14 Comments

School choice is essential. The money must follow the student. Government schools are designed as employment programs for staff. We must break up the monopoly power and fight the unions who continue to put their interests ahead of students.

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I scratch my head in wonder at the “outcomes” the Hunter Task Force envisions for children who have been given a pass in math because they produced a “creative essay” having something to do with numbers. I’m assuming numbers will be involved, because math…but you never know.

There’s an expression: “kicking the can down the road.” The futures of these disadvantaged students will be kicked into oblivion by this cynical strategy. Let them be somebody else’s problem ten years from now, when they’re unprepared to live as independent adults in a competitive economy. But maybe Hunter, out of the goodness of its heart, has a plan to support these unemployable people for the rest of their lives. That would be nice.

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Sep 5, 2022·edited Sep 5, 2022

Thank you for speaking out. I fear the problem is no longer just with recommendations of an Advisory Committee that may be adopted; it may also be with many teachers, particularly in the English and Communication and Theatre fields (hence the essay recommendation) who have bought in to Marxist ideologies. My own experiences in the past year read like a script from Invasion of the Body Snatchers where people I have known my whole life are now indoctrinated into the cult of equity.

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The author’s suggestions are too common sense oriented to ever be adopted by DEI consultants, administrators, and teachers. Those people are committed to set students up for failure in later life so as to always be dependent on someone else. It’s not just racist. It’s criminal.

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Sep 5, 2022·edited Sep 5, 2022

This just gets back to points I made in another essay...I would posit we're not dealing with Marxism as much as we're dealing with a variation on Nazism. I say this because of the race-essentialist focus of so much of this stuff. It's not about status...it's about the color of your skin and assumed traits associated with it. Calling them Marxists gives them a certain veneer of respectability (at least in certain quarters) I don't think they deserve.

What disturbs me is that our education standards have fallen so far that even the teachers parroting this stuff don't seem to understand what they're saying. All this kind of stuff does is further the "othering" that's essential for any race-essentialist dogma to work.

That said, this is a valuable essay making points that should be circulated. Sadly, I doubt they will be.

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Thoughtfully written. Thank you.

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You have based your entire piece here upon a faulty definition. Equity means fairness as in leveling the playing field--providing students with what each needs individually to succeed. It has nothing to do with ensuring uniform outcomes.

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The schools’ curricula would inevitably become centered on DEI, and quality education would become secondary to activism. Which means lets all be dumbed down together. Imagine the frustration and anger generated by kids who want to learn and excel but are told you must understand that is a form of discrimination. So for $38 billion and 36K per student you get mediocracy from the who deal. A bloated bureaucracy which says, we are not appreciated, we are under paid, and under staffed. Oh please keep those germ ridden kids at home and in a mask.

No wonder they hate school choice and vouchers. Some of these parasites might actually have to get a real job and do some actual work. How absolutely racist, homophobic, right wing SUPER MAGA, terroristic can you be? You actually want education for your kids for 38 billion? Please!

Is there any wonder why parents are saying enough of this crap and how about we get involved in what is being taught and the results we expect. Kids who can not read, write, or do basic math are simply dead weight to a society. That is reality, but it also makes them more dependent on politicians and hand outs. Which the Teachers Union fully supports these same politicians who say this works for both of us.

Last question, was the Hunter Study by Hunter Biden during one of his drug fueled binges and in consultation with Corn Pop? Sure sounds like it.

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The schools’ curricula would inevitably become centered on DEI, and quality education would become secondary to activism. Which means lets all be dumbed down together. Imagine the frustration and anger generated by kids who want to learn and excel but are told you must understand that is a form of discrimination. So for $38 billion and 36K per student you get mediocracy from the who deal. A bloated bureaucracy which says, we are not appreciated, we are under paid, and under staffed. Oh please keep those germ ridden kids at home and in a mask.

No wonder they hate school choice and vouchers. Some of these parasites might actually have to get a real job and do some actual work. How absolutely racist, homophobic, right wing SUPER MAGA, terroristic can you be? You actually want education for your kids for 38 billion? Please!

Is there any wonder why parents are saying enough of this crap and how about we get involved in what is being taught and the results we expect. Kids who can not read, write, or do basic math are simply dead weight to a society. That is reality, but it also makes them more dependent on politicians and hand outs. Which the Teachers Union fully supports these same politicians who say this works for both of us.

Last question, was the Hunter Study by Hunter Biden during one of his drug fueled binges and in consultation with Corn Pop? Sure sounds like it.

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Get rid of ineffectual teachers/administrators, as demonstrated by achievement/proficiencey results.

Hold consistently high expectations/standards for students - academically and behaviorally.

Work to create a community culture that places high value on attaining a high school degree.

Provide for more time in school day/year.

Provide plenty of tutors.

Focus on teacher-directed learning and a classical, rigorous curriculum.

These steps would lift up ALL our children.

Can't do ANY of these within the US public school environment as it exists today.

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My daughter took some science courses at Hunter - she said the 'people of color' tended to drop out over time....she wasn't sure why....lack of interest? lack of perseverance? difficulty with the material? For sure, they have the opportunity to achieve; However, as they say, you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

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