What happens when Marxism is injected into the educational system? What does a hard-leftist approach to education create when applied? Marxist ideology dictates that the government’s duty is to make everyone equal, but, unfortunately, the result in the economic sphere seems to be that everyone becomes equally poor. When it comes to education, students turn out less educated.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is considering making key changes to the city’s educational system. Similar to those made by other Democrat-run cities, these alterations are designed to foster a progressive notion of equality. But could there be another reason why some cities are taking this course of action?
NYC Mulls Lowering Standards for Blacks and Hispanics
It was after a meeting with the School Diversity Advisory Group that De Blasio began considering some drastic changes. The Wall Street Journal reported that the group suggested schools “stop using academic criteria to screen applicants for admission to public middle schools, and to phase out elementary gifted-and-talented programs that now require a test.”
Yes, you read that right. The advisory group wishes to do away with gifted programs and to stop requiring tests to gain admission into certain schools. But its stated reasons for making these moves are even more telling.
The city’s programs already are open to all races. But most who gain entry happen to be white and Asian students. You know what that means, right? Their testing and screening procedures must be run by people who embrace the mentality of David Duke and Richard Spencer. After all, there can’t possibly be any factors that don’t involve racism, can there?
The advisory group argued that merit-based programs are “exclusionary admissions practices,” despite finding no evidence of racial bias. It claimed that the programs must be scuttled because their outcomes do not represent perfectly the demographics of the city. The New York Times reported that the advisory group believes the current system “is not equitable, even if it is effective for some.”
The Progressive Caucus of New York City’s council concurred with the conclusion of the advisory group. It penned a letter to the panel calling for “caps on the allowable concentrations of high-achieving and low-achieving students in the same schools.”
Marxist Quality Education
If De Blasio implements the advisory group’s suggestions, it will be the typical Marxist solution to a societal problem: ensure that everyone appears to be represented regardless of the consequences. It demonstrates the fundamental difference between those who value individual achievement and those who wish to ensure that no one does better than anyone else.
Most conservatives would look at a problem like educational inequality and seek to make those at lower levels better equipped to compete with their peers. But hard leftists believe the solution is to diminish the development of high performers. If New York progressives get their way, they will succeed in bringing about a level of equality: Children will receive an equally mediocre education.
Supporters wish to eliminate these programs to enforce their idea of equality. But is there an ulterior motive?
A Coverup?
It is no secret that many problems facing minorities living in inner cities stem from a lack of quality education. Many of these neighborhoods have subpar schools that are pressured to get students to pass tests, many succumbing to using unethical means, so that they can maintain positive numbers and continue to receive funding. New York City’s schools are no different.
More than half of the city’s public school students are not able to pass state English and math exams. Only 28% of black students and 33% of Hispanics passed the math exam, while 67% of white students and 74% of Asians earned passing scores. It is apparent that New York City is failing its black and Hispanic students.
And perhaps this failure prompts New York progressives to eliminate certain programs they deem “unequal.” The fact that black and Hispanic students are not proportionately represented in the numbers reveals the ineptitude of the Democratic officials in charge of the city’s education programs. It exposes the fact that progressive policies deny minority students the quality education they deserve. It is no wonder that they wish to conceal the damage they have done to those they claim to value.
While many Democratic officials have good intentions, it is obvious that their policies are not designed to elevate all Americans. If anything, the policies are designed to keep the poor downtrodden while gutting the quality of education for those who might excel.
Regrettably, the few who benefit from such a system are those who make the decisions. It would be enlightening to see what schools the children of the official decision-makers attend. Let me guess: probably private. Behind the red curtain is the socialist motto: good for thee, but not for me.
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3 Comments
Clearly101
I worked in one of Philadelphia’s most violent schools in the 1990s. Martha Washington Elementary School. I was a “wraparound” therapist for a young boy who was enrolled in Mental Health Services. I spent all day in the classroom. The most disturbing things were watching “school guards” pull a 5th grade girl onto the ground with his knee in her back. Another was watching these children use books printed in 1956–yes, it’s true. Where did the money go for books? There were highly motivated children trying to do schoolwork in badly managed classrooms with depressing environments. Go there now–nothing has changed. By the way, being a Mandatory Reporter of Child Abuse, I reported the guard–nothing was done. Inner City Schools are OWNED BY THE MARXIST LEFT.
Clearly101
The American Educational System is the engine of destruction that powers the move to Marxism, Mediocrity and Madness. This is the primary battleground to deter Anti-Freedom indoctrination. Home School your children.
Diogenes
Excellent analysis as usual. As you noted there is nothing new about the Left wanting to make everyone equally poor or disadvantaged. Their idea of equality is to eliminate any and all forms of “privilege” or opportunity, and to make everyone equally disadvantaged – except for them as the ruling class, of course.
“Many of these neighborhoods have subpar schools that are pressured to get students to pass tests, many succumbing to using unethical means, so that they can maintain positive numbers and continue to receive funding. New York City’s schools are no different.”
One thing that is left unsaid is that the parents of these kids are themselves are uneducated, and are in favor of passing and graduating the kids, even though they know nothing. The attitude is that of ‘gimme a f-ing passing grade, so I can get my f-ing diploma.’ The sad part is that they often can’t even read what is printed on it. Remember, the reason why these politicians such as communist DiBlasio are in power is because the parents of the schoolchildren support these policies, and they voted for them. It is a form of class envy that is supported by the will of a majority of the voters in these communities. The bureaucrats who run the schools didn’t seize power. The officials who were elected (mayor, city council, etc.) appointed their political patronage hacks to institute these policies. And they reap huge salaries for administering them.
Here is the essence of socialism in a nutshell: Share it with me, or I will take it from you. (Or, I will elect someone who will do that by force, through elected government.) It is a very thin line between democracy and mob rule.