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Should We Teach to Empower Students or to Keep Them as “Sacred Victims”? A black professor argues that “anti-racist” instruction is counterproductive.
James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | February 2, 2024 | George Leef

Posted on 02/05/2024 3:36:41 AM PST by karpov

Among the many destructive ideas that “progressive” thinking has unleashed on education in America is that it’s unfair to hold students from “underrepresented groups” to the same standards as others. Schools and colleges should “help” minority students succeed by lowering expectations for them—somehow atoning for wrongs done to their ancestors in the distant past. That is how Claudine Gay wound up as president of Harvard.

The notion that academic standards should be lower for minority students has swept through our educational institutions, but there are some dissenters who argue that this doesn’t help but hurts. One of them is Professor Erec Smith of York College. He teaches rhetoric and composition and has written a book challenging the belief that minority (especially black) students are somehow harmed by teaching them to use standard English. Smith argues in his book, A Critique of Anti-Racism in Rhetoric and Composition, that standard English empowers those students by giving them another tool to accomplish their objectives.

As Smith sees things, professors in his field, eager to display their “anti-racist” zeal, have adopted the trendy idea that “whiteness” is the enemy of progress for blacks. They’re passionate and sincere, but they have allowed their emotions to trample over reason in evaluating the pros and cons of their pedagogy. Smith writes that “feelings and opinions have replaced critical thinking in attempts to decenter whiteness and challenge hegemonic forces in academia.” Much as those professors want to stamp out racism, they’re going about it the wrong way.

That way entails an exclusive focus on the racial identity of students. Black students are assumed to be victims of white, racist social forces against which they are helpless. Therefore, they must band together in group solidarity to be empowered against “whiteness.”

(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: antiracist; college; dei; education; race

1 posted on 02/05/2024 3:36:41 AM PST by karpov
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To: karpov

Well ... you could teach children with the goal of just educating them. Have they considered doing that?


2 posted on 02/05/2024 3:49:48 AM PST by ClearCase_guy
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To: karpov

Just teach. Love one another. We are all God’s children🙏


3 posted on 02/05/2024 3:51:01 AM PST by FES0844
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To: karpov
Human advancement has, since the dawn of time, been a function of "reaching for the stars" ambition. If it can be dreamt of, it can be achieved with hard work, dedication, and ingenuity.

But with DEI, human standards of achievement are limited to only what the very least intelligent and laziest of us can accomplish.

Even a child can see that this won't work. Unfortunately, university administrators, Democrat politicians, and government bureaucrats cannot.

4 posted on 02/05/2024 4:00:55 AM PST by RoosterRedux (A person who seeks the truth with a strong bias will never find it. He will only confirm his bias.)
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To: karpov

Prints wall decorations the have nothing substantive
to back it up.
People get a tingly leg feeling to hire or elect and you evolve into a third world.


5 posted on 02/05/2024 4:01:14 AM PST by Recompennation (Don’t blame me my vote didn’t count)
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To: RoosterRedux

DEI...where the human standards of achievement go to DIE.


6 posted on 02/05/2024 4:06:14 AM PST by Qwapisking ("IF the Second goes first the First goes second" L.Star )
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To: FES0844
Just teach. Love one another. We are all God’s children🙏

Those are nice sentiments, but some of God's childen want to dominate and/or kill the rest of us.

Education is about striving to be your best. Even if American universities do not strive for excellence, we can be sure that our enemies will.

7 posted on 02/05/2024 4:07:51 AM PST by RoosterRedux (A person who seeks the truth with a strong bias will never find it. He will only confirm his bias.)
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To: Qwapisking
Destroy
Excellence and
Ingenuity
8 posted on 02/05/2024 4:10:25 AM PST by jeffc (Resident of the free State of Florida)
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To: FES0844

All are created by God... but only those that embrace Him are His children... Those that know Him hear His voice and seek Him... Unfortunately, the majority He does not know...


