In the vast and varied landscape of educational debates, Oregon has emerged as a surprising trendsetter. Recent studies, conducted by the highly reputable Institute of Advanced Speculations, reveal that Oregon's class sizes are, in fact, too small and that its teachers are overcompensated. This groundbreaking research turns traditional pedagogical wisdom on its head, asserting that larger class sizes and underpaid teachers are not only feasible but actually beneficial for student engagement and learning.
I'm still bitter over the Oregon State Board of Education's irrational decision to suspend proficiency testing for all high school seniors through the 2027-28 school year on what must surely be specious grounds, namely that the testing is "harmful" to black students.
The announcement came with what seems like another specious claim, namely that the inability to provide proof of proficiency will not disadvantage black Oregon high school graduates in college admissions or in the workplace.
As if the foregoing were not bad enough, I clearly recall a news story in which someone high in Oregon's educational hierarchy stated flatly that black family culture had absolutely nothing to do with black students' disproportionately worse academic performance.
In dealing with black underachievement by lowering the standards, the Oregon State Board of Education has made it impossible for Oregon high school grads who are white or members of white-adjacent minorities to demonstrate their proficiency in the near future. At the same time, the Board has ensured that the proficiency of black high school grads, even those who are high performing, will remain in doubt for the graduating classes of 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 at the very least.
Following the news about Oregon's public K-12 system is like being trapped in an endless performance of The Emperor's New Clothes. Each scenario seems more preposterous than the last. Is the truth-telling little boy who has the power to expose the mendacity going to stay mum forever?
In closing, as a centrist Democrat I am embarrassed and angry over how progressives have stacked the Oregon State Board of Education with a membership in which white students and their parents are grossly underrepresented in relation to their percentage of the state's population. The arrogance is shocking. If ethnic and racial minorities were as underrepresented on the Oregon State Board of Education as whites are today, it would be treated like a great scandal by the media and politicians alike. It's time to end crayola diversity in Oregon's public boards.
I'm still bitter over the Oregon State Board of Education's irrational decision to suspend proficiency testing for all high school seniors through the 2027-28 school year on what must surely be specious grounds, namely that the testing is "harmful" to black students.
The announcement came with what seems like another specious claim, namely that the inability to provide proof of proficiency will not disadvantage black Oregon high school graduates in college admissions or in the workplace.
As if the foregoing were not bad enough, I clearly recall a news story in which someone high in Oregon's educational hierarchy stated flatly that black family culture had absolutely nothing to do with black students' disproportionately worse academic performance.
In dealing with black underachievement by lowering the standards, the Oregon State Board of Education has made it impossible for Oregon high school grads who are white or members of white-adjacent minorities to demonstrate their proficiency in the near future. At the same time, the Board has ensured that the proficiency of black high school grads, even those who are high performing, will remain in doubt for the graduating classes of 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 at the very least.
Following the news about Oregon's public K-12 system is like being trapped in an endless performance of The Emperor's New Clothes. Each scenario seems more preposterous than the last. Is the truth-telling little boy who has the power to expose the mendacity going to stay mum forever?
In closing, as a centrist Democrat I am embarrassed and angry over how progressives have stacked the Oregon State Board of Education with a membership in which white students and their parents are grossly underrepresented in relation to their percentage of the state's population. The arrogance is shocking. If ethnic and racial minorities were as underrepresented on the Oregon State Board of Education as whites are today, it would be treated like a great scandal by the media and politicians alike. It's time to end crayola diversity in Oregon's public boards.