Thomas: Defining Education Down

What is the most serious threat to children's education today? Is COVID-19 to blame, or is it ignorance? Option two is the one I'm going with. There is a growing body of evidence to back up my claim.

In August, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed legislation eliminating the need that high school students demonstrate competency in writing, reading, and arithmetic before graduation. For the next three years, the law will be in effect. The pandemic was blamed for students falling behind, but the governor's spokesman, Charles Boyle, revealed the true motivation when he stated that existing standards failed students who did not perform well on tests, and that new standards would benefit the state's "Black, Latino, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of colour." Visit

I'm surprised he didn't address the LGBTQI+ community, which is something President Biden does regularly.
New York's gifted and talented programme will be phased down, according to outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio. You've most likely deduced why. Critics say that the show is racist since it predominantly features white and Asian children. Current students will be allowed to complete the programme, but no new students will be enrolled, according to De Blasio. According to The New York Times, "the system will be replaced by a programme that provides youngsters in their last years of elementary school the opportunity for accelerated learning."