From: Lars Larson Sent: Friday, September 10, 2021 1:47 PM To: Retain Mike Subject: Re: Eliminating Educational Standards
Pretty crazy isn't it?
On Fri, Sep 10, 2021 at 1:44 PM Retain Mike wrote:
As a new school year begins, students will no longer be required to demonstrate skills in reading, writing, and math. For the next five years, an Oregon high school diploma will be no guarantee of academic achievement, but only of participation in a system with undefined parameters. The legislators, school districts, and governor supporting Senate Bill 744 saw that this “will benefit Oregon’s Black, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of color”.
So now we have moved to the position held by many 19th century abolitionists. When I read The Life and Times of Fredrick Douglass, one passage always stayed with me. After speaking to an abolitionist audience, Douglass considered the evening a great success, because he concluded his talk believing these people were convinced, he was equally human with them. He mentioned this as a significant event, because even the strongest supporters of black freedom questioned whether these people were as fully human. If educators would treat these people as individuals, they would design programs allowing an opportunity for commensurate achievement.
I remember Dr. Martin Luther King saying, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…..little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
I guess the statement still makes sense to me.
Since you plan on moving anyway, I suggest Florida for their Bright Futures college scholarships. If your children earn decent grades and test scores, your children can get college tuition covered at their Public colleges. Both are huge improvements to the political climate of Oregon.