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The War on Competence
American Thinker ^ | 22 Jan, 2023 | Clarice Feldman

Posted on 01/22/2023 5:03:17 AM PST by MtnClimber

The Left has replaced the class-war game with a war on competence and achievement, hiding beyond claims of racial and sexual equity.

Decades ago, the Left played the class-war game. These days it’s a war on competence and achievement, hiding beyond claims of racial and sexual equity.

In Virginia, we are to believe that on their own, high school administrators in seventeen schools decided not to inform those of their students who had scored high enough on their scholastic aptitude tests to be named National Merit semi-finalists. Of course, it was not coincidental. Two factors are involved: The spurious claim that schools can achieve the impossible -- equal outcomes for all -- a claim which must not be challenged by contrary facts; and prejudice against high-achieving students -- most likely, given historical records, majority Asian and white. Hugh Hewitt thinks this was a clear violation of the students' civil rights for which Faitfax County may end up paying heavy legal damages.

A Massachusetts congresswoman, Ayanna Pressley (who represents, inter alia, most of Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts), plainly revealed what is the basis for the war on intellectual achievement:

“IQ is a measure of whiteness.”

It isn’t, of course. It’s a combination of genetics (dare we say this?), home environment, including familial respect for achievement, personal interests and motivation, and to a certain extent, the caliber of the education received.

This is not just a K-12 excrescence. For some years now it has metastasized to higher education.

Richard Vedder noted four years ago trends in this direction which have only accelerated since then.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Education; Society
KEYWORDS: communism
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To: MtnClimber

“IQ is a measure of whiteness.”
Their answer is to destroy the good rather than admit they were wrong in the past.


21 posted on 01/22/2023 8:39:38 AM PST by grey_whiskers ( (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.))
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To: Brooklyn Attitude; G Larry
From Screwtape Proposes A Toast:

In that promising land the spirit of I'm as good as you has already begun something more than a generally social influence. It begins to work itself into their educational system. How far its operations there have gone at the present moment, I should not like to say with certainty. Nor does it matter. Once you have grasped the tendency, you can easily predict its future developments; especially as we ourselves will play our part in the developing.

The basic principle of the new education is to be that dunces and idlers must not be made to feel inferior to intelligent and industrious pupils. That would be “undemocratic.” These differences between pupils — for they are obviously and nakedly individual differences — must be disguised. This can be done at various levels. At universities, examinations must be framed so that nearly all the students get good marks. Entrance examinations must be framed so that all, or nearly all, citizens can go to universities, whether they have any power (or wish) to profit by higher education or not. At schools, the children who are too stupid or lazy to learn languages and mathematics and elementary science can be set to doing things that children used to do in their spare time. Let, them, for example, make mud pies and call it modelling. But all the time there must be no faintest hint that they are inferior to the children who are at work. Whatever nonsense they are engaged in must have — I believe the English already use the phrase — “parity of esteem.” An even more drastic scheme is not possible. Children who are fit to proceed to a higher class may be artificially kept back, because the others would get a trauma — Beelzebub, what a useful word! — by being left behind. The bright pupil thus remains democratically fettered to his own age group throughout his school career, and a boy who would be capable of tackling Æschylus or Dante sits listening to his coeval's attempts to spell out A CAT SAT ON A MAT.

22 posted on 01/22/2023 8:42:16 AM PST by grey_whiskers ( (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.))
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To: MtnClimber
From the article:

3. America’s clear global lead in research is rapidly ending as other nations, especially China, are vastly increasing research spending relative to that in the United States, where political leaders increasingly forfeit future investment and national greatness for immediate political job security.

Compare again to Screwtape Proposes A Toast:

For “democracy” or the “democratic spirit” (diabolical sense) leads to a nation without great men, a nation mainly of subliterates, full of the cocksureness which flattery breeds on ignorance, and quick to snarl or whimper at the first sign of criticism. And that is what Hell wishes every democratic people to be. For when such a nation meets in conflict a nation where children have been made to work at school, where talent is placed in high posts, and where the ignorant mass are allowed no say at all in public affairs, only one result is possible.

23 posted on 01/22/2023 8:44:05 AM PST by grey_whiskers ( (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.))
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To: MtnClimber

Incompetence, inequality and inadequacy resulted in enslavement by those who were competent, adequate and better

The qualities that allowed enslavement still exist in the enslaved populations


24 posted on 01/22/2023 8:44:36 AM PST by bert ( (KWE. NP. N.C. +12) Juneteenth is inequality daythis piece is )
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To: grey_whiskers

Agreed!


