Last week, Christian Mullins wrote a letter supporting the harmful and racist policy of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Cape school district. He said “it is about creating an inclusive environment that recognizes the different experiences and needs of all students.” What exactly does this mean and what are the educational consequences of “recognizing” these different experiences and needs?
The concern with this type of thinking is that it caters to the soft bigotry of low expectations for minority children. It implies we should accommodate their deficiencies rather than do the work necessary to educate them. I am all for an inclusive environment, but it’s one that educates all children regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation.
We must give these children all the tools necessary for success in the real world.
He goes on to say that we “address the systemic inequalities that exist within our education system and create a more level playing field for all.” It seems to me that you can level the racial playing field (equity) either by pushing down on the overachieving racial groups or lifting up the underachieving racial groups. Historically, we have encouraged all children to achieve to the best of their abilities, providing additional help for those that struggle. This, however, is no longer the case.
We now lower expectations for minority children and simply pass them through. We also diminish the accomplishments and opportunities for high achievers. This is often accomplished by dumbing down the system, by deemphasizing or eliminating hard classes. This is extremely destructive to our country and its children. It also disproportionately impacts certain racial groups. Asians for example, are regularly among the highest performers, so this disproportionately impacts them. This is clearly a racist policy.
DEI is divisive, racist and harmful to our educational system. I’m sure some DEI supporters are well-intentioned, but they’re being misled into thinking this is good policy. To eliminate racism, you must first stop promoting racist policies.
Shawn Lovenguth is running for the Cape Henlopen school board seat in the election set for Tuesday, May 9. I hope you support his election. His focus is on students who want to learn, good teachers, discipline and safety.
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