would the world be the same?
Racism, Under Every Rock!
Consider the ladies profiled in the movie Hidden Figures, including Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan. Without them, we probably still would have made it to the Moon, but maybe with more difficulty and more delay.
What is it about the Left that keeps looking for ways to dumb down education so that anybody, at any time can get a passing grade regardless of what they know? ‘Progressives,’ BLM advocates, and ‘social justice warriors’ detect racism, real or not, everywhere they look, particularly in education.
Achievement tests, end-of-grade testing, report cards, and assigning letter grades to a student’s performance are under attack by the Left. Yet, as Freakonnomics proved, even in ‘poor’ schools, a decent teacher and a motivated student can yield academic success.
Tests are Useless?
Those on the Left prefer to cast aspersions on American education, stop all testing, apparently for all students, for all time. After all, the tests are hopelessly biased against anything but the Caucasian majority… although Asians seem to do well…
Curiously, the Left never pushes for more rigorous standards. “Why are tests needed at all?” they demand to know. “Learning takes place on many different levels. Why conform to the white man’s version of what represents academic achievement?”
Let’s assess the ramifications of such assertions.
Take the Long Way Home
How confident would you be driving across a high bridge, over a wide river, knowing that the bridge was designed by engineers who ‘learned’ math in Oregon, or didn’t take any final exams in college? Knowing the academic credentials of the bridge designers, or lack thereof, could change your driving habits.
What if you need of brain surgery? Among a handful of brain surgeons in your region, you learn that some never took final exams in medical school, or any exams for that matter. These same surgeons turned in no college papers, took no quizzes, and spent little time in class.
Suppose they’re all excellent surgeons and have successfully operated on others many times?
Still, you’ve got this nagging suspicion that your best choice would be among the brain surgeons who attended class, did well on quizzes and tests, passed final exams, and proved to be academically superior.
Would anyone find you to be discriminatory? Can we find fault with your decision to seek a formally trained and tested brain surgeon?
Who Ya Gonna Call?
Whether it’s receiving change at the grocery store, having your car fixed at the repair shop, hiring a masseuse, or any of dozens of other product and service options, as Ghostbusters fans would say, “Who ya gonna call?”
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. The false bill of goods that far Left groups peddle will come back to haunt their advocates and apologists, not merely for years, but for decades.
HT: Politicrossing