25 posted on 01/22/2023 8:46:43 AM PST by G Larry ( "woke" means 'stupid enough to fall for the promotion of every human weakness into a virtue')
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To: MtnClimber
We should have put a stop to all this liberal bs in the school systems long ago. We put up with too much. Now the teachers unions are running things and that has to be killed or there won't be any meaningful education.Unions in govt. and education have to go they don't belong there.
26 posted on 01/22/2023 9:39:28 AM PST by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT)
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To: Brooklyn Attitude

This is why teachers unions who push this crap have to go!!


27 posted on 01/22/2023 9:41:50 AM PST by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT)
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To: grey_whiskers

Excellent post the war on achievers is underway.


28 posted on 01/22/2023 9:42:33 AM PST by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT)
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To: grey_whiskers

No wonder private schools are coming on so fast.What intelligent parent wants their kid to be part of that system?


29 posted on 01/22/2023 9:45:10 AM PST by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT)
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To: rodguy911

A lot of private schools aren’t much better in that department.


30 posted on 01/22/2023 9:46:21 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: grey_whiskers

“The basic principle of the new education is to be that dunces and idlers must not be made to feel inferior to intelligent and industrious pupils. That would be “undemocratic.” These differences between pupils — for they are obviously and nakedly individual differences — must be disguised. This can be done at various levels. At universities, examinations must be framed so that nearly all the students get good marks. Entrance examinations must be framed so that all, or nearly all, citizens can go to universities, whether they have any power (or wish) to profit by higher education or not. At schools, the children who are too stupid or lazy to learn languages and mathematics and elementary science can be set to doing things that children used to do in their spare time. Let, them, for example, make mud pies and call it modelling. But all the time there must be no faintest hint that they are inferior to the children who are at work. Whatever nonsense they are engaged in must have — I believe the English already use the phrase — “parity of esteem.” An even more drastic scheme is not possible. Children who are fit to proceed to a higher class may be artificially kept back, because the others would get a trauma — Beelzebub, what a useful word! — by being left behind. The bright pupil thus remains democratically fettered to his own age group throughout his school career, and a boy who would be capable of tackling Æschylus or Dante sits listening to his coeval’s attempts to spell out A CAT SAT ON A MAT.”

C.S. Lewis was a prophet.


31 posted on 01/22/2023 10:01:25 AM PST by Brooklyn Attitude (I went to bed on November 3rd 2020 and woke up in 1984.)
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To: rodguy911

“This is why teachers unions who push this crap have to go!!”

An example must be made of this school system by suing it into non-existence.


32 posted on 01/22/2023 10:02:55 AM PST by Brooklyn Attitude (I went to bed on November 3rd 2020 and woke up in 1984.)
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To: MtnClimber
“IQ is a measure of whiteness.”

Again, they admit that Whites are supreme.

33 posted on 01/22/2023 10:05:14 AM PST by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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To: DeplorablePaul
High achieving Asians undermines CRT’s white supremacy narrative.

They're just more White than White People ... ;'}

34 posted on 01/22/2023 10:06:02 AM PST by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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To: Brooklyn Attitude

Well, Blame the state legislatures that:

a) Allow government unions in their state,
b) Allow the certification of the state NEA as a union.

NEA & their state minions are allowed to have it two ways.
You call them a union and they answer ‘No! No! We are a professional organization!” I’ve never seen the IEEE, or the APS go on strike and pull out to protest college students studying those “professions”. I have seen the state NEA do it!

This is something the state legislatures have to put a stop to!


35 posted on 01/22/2023 10:13:50 AM PST by Reily
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To: Brooklyn Attitude

That’s a great idea as well.


36 posted on 01/22/2023 10:22:09 AM PST by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; BraveMan; cardinal4; ...

37 posted on 01/22/2023 11:08:31 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: MtnClimber

Dr. Ben Carson is black, I am white.

I bet his IQ exceeds MY (white) IQ by an embarrassing amount.


38 posted on 01/22/2023 11:32:24 AM PST by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing Obamacare is worse than Obamacare)
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To: MtnClimber

Dr. Ben Carson is black, I am white.

I bet his IQ exceeds MY (white) IQ by an embarrassing amount.


39 posted on 01/22/2023 11:32:24 AM PST by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing Obamacare is worse than Obamacare)
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To: Mr. K
Dr. Ben Carson is black, I am white. I bet his IQ exceeds MY (white) IQ by an embarrassing amount.

I dunno bro, you're pretty smart.

40 posted on 01/22/2023 11:38:18 AM PST by Lazamataz (The firearms I own today, are the firearms I will die with. How I die will be up to them.)
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