New numbers paint an ugly picture of the impact of distance learning.
September 30, 2021
ITEM #1: The next time somebody tries to tell you how much the left cares about “the children,” be sure to have this first item handy.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal ran an insightful editorial recently on the terrible toll that forced distance learning has taken on Nevada’s kids, spotlighting the latest testing results showing “significant learning loss compared to previous school years, with younger students faring the worst.”
Among the findings:
“Around the state, 41.4 percent of students tested as proficient in English and just 26.3 percent scored at a proficient level in math. That was a notable decrease from proficiency levels of 48.5 percent in English and 37.5 percent in math during the 2018-19 school year.”
The editors also note that, “Results in the Clark County School District were noticeably worse than the rest of the state” — and they make the obvious connection between those results and the county’s misguided refusal to reopen classrooms because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was painfully clear that as Clark County officials continued to keep schools shuttered longer than other districts, there was no good justification for doing so. Yet the only ones likely to pay a price for their poor decision are Silver State children. Shameful.
ITEM #2: The left loves to claim that it’s only white racists who object to the teaching of critical race theory in our schools.
But the facts show the baselessness of that claim.
From City Journal’s Christopher Rufo:
"In a long story featuring analysis of demographic data, NBC News reporter Tyler Kingkade and data editor Nigel Chiwaya claim that the parent uprisings against critical race theory, which have occurred in more than 200 school districts across the country, are a 'backlash' against 'rapid demographic change' and 'the exposure of white students to students of color.' Or, to put it bluntly, it’s the ugly reaction of white racism in the face of rapidly integrating schools. ...
"There is only one problem: NBC’s analysis is nonsense."
Rufo goes on to explain:
“The report, like the left-wing narrative about critical race theory more generally, fails both statistically and imaginatively. NBC News builds its narrative on the claim that ‘many of the school districts facing backlash over equity initiatives are diversifying faster than the national average.’ The report provides data for 33 school districts, which undermine its argument in two ways: first, one-third of these districts have diversified slower, rather than faster, than the national average; and second, according to NBC News’ own reporting, there have been anti-critical race theory protests in at least 220 school districts nationwide, which means that NBC failed even to analyze 85 percent of the evidence.”
Perhaps NBC News should consider an alternative explanation — that so many Americans object to critical race theory because it rests on an ugly, bigoted, and fundamentally dishonest view of our nation and its history.
ITEM #3: Care for some more insanity from the education front?
Writing for National Review, Brittany Bernstein reports:
“A teacher in Washington state was reportedly forced to remove a pro-police flag from her middle school classroom after administrators deemed it a ‘political message,’ despite allowing messages in support of Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ pride flags to remain posted in the school.”
Administrators reportedly claimed that the “Thin Blue Line” flag “makes kids and staff feel unsafe.”
If there’s a more pathetic justification for spinelessly kowtowing to the woke mob, we can’t think of it.
ITEM #4: Sam Kumar, the conservative columnist whose always-excellent column runs regularly in the Reno Gazette-Journal, has taken stock of the first few months of the Biden administration.
Needless to say, he’s not impressed.
Take a few minutes to check out this terrific piece surveying the many fronts where the administration has not only failed, but failed spectacularly — from Afghanistan to COVID to the economy and more.
This bit on Biden’s economic performance is especially on-point:
“Under Biden’s budget plan, public debt will go from $21 trillion in 2020 to $40 trillion in 2031. Inflation is soaring. A quick trip to the gas station, the grocery store or Home Depot will confirm that. Biden claims that more government spending will curb inflation. (I wonder if he thinks that eating more will mitigate obesity.) In many cases, the Biden administration paid more to stay home than to work. It should come as no surprise that job openings currently outnumber unemployed by more than 2 million. Labor shortages are popping up everywhere. On top of all of that, real weekly earnings fell by 0.9% from August 2020 to August 2021. In short: a smaller economy with fewer workers.”
As Kumar sums things up: “This administration has been an unmitigated disaster in every single way.”
ITEM #5: The 2022 Nevada election season is already well under way, and the Record-Courier reports that Gardnerville resident Blayne Osborn is running for Assembly District 39 in Douglas County, currently represented by Jim Wheeler.
The story notes that Wheeler plans to run for the Senate seat currently held by James Settelmeyer, who is prohibited from running again because of term limits.
Those who are regular Basque Fry attendees may know Osborn as part of our hard-working Morning in Nevada PAC team that makes the event such a success every year. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on this one, but in the meantime, you can read more on this development here.
“If only Hunter Biden’s laptop had contained pictures of Border Patrol agents holding horse reins.” ― Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks