Obviously looking beyond his November re-election bid and running for president, Newsom boasted of the size of the state, as he often does, that has “the fifth largest economy in the world.” He continued, “I do believe that education is under assault in ways that I’ve never experienced in my lifetime.”
He cited “banning books, suppressing speech,” a reference to parents and school board members across the country, including in California, objecting to Critical Race Theory and other brainwashing of young minds. And he cited what he called “the othering of our students.” I hadn’t heard that phrase before. But I don’t think he means students from families with traditional values being discriminated against.
He called this defending “freedom of expression and speech,” and said, “1,586 books have been banned just in the last 12 months,” including 42 children’s books. He’s not talking about the increasing bans of conservative books by Amazon.com and other liberal companies, but by schools boards and libraries trying to protect children from wayward teachers.
In fact, there is no censorship in America except by liberal companies. You can publish and read whatever you want. As to public schools, they belong to the people, who through elected school boards determine curriculums. What would Newsom say if a teacher prescribed in class only books promoting Nazism? Would that be “free speech”? I think even he then would favor “censorship.”
Newsom said “social-emotional learning” is good because it’s “about the whole person.” He’s a smart man, so he knows he’s putting us on. Anyone who’s paid attention to education policy, as Newsom has as mayor of San Francisco, lieutenant governor, and now governor, knows these fads come and go, making millions for the “innovators” who finally will turn dunces into geniuses.
Returning to Newsom’s speech, he said Texas banned 713 books and, “Education reform doesn’t come with gag rules.” He said 183 bills to “gag free speech” have been introduced nationally since last January.
- $4.7 billion for mental health and wellness;
- $4.1 billion dollars for community schools;
- “created a brand-new grade, pre-K for all,” an echo of his California for All slogan;
- $5 billion for “universal after school and universal summer school”;
- 3.5 million kids will get “child saving accounts,” for college, actually a good idea;
- Universal meals twice a day, so kids can avoid the “stigma” of getting welfare; but the problem is doing so further reduces the influence of families, where meals always have been a locus of conviviality, instead putting the government in charge of the kids’ nutrition; this is pure socialism;
- Moved the pre-K student-teacher ratio from 1-24 to 1-10;
- $3.6 billion in grants for arts and music instruments and supplies;
- $38.7 billion more invested in education since the beginning of the pandemic.
And as to diversity and ethnic harmony, black and Latino students continue to suffer an “achievement gap.” One solution would be to advance merit-pay for teachers, using all that new surplus cash, to encourage the best teachers to teach the lowest-scoring students. But the teachers’ unions, Newsom’s top supporters, won’t allow that.
The Newsom System is failing these students. Instead of working for real academic reforms, Newsom offers posturing. The state now is spending an astounding $24,000 per student in K-12. That’s $720,000 for a classroom of 30.
As I have said before, Newsom seems to be running not for president of the whole country, but to just get the Democratic Party’s nomination. Should he get that nomination, his Republican opponent will scorch him for California schools’ academic failures and whatever nutty fads are being imposed on the poor suffering students in November 2024.
