Dumb and Dumber (Nos. 32 & 33)
Watching the Education Apocalypse in Slow Motion
I’m in Phoenix, Arizona through Sunday for a conference hosted by my friends at the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. I’m delivering a talk on “The Truth of the Founders’ Liberalism.” I am/was hoping to have the second long-form essay in my news series on education ready for you by Tuesday, but we’ll have to wait and see. No promises.
DUMB AND DUMBER (NO. 32)
K-12 EDITION
THE FACE OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM. (In case you forgot!): “Why Are Moms Like Me Being Called Domestic Terrorists?”
CONFESSION: THERE IS ONLY ONE SORT OF HUMAN BEING THAT TRULY SCARES THE BEJESUS OUT OF ME, AND THAT’S AN ANGRY MOM. Believe me when I tell you, they are not to be messed with. And there seems to be a whole bunch of them who are upset right now. And the thing is, they don’t stop until they get what they want. Trust me, I know! Virginia mom's takedown of school board over mask hypocrisy goes viral: 'We the parents are fed up'
OK, LET’S ACCEPT FOR THE MOMENT (HYPOTHETICALLY, OF COURSE) THAT THIS IS NOT RACIST OR HATE SPEECH. What is it, then? Is it a plea for help? Maybe the school should punish all the ALL the innocent students as a form of collective retribution for the past, present, and all future wrongs: School district's 'race and equity monitor' declares vile graffiti is not racist after black student admits to it
IT’S ALL PART OF A GRAND EXPERIMENT . . . ON YOUR CHILDREN: Grade-school science camp's woke sleeping arrangements put males with young girls
SPORTS ARE ABOUT THE ONLY THING THAT THE GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS ACTUALLY DO WELL. It's Time to Start Treating High School Math Like Football
INDUBITABLY, YES! In fact, there would be no government schools in a free society in the same way there would be no government churches. We need a Second Renaissance and that will only come by liberating Americans from government schooling. Let us unleash an education revolution. A Free Society Should Have Educational Options
WELCOME TO AMERICA’S GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS . . . middle school mind you . . . and we’re talking Kansas and not Brookline, MA: “Parents Concerned Over Sexually Graphic Books Found In Kansas Middle School Class Library.”
“According to Board of Education policy, all books on the district’s K-12 reading lists must be approved by the Board of Education as they support the Olathe Public Schools curriculum,” the statement added.
In “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” passages describe sexually explicit content such as, “He reached his hand down and pulled out my d**k. He quickly went to giving me h**d. I just sat back and enjoyed it as I could tell he was, too.”
“He didn’t know I was a virgin, and I did my best to act dominant like my favorite porn star,” the book continued.
“For the first few minutes, we dry humped and grinded,” another passage read. “I was behind him with my stomach on his back as we kissed … he pulled out some condom and some lube … I had never done it before … I had one point of reference, though, and that was seven-plus years of watching pornography. Although the porn was heterosexual, it was enough of a reference point to get the job done.”
Just so we’re clear, my primary objection to this is the poor quality of writing! Not exactly going to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. Otherwise, pretty normal stuff for 12-year-olds!
But rather than be outraged by this, the time has come for YOU to do something about the situation. It’s time to . . .
STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES: Government official who compared parents to Nazis takes drastic action
VIDEO: PRAGER U IS TURNING ITS ATTENTION TO K-12 EDUCATION AND THAT’S A GOOD THING. “Miseducated: The Decline of America's Schools”
VERY GOOD ESSAY FROM ROGER KIMBALL ON THE ISSUE DU JOUR: “Garland Just Tipped Over the Dominos: Parents across the country have suddenly woken up to the wokeness haunting their schools and poisoning the minds of their children.”
BUT. . . BUT . . . BUT . . . I THOUGHT THE PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA WAS TO VIOLATE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, NOT TO PROMOTE FREEDOM. This idea would actually liberate young people from the government schools sooner rather than later. How can that be a good idea? Oh, wait . . . ! Low-cost option to help students damaged by COVID rules already exists
As the Omicron variant continues to threaten in-person instruction, state legislatures should make it a priority to remove all barriers to taking the GED. Specifically, states should remove any age barriers taking the GED — with no limitations. Going even further, states should deem that anyone who scores high enough shall have satisfied the state’s graduation requirements and can leave school.
This is an ideal nonpartisan solution for our times. It will cost virtually nothing to enact the legislation and have little or no net effect on district finances. The bill itself likely would be a page or less and could pass with bipartisan support.
HOMESCHOOL EDITION
NOTE TO HOMESCHOOLERS: THE EDUCATION DEEP STATE IS COMING FOR YOUR CHILDREN. Don’t let them do it. Maryland legislature considers creating 'advisory council' to collect data on homeschoolers'
HOMESCHOOLERS OF THE WORLD UNITE! You have nothing to lose but your children’s chains. Black families homeschool their children for the same reason that all others families do: because they love their children and want them to get a good education. The government schools do neither. Join the movement: #JustWalkAway. Black families motivated to homeschool children by 1 factor
As the United States observes Black History Month, African-American families are making history by leaving failing public schools and homeschooling their children in record numbers.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, parents, and especially black parents, found public schools incapable of handling the crisis. Even prior to the pandemic, public schools were failing to improve learning among African-American children.
In 2019, only one and a half out of ten black eighth-graders taking the national reading and math exams scored at or above the proficiency level. . . .
One African-American mother in Detroit told The New Yorker that she had challenged the city’s school superintendent, saying: “Parents are not deciding to take their children out because of COVID. Parents are doing [homeschooling pods] because education has failed children in this city forever.”
HIGHER ED EDITION
SUNLIGHT IS THE BEST DISINFECTANT: Minnesota college cancels no-whites-allowed luncheon after College Fix report.
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING IF COLLEGE IS WORTH THE MONEY . . . Purdue professor worries campus mask-optional policy will give people ‘more freedom.’
QUESTION: WOULD AMERICA BE BETTER OFF WITH OR WITHOUT YALE? Pretty sure I know the answer, but I thought it would be the decent thing to do to at least ask. Even the good Yalies seem to have been seduced by the prestige and power. These conservative Yalies are, I believe, missing the point:
Unfortunately, what happens at Yale does not stay at Yale. Glenn Reynolds (aka Instapundit) thinks we should tax the multi-billion dollar endowments of the Ivy League. I’m not so sure about that. I think we should just stop giving them taxpayer money.
WHAT THE RULING ELITE WILL DO TO MAKE SURE THEIR KIDS BECOME THE RULING ELITE: “Two Corporate Exec Parents Found Guilty In First College Admissions Scandal Trial.”
STUDENTS ARE NO LONGER PERMITTED TO CONDEMN GENOCIDE: “Emerson College Suspends Turning Point USA Over Anti-CCP Stickers.”