9 posted on 02/05/2024 4:18:44 AM PST by PigRigger
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To: ClearCase_guy

They considered it and disregarded it. There was/is an achievement gap between whites /asians and blacks. The states and department of education spent fortunes trying to remedy that. Most of the programs put in place were ill conceived and some complete nonsense. The achievement gap stubbornly remained. This led to an ever lowering of standards for black children. In most urban schools, the average black student enters high school with 4th grade skills.

With the advent of DIE, the communist progressives decided that the reason for the gap was white supremacy and white behaviors such as punctuality, hard work, individualism,etc. were the cause and must be attacked.


10 posted on 02/05/2024 4:20:54 AM PST by cyberstoic
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To: karpov
As Smith sees things, professors in his field, eager to display their “anti-racist” zeal, have adopted the trendy idea that “whiteness” is the enemy of progress for blacks.

They’re passionate and sincere, but they have allowed their emotions to trample over reason in evaluating the pros and cons of their pedagogy.

Smith writes that “feelings and opinions have replaced critical thinking in attempts to decenter whiteness and challenge hegemonic forces in academia.”

It is always my assumption when I am discussing an issue of the day with a Lib and they become agitated that they have allowed their emotions to overcome their reason that it is pointless to continue.

I begin to try to diffuse the situation and break off the conversation.

Why continue the conversation with a person that can not hear nor understand a reasonable argument?

And if I don’t know the person well, I have to consider that the person could become violent.

11 posted on 02/05/2024 4:46:42 AM PST by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: karpov

BTTT


12 posted on 02/05/2024 5:02:40 AM PST by nopardons
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To: karpov

Sure, racism is a thing, but it was the racist marxist demrats who blew it out of proportion for their insidious agenda.


13 posted on 02/05/2024 5:16:54 AM PST by Boomer (The Long Winter is coming...)
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To: cyberstoic; ClearCase_guy; karpov
There was/is an achievement gap between whites /asians and blacks. The states and department of education spent fortunes trying to remedy that. Most of the programs put in place were ill conceived and some complete nonsense. The achievement gap stubbornly remained. This led to an ever lowering of standards for black children. In most urban schools, the average black student enters high school with 4th grade skills.

“feelings and opinions have replaced critical thinking

Capitalizing on negative emotions is primarily how Democrats obtain and maintain power.

Unfortunately all of the Democrats solutions do nothing to alleviate the problems they are meant to solve. Usually they make them worse.

Welfare, increased the number of fatherless Black children living in poverty.

Integration of schools, increased the percentage of Black illiterates.

Federal aide to higher education increased the rate of drop outs, caused the cost of education to rise and put hundreds of thousands of young people in debt that they can never repay and can not escape through bankruptcy.

Democrats trying to remedy injustice creat greater injustice.

14 posted on 02/05/2024 6:17:30 AM PST by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: karpov

Common sense should inform us that as long as you have someone else to blame for your shortcomings, whatever they are, chances are you are not going to repair them.


15 posted on 02/05/2024 6:21:32 AM PST by Doche2X2
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To: Doche2X2
I suggest it's not a matter of having someone else to blame for your problems. There's always someone else to blame (rightly or wrongly).

Blaming others is the mark of immaturity and weakness of character.

People with integrity bear responsibility for their actions.

16 posted on 02/05/2024 6:57:36 AM PST by RoosterRedux (A person who seeks the truth with a strong bias will never find it. He will only confirm his bias.)
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To: karpov

Remember the days of Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson complaining how hard it was to be black in America? I don’t. Remember all the little white kids who didn’t want to buy AJ shoes and play basketball because Michael Jordan is black? I don’t? Does anyone remember Dione Sanders taking a knee to protest how his amazing talents on the field were just another part of slavery? I don’t.


17 posted on 02/05/2024 10:23:20 AM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eye)
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To: Organic Panic

We are 20+ generations past slavery.
Its getting old.


18 posted on 02/05/2024 10:25:44 AM PST by Leep
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To: karpov

Is this kinda like asking a frog if he’d rather be slow-boiled or fast-boiled?


19 posted on 02/05/2024 1:38:32 PM PST by LastDayz (A blunt and brazen Texan. I will not be assimilated.)
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