Hicks: The Battle For The Soul Of Education Is Coming To A Vote Near You | Commentary

Tell me, this doesn’t sound like a Sam Cooke song.

According to last year’s final exams, South Carolina students don’t know much about history. And they don’t know much about biology.

The Immortal Souls singer also correctly predicted the difficulty of mastering algebra.

As Hilary Flynn of The Post and Courier reports, the state Department of Education recently revealed that last year’s school year-end algebra finals in South Carolina had an over/under score of 68. Did. Biology was 66.

What are these students going to do with their basic lack of knowledge in history, mathematics, and science?

Well, other than becoming a state legislator.

Yes, due to school closures and virtual learning A few of these degraded scores as educators and parents lament. But honestly, we’ve been down this road for a while.

In fact, many students these days fail to maintain the basics. As one of her recent letters to the editor points out, many children can’t even tell you when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Who we declared independence from.

We see this every time we interview people on the street on a late-night comedy show. Most people can’t even name the current Vice President. And just before the pandemic, a surprising number of Texas Tech undergraduates asked who won the Civil War, and they said, “Southern.”

where did they get that idea?

School officials are now enthralled by the scores on these tests and the generally disappointing state of education, which is partly justified. It’s conspiratorial and crazy. Of the more than 30 candidates running for the Charleston County Board of Education this year, the entire slate lists “parental involvement” as one of the top priorities.

On the surface, there is nothing wrong with that. Teachers tell us that one of the best measures of academic success is a student’s home life. Parents play a big role in their child’s learning ability.

But some of these candidates haven’t spoken that A kind of parental involvement.What they really mean is more like Current involvement. I mean, they’re definitely the people your manager wants to talk to.

(Don’t blame me, I didn’t designate the name “Karen” as a catch-all for pushy busy people.)

A local chapter of Moms for Liberty recently endorsed a list of these “conservative” candidates. You may have received a postcard.

It’s kind of hilarious because these “conservatives” don’t include former school board member and current candidate Elizabeth Moffrey. their history lesson.

Now what do these people believe they should base their curriculum choices on? they We believe that children should learn and that we should throw away anything that causes them to run around in search of safety. This is not how education is supposed to work.

Anyway, either the Mama candidates, or their brands, were clearly too extreme for the local Republican Party. That should tell you something.

This whole “Moms for Liberty” story began with parents blaming school districts over COVID-19 protocols. Basically they demand the right to send their children to school, sands Masks — no matter who gets infected.

Since then, the group has morphed into full-fledged culture warriors. I call it racial theory. I teach at law school, not middle school.

What these people don’t really like is a history that isn’t enthusiastic enough or disrespectful of slavery and the way this country treated its true indigenous peoples.

This is what actual indoctrination looks like.

In a few weeks, Charleston County voters will decide whether these people will continue to denounce our school board, or whether they will run it.

If these people win enough, we will be in an eternal battle because it will politicize every child’s education. . Because it makes white people look bad.

As if these people needed Harper Lee’s help.

The energy these people put into intimidating elected officials is as amazing as it is tedious. It is of little use if the person is not acting with integrity or does not know what they are talking about.

Determined to impose their own standards on schools, let’s see how many of these candidates can pass one of these high school history finals. If you can (and there is no guarantee that you can), school board members should be able to answer questions such as who won the Civil War.

Or the 2020 election.

Imagine setting political candidates and elected officials to the high standards they expect of their students, instead of meeting the lowest common denominator.

What a wonderful world!