Public education

Wednesday

Stephen L. Miller

Pay attention to California’s new mandatory ‘media literacy’ law

While you’ve been preoccupied with Thanksgiving, or following international conflicts or rising inflation, California governor Gavin Newsom quietly signed Assembly Bill 873 last month.Assembly Billy 873 is an “act to add Section 33548 to the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction” on media literacy. In short, government-mandated standards on “ethical media” have now become required teaching for all K-12 students in California public schools. Included in the curriculum outline are several talking points, including that “the proliferation of online misinformation has posed risks to international peace, interfered with democratic decision-making and threatened public health.

Monday

Amber Duke

Illinois high school offers racially segregated math classes

A high school in Illinois is offering math classes segregated by race, according to course listings for the 2023-24 school year found on the school's website. There are at least five course offerings at Evanston Township High School that are only open to either black or "Latinx" students. A course description for an Algebra 2 class, for example, states that "this code for the course is restricted to students who identify as Latinx, all genders." An Advanced Placement Calculus class is similarly "restricted to students who identify as Black, all genders." There is a separate AP Calculus course for "Latinx" students, as well.

evanston township high school illinois race

Monday

Casey Chalk

Debunking the grievance industry in our schools

City Journal last month released a survey that asked eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds whether they had been taught six concepts related to critical race theory. These included: “America is a systemically racist country,” “White people have white privilege,” “White people have unconscious biases that negatively affect non-white people," “America is built on stolen land,” “America is a patriarchal society,” and “Gender is an identity choice.” Each of these was answered in the affirmative by a majority of participants, of whom more than 80 percent attended public schools. That’s curious given that public educators and their defenders in corporate media have been claiming for years that CRT is not taught in schools.

Thursday

Batya Ungar-Sargon

Why progressive politics is like air travel

I was recently flown cross-country on a first-class ticket by a very kind outfit. It was my first time flying up front, and I told myself to make a note of everything in case it proved to be my last. Early in the flight, I noticed that I didn’t want the plane to land. It was a curious feeling and became harder and harder to ignore as the journey progressed. To be sure, the seat was not more comfortable than my easy chair at home. The food was not as good as the food at home. And the wine was certainly nice (it comes in a glass in first class; who knew?), but it wasn’t as good as the wine at home. So why didn’t I want that plane to land?

progressives