Virginia’s red wave fueled by parents fighting for their children

The Nov. 2 state elections were certainly noteworthy, with Republicans making inroads into Democrat strongholds in several states. A very tight race for governor in New Jersey was an unexpected too-close-to-call situation throughout Tuesday night’s election coverage. Incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy ultimately defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli by a very narrow margin.

The Virginia election also stands out, since the controversy surrounding the Loudoun County school system and the actions by its school board that angered parents had gotten so much attention, along with similar situations elsewhere in the Commonwealth.

Former Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe, the party’s candidate for a second term as governor, was defeated by a non-politician running his first race for political office. Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race, Republican candidate Winsome Sears defeated Democrat candidate Hala Ayala in the Lieutenant Governor’s race, and Republican candidate Jason Miyares defeated incumbent Democrat Mark R. Herring for Attorney General.

After post-election counting of mail-in and absentee ballots late Friday night, Republicans officially won control of the House of Delegates by a slim 51-49 margin. One more seat could go Republican when the winner is determined in a Virginia Beach district.

What in the world is going on? Both New Jersey and Virginia gleamed bright blue after the 2020 election. But Virginia turned a bright red last week, and New Jersey had a red election glow, until the next day.

The situation in Virginia is no mystery. Democrat candidates suffered losses due to unpopular positions taken by many candidates and particularly by McAuliffe, who further fired up voters by saying that parents have no role in the education of their children. This comment came after the Loudoun County school board treated parents as intruders in the school system’s operation. In another incident, a father whose daughter was sexually assaulted in a girl’s bathroom by a boy wearing a skirt challenged the school board that had hidden that fact.

Parents have also been upset by the mandate to wear masks in school. Children wearing masks for hours has been shown as harmful to them. And they object to the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Virginia schools. Opposition to both of these issues drew harsh reactions from some school officials, and others.

McAuliffe denies that CRT is being taught, and claims that it has "never been taught in Virginia," and accused those concerned about CRT of promoting a divisive "dog-whistle." And liberal news sources CNN and MSNBC joined in the chorus of those denying that CRT is being taught.

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace said during the network’s Election Night coverage that critical race theory "isn’t real," and criticized Republican candidate Youngkin for his positions.

Last week John King, CNN Inside Politics host, took the side of Democrat strategist Paul Begala, agreeing that Republican criticisms of CRT were just racist dog whistles for “suburbanites who don't like diversity.” 

But the lies and/or ignorance of these naysayers has been proven by other news sources, such as The Fairfax County Times, National Review, Fox News, The Federalist, and ABC 13 WSET-TV, Lynchburg, Va.

WSET reported, “As part of the program's ‘Culturally-Responsive Teaching and Learning Principles,’ public schools were encouraged to ‘embrace critical race theory,’ and ‘engage in race-conscious teaching and learning,’ according to [a] leaked presentation first reported by investigative journalist Christopher Rufo.”

The report continued, “In addition, Va. Superintendent of Public Instruction James F. Lane sent a memo to all school districts in 2019 encouraging school leaders to read a book that calls critical race theory ‘an important analytic tool’ for addressing ‘power and privilege.’”

What is Critical Race Theory? According to Britannica online, “Critical race theory is an intellectual movement and a framework of legal analysis according to which (1) race is a culturally invented category used to oppress people of colour and (2) the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, political, and economic inequalities between white and nonwhite people.”

CRT represents a vastly different look at America’s past. And, more importantly, it is a perspective that is being sneaked into classrooms without having been publicly offered and properly approved as a modification of the traditional curriculum that has been taught for more than a century.

Why would school officials want to underhandedly implement such a drastic change to the history curriculum? And why would news agencies and “journalists” support this clandestine action by openly attacking those who oppose it?

The obvious answer is that they fear that the public would not accept CRT if it was handled honestly and openly.

CRT has its roots in “Critical Theory,” a doctrine of Karl Marx. Many or most people may not know that connection. What they do know is that they don’t like CRT, and other things that are being done to their children against their wishes. These parents are fighting for their children. 

