Jun 7, 2023·edited Jun 7, 2023Liked by Sheluyang Peng
Instead of destroying the last bastions of quality education in NYC, I'd be impressed if these wokist pukes would work on providing a minimally competent education to the legions of Black and Latino kids who are not even made competent in basic math and reading, let alone civics, civility and other life education basics.
We're pale skinned and we have 3 children, each with different aptitudes, with the middle one being academically inclined. While stationed in Japan on a navy tour, she went to a private school out in town and there was a test for admission. To show another example of what "diversity" means to some, I was told by an American educator that our daughter was missing out on the "diversity" of the base school. But the student body of the base school was made up entirely of Americans, while the school she attended was made up if Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Indians, Brits, a few Italians, Germans and Danish, a few Kenyans, etc. When I stated this she said there were African Americans at the base school. I replied there were actual Africans at the private school, but in her mind, that wasn't "diversity." The test for admission was really the flashpoint and too many people seem to think K-12 is supposed to be about making sure the students aren't grouped by ability and accomplishment, rather than giving all students the best education possible. I always like to point out we don't do this in sports with tryouts for JV and Varsity. That is never an issue for them and they can't see through their blinders. They view academics as a zero-sum game. If certain students are more advanced, that hurts the self-esteem and future of other students.
Jun 7, 2023·edited Jun 7, 2023Liked by Sheluyang Peng
"Of course, Asians have been considered “White-adjacent” for some time now, and now this framing portrays Asians as helping Whites to oppress Black and Latino students."
But I was told that there is a wave of violence against Asians? If Asians really were a species of sort of white person, would the press be so concerned? Or is this another case of "only sometimes", but especially when victim status needs to be reinforced?
I think people seem to have this disconnect where they see academic learning as something that is just a stamp of approval. They see going to an Ivy League school for the diploma, not the learning. And when you see education like that then it’s just a matter of who gets that diploma, rather than putting the highest test takers together in one room. But as a knowledge-based society we need people with advanced skills and we need to test students for those skills.
This all comes down to whether you subscribe to the postmodern belief that knowledge is nothing more than a map generated by people with power, or whether you see knowledge as primarily a map of the world.
In my view, this fragment from your excellent Tablet essay sums up the issue: "the halls of upward mobility." Those who condemn meritocracy loath the notion of mobility.
Since the beginning of time humans have recognized the potential that exists in the actual and until recently that possibility of making something from nothing was seen as a positive, life affirming key to happiness. It is what made us human and distinguished us from the animal world. Now it seems the progressive nihilist left rejects all efforts to improve our lot in favor of dragging the potentially mobile into a dark abyss.
It is a zero sum game that wrongly posits someone always loses when someone wins.
I imagine there’s demand for private education that serves Asians. However, I theorize that colleges may discriminate students who attend an institution like this. Also, I don’t think Asians as a collective have the disposal income to afford such a services
It’s taboo to point this out, but the problem isn’t racial. It’s cultural. If a culture doesn’t stress and respect delayed gratification ( especially in education ) then no amount of “equity” will solve their deficiencies, which will just weaken us all. Learn to play the long game. The Nigerian, and Indian immigrant populations for example are doing well because they’ve been applying themselves and not making excuses.
Instead of destroying the last bastions of quality education in NYC, I'd be impressed if these wokist pukes would work on providing a minimally competent education to the legions of Black and Latino kids who are not even made competent in basic math and reading, let alone civics, civility and other life education basics.
We're pale skinned and we have 3 children, each with different aptitudes, with the middle one being academically inclined. While stationed in Japan on a navy tour, she went to a private school out in town and there was a test for admission. To show another example of what "diversity" means to some, I was told by an American educator that our daughter was missing out on the "diversity" of the base school. But the student body of the base school was made up entirely of Americans, while the school she attended was made up if Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Indians, Brits, a few Italians, Germans and Danish, a few Kenyans, etc. When I stated this she said there were African Americans at the base school. I replied there were actual Africans at the private school, but in her mind, that wasn't "diversity." The test for admission was really the flashpoint and too many people seem to think K-12 is supposed to be about making sure the students aren't grouped by ability and accomplishment, rather than giving all students the best education possible. I always like to point out we don't do this in sports with tryouts for JV and Varsity. That is never an issue for them and they can't see through their blinders. They view academics as a zero-sum game. If certain students are more advanced, that hurts the self-esteem and future of other students.
"Of course, Asians have been considered “White-adjacent” for some time now, and now this framing portrays Asians as helping Whites to oppress Black and Latino students."
But I was told that there is a wave of violence against Asians? If Asians really were a species of sort of white person, would the press be so concerned? Or is this another case of "only sometimes", but especially when victim status needs to be reinforced?
I think people seem to have this disconnect where they see academic learning as something that is just a stamp of approval. They see going to an Ivy League school for the diploma, not the learning. And when you see education like that then it’s just a matter of who gets that diploma, rather than putting the highest test takers together in one room. But as a knowledge-based society we need people with advanced skills and we need to test students for those skills.
This all comes down to whether you subscribe to the postmodern belief that knowledge is nothing more than a map generated by people with power, or whether you see knowledge as primarily a map of the world.
In my view, this fragment from your excellent Tablet essay sums up the issue: "the halls of upward mobility." Those who condemn meritocracy loath the notion of mobility.
Since the beginning of time humans have recognized the potential that exists in the actual and until recently that possibility of making something from nothing was seen as a positive, life affirming key to happiness. It is what made us human and distinguished us from the animal world. Now it seems the progressive nihilist left rejects all efforts to improve our lot in favor of dragging the potentially mobile into a dark abyss.
It is a zero sum game that wrongly posits someone always loses when someone wins.
I imagine there’s demand for private education that serves Asians. However, I theorize that colleges may discriminate students who attend an institution like this. Also, I don’t think Asians as a collective have the disposal income to afford such a services
Excellent take.
It’s taboo to point this out, but the problem isn’t racial. It’s cultural. If a culture doesn’t stress and respect delayed gratification ( especially in education ) then no amount of “equity” will solve their deficiencies, which will just weaken us all. Learn to play the long game. The Nigerian, and Indian immigrant populations for example are doing well because they’ve been applying themselves and not making excuses.
Great job, man.