Grades in school have always been based on a number of things – scores on tests, the ability to turn in homework on time, and even your attitude in class. California has decided that some of those things are racist – and have established a completely new grading scale.
The San Diego Unified School District is the first one to approve such a new scale – and it’s their way of fighting against racial discrimination.
All of these changes are because of data that came in to show that there are disparities between the white and minority students receiving failing grades (D or F).
The data shows that 23 percent of the failing grades belong to Hispanic students, 23 percent for Native Americans, and 20 percent for Black students. White students only made up 7 percent. It seems their math isn’t going to include students who make up more than one of the racial profiles, which is a flaw of its own.
The new system adopted by the district will eliminate the various non-academic factors that have been used towards establishing a grade. This includes such things as classroom behavior and late work.
According to the VP of the San Diego school district, Richard Barrera, the changes are designed to reflect the “honest reckoning.” He goes on to say, “If we’re actually going to be an anti-racist school district, we have to confront practices like this that have gone on for years and years.”
Of course, none of this makes sense. They have decided that they want to try to make it easier for the other races – though they haven’t backed their decisions up with any data – like if the only reason that students of color are making failing grades are because of their behavior or late work.
Why is it that turning in late work is not considered academic? If a teacher says that an assignment is due on Friday, that’s when it should be due. And many teachers and school districts around the country will take off a certain percentage for every day that it’s late.
Turning work in isn’t an issue that’s related to race. It’s an issue that has to do with determining what is important. It’s about prioritizing schoolwork over anything else that is going on.
How is removing late work a way to become a non-racist school district? If anything, it’s preparing students to be completely unqualified to work in the real world.
They’re going to teach an entire generation of students to be ill-equipped to deal with deadlines. In the real world, you have to meet deadlines for a number of reasons. And not meeting them can lead to being fired.
It’s as if the school district has lost track of the ability to determine what is and isn’t racist. Grading students on late work is racist – but identifying that certain races are inherently incapable of turning assignments in on time isn’t racist?
Meanwhile, by not holding students accountable for their behavior in class, they’re looking to deal with more behavioral problems. It will slow down the learning process for those who do want to learn.
And, by saying that they’re not going to deal with behaviors, will that mean that they’re not going to suspend for bad behavior, either? If there are no penalties, it will be complete mayhem in some schools.
Often, the behavior and turning in work late has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the socio-economic factors of the family. Students who have parents that work late may be responsible for watching young children, cooking dinner, and doing chores. They don’t have the ability to do homework – but that’s an economic issue, not a racial one.
Yet again, California has failed because they allow their Democratic ideas to stand in the way of preparing students for the real world. An entire generation will have no work ethic because they are concerned about becoming an “anti-racist school district.”