https://t.co/HSdNfODnIP — Paul Epps (@paulepps) March 10, 2024 I took a digital SAT recently. I’ve got a BA in Journalism and an MS in Computer Science, so I’m very well-rounded, like a sphere. I eat standardized tests for breakfast. The English portion, or Reading or whatever they call it now, seems much easier to me. I got 800 (out of 800) on that. There’s no more “read a column and a half of text, then answer 10 questions about it.” You read a paragraph, answer one question and move on. There are no more analogies. There are no obscure vocabulary words. Math is still math, although as noted in the story, if you’re getting a lot of answers right, then they start serving you harder questions. I got 780 on the Math portion. TL;DR: It’s an easy test. I got an almost perfect score and believe me, kids, I’ve been… Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Education
National Math and Reading Scores are Plunging
National math and reading scores are plunging. In the new educational philosophy, test scores are just a racist measure of racist things. Parents who are pro–standardized testing are far-right hate groups. Obviously closing schools for years was really bad. You can see the scores drop off a cliff after 2020. But overall, the scores are actually lower than they were 40 years ago. We’ve made no progress in educating kids since 1980. There was progress till slightly after 2010 and then . . . What has happened in that time? I bet deciding that math and reading are racist didn’t help. And teachers being primarily tasked with gender-discovery journeys also did not improve scores. Midwestern public school teachers are trading tips on how to transition kids without telling parents. (I don’t know why these stories are only covered in non-US media.) Having teachers paint your son’s nails does not improve… Read more →
2 + 2 = White Supremacy
2 + 2 = White Supremacy: How Woke Ideologues Corrupted Canada’s Math Curriculum — nationalreview.com White supremacy? Wasn’t arithmetic invented by the Babylonians? Were Babylonians white? How great a threat is white supremacy in Canada? I’m thinking not much since when I’ve been in Canada, I didn’t see anything but white people and a few Asians. From the above-linked article: Two plus two no longer equals four, according to members of the Ontario Mathematics Coordinators Association (OMCA), who consider the equation to be a white-supremacist dog whistle instead of a basic mathematical truth. According to a webinar created by OMCA president Jason To, proponents of math’s political neutrality who use the phrasing “2 + 2 = 4” are engaged in an act of “Covert White Supremacy.” Former OMCA president Heather Theijsmeijer, who originally publicized the webinar, pointed to commentary by Laurie Rubel, an associate professor of mathematics education, explaining that… Read more →
And That’s the Truth: Learn to Read!
[And That’s the Truth is a feature by our guest blogger, Sojourner Truth– PE] Chicago Democrat sounds alarm as 55 schools report no proficiency in math or reading: ‘Very serious’ — foxnews.com “No proficiency” means there ain’t one kid can read or do math in the whole school. Not one. A Illinois state senator named Willie Preston says “I think that we have to reengage parents, have parents actively take a role inside the schools when they can be, but in addition, we need to make certain that we … spend our money in the right way as it pertains to our children’s education.” You gotta engage parents, I don’t see why you gotta reengage em. Damn schools were closed for two years. Parents had to school their own kids. If there ain’t one kid in the whole school that can read or do math, you tellin me the parents… Read more →
That is a Load of Educational Malarkey!
I think every kid, in every zip code, in every state should have access to every education opportunity possible. I guess, for some, that isn’t the consensus view. https://t.co/d1FAeWwKv1 — President Biden (@POTUS) February 17, 2023 That is a load of malarkey! I mean, the bullshit meter just totally pegged. That is not what he thinks and anyone who knows even a little about politics knows that is not what he thinks. What he thinks is that every kid in every zip code should attend the public schools that they’re assigned to based on where they live. And if those schools are hopeless trash fires, the kids should attend those schools anyway. Teachers unions and the Democratic party are co-dependent. The unions, in addition to providing financial support, are the foot soldiers of the party. In exchange, no Democrat will ever — and I mean never ever — support school… Read more →
The Problem With Education
The problem with education today is too much emphasis on academics and not enough emphasis on transitioning 13-year-old girls into boys without telling the parents. Read more →
California Teacher Helps Change Students’ Gender Identity Without Parents Knowing
California teacher helps change students’ gender identity without parents knowing — torontosun.com The biggest problem in education is too much emphasis on academics and not enough emphasis on teachers changing students’ gender identity without parents knowing. Read more →
Thomas Jefferson on the Midterm Results
My fellow Americans – I thought Republicans would fare better than they did in the recent midterm elections. My reasoning was that Joe Biden and his administration have taken so much away from us that Americans would never vote to continue down the same path. Some of my readers may be financially well-to-do. If you fall into that group, I ask that you consider some of what I’m about to say from the perspective of the majority of your countrymen who live near, at or below the median level of income. Biden has taken away the ability to buy a tank of gas at an affordable price. the ability to buy groceries without gasping in shock at the total cost. the ability to retire comfortably. Retirement accounts have been drained due to the performance of the investment markets and inflation rates have gone through the roof. The ability to retire… Read more →
Harvard, Yale, Berkeley Pull Out of Law School Rankings
Law schools at Harvard, Yale and UC Berkeley have pulled out of U.S. News & World Report’s rankings over concerns that the system is biased against equity programs. It seems unlikely that the system is biased against equity programs or that the rankings even consider equity programs, but if “equity programs” means what I think it does, it means that the schools reject accomplished candidates who are White, Asian or Jewish in favor of less accomplished candidates who are not White, Asian or Jewish. That would show up indirectly in rankings if the rankings look, as I’m sure they do, at LSAT scores, GPA and other indications of merit. It seems like one of two things can happen as a result of equity programs. One is that the schools teach classes to the level of the students, so if you reduce the qualifications of the students, you teach classes at… Read more →
