Aug
28
Soft Bigotry in Oregon
When Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown (D), signed Senate Bill 744 into law on July 14, there was no bill-signing ceremony, plus she waited 15 days to slip the new law into Oregon’s legislative database. Why? She probably knew it was a bad idea, and critics would rip her a new one. And rightly so…
The bill/law in question eliminated the requirements for high school students to be able to read, write, and do math before graduating. Yeah, you read that right. The rationale?
“[It will benefit] Oregon’s Black, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of color.”
Oregon’s Black and American Indian students historically have graduation rates well below the national average of 86%. (Even white kids in Oregon graduate at less than the national average.) But, rather than improve a terrible educational system, Oregon decides to throw out even the most fundamental requirements for functioning in society. (Glad I had the good sense to move out of Oregon when I was three. OK, maybe I didn’t have a choice….)
As Douglas Blair writes at The Daily Signal,
“The governor and her staff are playing into the soft bigotry of low expectations, or the idea that disadvantaged students from racial minority groups aren’t smart enough or driven enough to succeed. Therefore, the only way to get them across the proverbial finish line is to make it impossible to fail. This idea is, of course, completely ludicrous. Minority students aren’t any less capable of academic success than their white peers.”
Oregon has failed its students in more ways than one. The only ones to benefit from this newest travesty of a law are the Leftists, who will soon be able to point to improved graduation rates.