Last week, enough people in Virginia expressed a different opinion at the polls than those in liberal northern Virginia and the other population centers that put the Democrats in power. This is also happening in other parts of the country, and it’s a good thing.

The math doesn’t add up with Virginia’s ‘woke’ education discussion

A story back in April reported that the Virginia Department of Education is considering eliminating all accelerated math options prior to the 11th grade. Students who perform well in math will no longer be allowed to advance to upper level math study when they are ready to move ahead. 

Loudoun County school board member Ian Serotkin explained that the Virginia Mathematics Pathway Initiative (VMPI), "as currently planned, … will eliminate ALL math acceleration prior to 11th grade.” 

He said that it “is not an exaggeration, nor does there appear to be any discretion in how local districts implement this. All 6th graders will take Foundational Concepts 6. All 7th graders will take Foundational Concepts 7. All 10th graders will take Essential Concepts 10. Only in 11th and 12th grade is there any opportunity for choice in higher math courses."

So, the best math students, the worst math students, and those in between will move through the math curriculum together, and at the same speed. Those blessed with exceptional math skills will be prevented from advancing to higher levels, moving along at the slower pace of the lesser skilled. 

On April 27, Norfolk’s The Virginian Pilot, however, published a story with comments from state Superintendent James Lane. “I’ve seen articles that say ‘Virginia is doing X, Y or Z,’” he said. “Virginia is not doing anything right now. … We are literally just having conversations with the community about what they want.”

Virginia’s math standards are reviewed every seven years, and there are two years remaining before the next revision. But this concept is being seriously discussed, and there is a significant degree of support for it.

This concept is a step toward “equity,” an element of the woke culture, and one of its goals. Merriam-Webster defines equity as “freedom from bias or favoritism.” But to the woke it means that no one is better at anything that everyone else.

Under equity, everyone should make the same grades in all subjects. Everyone should make the same money at work. Everyone must be at the same level in all things. It is unfair that some should be recognized as better than others, ever.

Most understand the reality that we are not all the same. Some of us are tall, some not so much. Some run faster or are stronger than others. Some can play an instrument or sing better than others, or are better in a dramatic part than others. Some are better at math than others, but the others may be better at history, science, English, geography or other things than the math scholar.

Each person has her or his stronger areas, and weaker areas. That is human nature. Some folks strongly resent this reality, and work to make everyone equal in all things.

However, in order to produce the most effective and strongest nation possible, our education system — public schools and private schools — must recognize those inherent strengths and weaknesses, and work to advance students to their peak in their strong areas and help them improve in their weaker areas.

If people cannot advance in subjects like math until their junior year in high school, they may never reach their full math potential. And this concept might be applied to other subjects, as well. The nation cannot afford to hold back it’s brightest in any area of study just to try to keep everybody even. First, that is an impossible task, and second, it is a foolish, dangerous goal.

Depending upon which evaluation system you read, the United States is either near the top, or as far down as 26th on the list for best education in the world.

However, the U.S. education system “is not as internationally competitive as it used to be; in fact, the United States has slipped ten spots in both high school and college graduation rates over the past three decades,” according to a report by the Council on Foreign Relations.

And, the World Top 20 Project does not list the United States in its top 20 nations in either 2020, or 2021.

The STEM areas — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — are critical to the future. If the VMPI takes hold and is applied to other educational areas and spreads inside the country, the United States will be focused on equity among the younger generations, rather than on enhancing their learning and advancement. 

This will lead to a national weakening, making us subject to the will of other nations. In fact, the U.S. has already weakened.

The National Interest magazine reports that the Pentagon released its annual report entitled “US Defense Industrial Base Industrial Capabilities Report January 2021,” on the state of the U.S. defense and manufacturing industrial base. There “are innumerable takeaways from the report but a consistent and glaring deficiency throughout reveals an erosion and degradation of the U.S. STEM education system and a severe shortage of technical talent in the U.S. workplace,” the Pentagon report said.

Rather than try to create “equity” among people, the United States education system must focus on developing the talents of young people to their fullest, so that we can remain a strong presence in the world. The alternative is simply not acceptable.