How to Keep Poor People Poor
If you want to see the poor remain poor, generation after generation, just keep the standards low in their schools and make excuses for their academic shortcomings and personal misbehavior. But please don’t congratulate yourself on your compassion. — Thomas Sowell Read more →
School Choice in Arizona
I think the only cases you can make for "systemic racism" are public schools and teacher unions so this is great, great news. https://t.co/WmMuv6dYdy — Paul Epps (@paulepps) September 28, 2022 Read more →
A Couple of Thoughts on Student Loan Debt
I’ve taken out mortgage loans, auto loans, acquired some credit card debt . . . am I forgetting anything? But I’ve never acquired debt and not paid it back. It never occurred to me to do that. Transferring student loan debt seems like subsidizing irresponsibility. What happens when you subsidize something? You get more of it. I saw the Secretary of Education being interviewed and although I don’t remember his exact words, he seemed to blame the whole thing on the COVID pandemic. He said it was his job (or the government’s job) to make sure that people can bounce back from that and not be crushed by their student loan payments. I’d like to ask him where he got the idea that it’s the job of the federal government to make sure that citizens don’t suffer financial hardships. In the early days of our country, many people… Read more →
And That’s The Truth: You Can Get It If You Really Want
[And That’s the Truth is a feature by our guest blogger, Sojourner Truth — PE] I just seen a couple things. One is Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig Robinson, and his white wife gettin their kids kicked outta school. Dependin who you listen to, the Robinsons was either providin helpful feedback to the school on assignments and teaching practices, or they was harassin and disrespectin the teachers and administrators to where the school had enough and kicked em out. How many kids at this school? A thousand? You gonna have a thousand sets of parents tellin the school how it’s gotta be run to their satisfaction? Or these two fools thinkin “Our brother-in-law was president of the U-nited States! We are people of unusual importance and you gonna do it the way we tell you to do it.” Just talk to your kids about the lessons at home. You really don’t… Read more →
What’s Wrong With the SAT?
According to the LA Times, the chronic absence rate in LAUSD for black students is 57 percent. For Latinos, it is 49 percent. And poor performance by these groups on standardized tests like the SAT is due to the fact that the tests are racist, not because the students don’t show up for school. Read more →
There Is No Country Like America
From an interview with Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears: There is no country like America. There is not. Not one. . . . I mean, I’m the one who got off the plane and here I am, here in the former capital of the Confederacy for goodness sake. I am second in command. Second in command. I’m a black woman. I am not first-generation American. I am still the immigrant. As I said, I’m a black woman, immigrant, and what else can you say to me that would say, well, “racism, racism, racism”? How do you explain me? I’m not an outlier. I’m not a one-off. The opportunities are here. Are we denying that there have been problems, that there has been slavery, that there has been racism, or that there has been segregation, and redlining, and blue codes, and all this stuff? No, we’re not denying any of that.… Read more →
Who Should Decide What’s Being Taught in Schools?
Nikole Hannah-Jones: Parents shouldn't be in charge of their kids' schooling: "I don't really understand this idea that parents should decide what's being taught. I'm not a professional educator. I don't have a degree in social studies." Yet she wants the 1619 Project in schools. pic.twitter.com/UAjFTCvVmg — Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) December 26, 2021 You don’t understand the idea? OK, the stupidest way to make decisions is to put them in the hands of people with no skin in the game, who don’t pay any price for being wrong. “Educators” don’t lose one dime or one hour’s sleep if their bright ideas turn out to be disastrous for the child. Read more →
Which is More Important — Education or Super Bowl LVI?
Schools in Inglewood, CA shut down completely for more than 400 days due to COVID-19, eventually reopening in a “hybrid” model of in-person and distance learning. Kids can be deprived of an education, but in February 2022, Los Angeles will host Super Bowl LVI, mashing more than 100,000 ticket-holders together (plus I don’t know how many ushers, food vendors and other support staff) in a mostly enclosed Inglewood, CA stadium. Draw your own conclusions. Read more →
See You in Hell, Educators
[See You in Hell is a feature by our guest blogger, Satan — PE] Greetings mortals! Even though an alarmingly high percentage of Americans think the sun orbits the earth, can’t find the Pacific Ocean on a map, half the residents of Detroit can’t read, rather than teach basic literacy, science or geography, K-12 public school teachers in the U.S. will be teaching “expanding” gender identities and “evolving” sexual orientations. This instruction will be informed by the National Sex Ed Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12 (Second Edition) I included a link to it because you will not believe me when I tell you what’s in it. For example: BY THE END OF THE 5TH GRADE, STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO: Distinguish between sex assigned at birth and gender identity and explain how they may or may not differ. Define and explain differences between cisgender, transgender, gender nonbinary, gender expansive,… Read more →
NY Times Annual Dissing of Black Students
First of all, I don’t know who is helped by these annual NY Times headlines on the academic underperformance of students with darker skin pigmentation. The black kid going out on an interview and the interviewer reads the NY Times — is he helped? Who is helped? What’s the point? Asian students by the way are doing great! Over half of the offers to “elite” NYC public high schools went to Asian kids. And these are not crazy rich Asians we’re talking about, they’re low-income Asians, immigrants, children of immigrants, who have an added disadvantage of living in homes where English is not the primary language. In my experience, kids can achieve remarkable competence in anything that’s important to them, and getting into these top schools has enormous significance in Asian families. Why doesn’t the NY Times run an annual story on how many Asians are selected in the NBA… Read more →
We Owe All Students High Expectations