May, 19, 2021
An overarching theme from the Biden administration and the Democratic Party is a push for equity. But, do not mistake equity with equality. Many on the left want to replace one of the core tenets of American life enshrined in many of the United States founding documents- equality for all. They want unequal treatment to ensure equal outcomes for all-this is equity. The exact opposite of equality.
The left is on a mission to eradicate racial disparities. Seemingly a worthy goal. However, they plan to achieve their desired outcome by tilting the playing field, disadvantaging some while favoring others. In other words- reverse racism. And all differences between races are attributed to white privilege and racism.
Their objective is to cement racial identity into the fabric of every institution and government diktat.
One way they hope to achieve parity between ethnic groups is by shrinking educational opportunities and eliminating meritocracy. Throughout the country schools are ending, paring back, and lowering admission standards for gifted and advanced learning programs.
Pursuit of Equity in Education
Specifically citing racial equity, the Virginia Department of education (VDOE) recently announced a proposal to eliminate all accelerated math options before 11th grade. Under this change, regardless of ability, all students will take the same math classes through grade 11.
The VDOE is also considering ending advanced diplomas. In a live-streamed video, the director of the Virginia Education Department’s Office of Policy stated that “this is about…how and where graduation requirements can operate as a lever for equity.”
It is hard to imagine how denying academically successful children educational opportunities and dumbing down the curricula will not harm, nevermind benefit any of the students. But, many on the left are too raced-obsessed to worry about the actual consequences of their actions.
Up until December 2020, admittance to the number one high school, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, in Virginia, was a race-blind merit-based exam.
Late last year, the school board voted to abandon the entrance exam for a “holistic review”. An essay and “experience factors”, such as whether students come from low-income homes, will now be part of the admission process, which until now has been 100-percent merit-based. Undoubtedly, these subjective criteria will lower the standards for admittance, allowing the school board to pick the desired students to achieve the “equitable” racial makeup.
It does not matter to the equity warriors that some qualified students who worked hard to earn a placement will be denied entry simply because they have the “wrong” skin color. Nor do they care that a less qualified student body will necessitate a lowering of academic standards.
Those on the left in New York City also do not like the racial makeup of the students in their Gifted and Talented programs. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s solution- begin to phase out the program. de Blasio recently announced that the Department of Education will no longer administer the admission test to Kindergarteners after this year.
But, no worries, according to a spokesperson for NY Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza, the DOE will “develop a system that reimagines accelerated learning and enrichment.” Sounds like a great plan.
The Superintendent of the Boston Public School system, Brenda Cassellius, has also announced they are suspending their advanced learning programs for its fourth, fifth and sixth graders because of “concerns about equity”. In other words, there are too many Asian and white students enrolled in these programs, so they must end.
According to Cassellius:
“There is a lot of work we have to do if the district is to be antiracist and have policies where all of our students have a fair shot at an equitable and excellent education”.
Some on the left have even gone so far as to state that a meritocracy system is racist.
This past October, during a San Francisco Board of Education public meeting, Allison Collins, Board of Education Commissioner, stated that
“Merit, meritocracy …those are racist systems…if you’re going to say that merit is like fair, it’s the antithesis of fair and the antithesis of just.”
At the center of the issue in San Francisco is Lowell High School, one of the top public schools in the nation. Lowell bases admission on objective measures, such as grades and standardized testing. However, because only 2 percent of its student body is black, Collins and other board members have concluded that the admission process must be racist. They are therefore proposing to abolish the merit-based system in favor of a blind lottery.
Incredibly, those on the left are even claiming that math is racist. The Oregon Department of Education is attributing the achievement gaps in math between Asian/whites and blacks to “white supremacy culture concerning math”. Never mind that most consider Asians “people of color”.
To foster “math equity”, in February, the Oregon DOE recommended a toolkit entitled “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction: Dismantling racism in Mathematics Instruction”. According to this guide, examples of classroom actions that perpetuate white supremacy include requiring students to show their work because this “reinforces…paternalism”, and a focus “on getting the right answer.” If only this were parody. It is not.
The instructional material also recommends that educators try to “center enthnomathematics” by identifying how “math is used to uphold capitalist imperialist and racist views.”
California education officials are also considering implementing “equitable” math instruction as proposed in the pathway to equitable math instruction framework.
The so-called “moderate” president who ran on a platform of “unity”, is not only on board with racially divisive, harmful policies in the name of equity, he is leading the effort to implement them.
Biden’s Push to Advance Critical Race Theory and Equity
The Biden administration has proposed a rule offering financial grants to incentivize schools to teach the “1619 project” and critical race theory.
The “1619 Project” is a New York Times series, which claims that “one of the primary reasons” for the founding of the U.S. was to preserve slavery. Despite the author winning a Pulitzer Prize for commentary, prominent historians have universally panned the work due to numerous factual errors, including the main claim.
Critical race theory espouses that systemic racism is rife in the U.S., perpetuated by inherently racist white people.
According to CRT: White children need to be taught not to be oppressors of black people who are inherent victims; free-market capitalism is a tool of white supremacy, reverse discrimination is necessary to counteract the racism plaguing the U.S.
During Biden’s first days in office, he also signed a barrage of “equity” related orders. One such order is entitled “Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government”. This order requires all federal departments and agencies to ferret out policies that may produce unequal outcomes among those deemed “oppressed” or “marginalized”.
No matter if there is no evidence that racism is responsible for the disparate outcomes, the Biden administration wants to mandate racially conscious results.
Engineering equal outcomes is antithetical to American values. Capitalism and rewarding individual efforts are at the foundation of the vaunted “American dream”. Valuing the collective over individuals is not the American way. However, the search for equal outcomes is the main objective of oppressive political systems such as Marxism.
“From each according to his ability, to each according to their needs”. This Marxist doctrine is an apt way to describe the concept of “equity”.
There is nothing fair, noble, nor unifying about handicapping the playing field to disadvantage some while allegedly helping others, simply based on the color of their skin in pursuit of equity. Like all of the other top-down policies and mandates proposed or wished-for by the left, the consequences of regulating equity are immeasurable.
