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Saturday, April 24, 2021

White Flight

Monica Showalter does a survey of the results of Covid on government schools--especially in the primary stages. What's happening, as we start to get some date is a Wokester apocalypse: Public school enrollment plunges in California -- and everywhere else.

Showalter focuses on California, but notes that much of what she's talking about can be seen to one degree or another in other localities:


it's actually happening all over. DetroitNew York CityBaltimoreWashington, D.C.Austin, TucsonMinneapolisSanta Fe, New MexicoJanesville, WisconsinChautauqua County, upstate New York, plus the entire states of New JerseyIowaVermontArizonaColoradoMichiganHawaiiNorth CarolinaTexasOklahomaMinnesotaWashingtonVirginia, and quite likely all of the others are reporting public school enrollment drops.


Yes, it is happening elsewhere. For example, in Chicago, which is one of the larger school districts in the country with one of the most radical government teachers unions.

The other thing that's happening in California and is certainly happening elsewhere is that the demographic that's fleeing government schools is Whites:


In California, it's white students, who are bolting most. AP reports that they comprise 22% of school enrollment, but account for half of the exits. They're moving on to private schools, whose enrollments are up, or to homeschooling, which is available to anyone with a literate and motivated parent. Or else just moving to a better state. It suggests that poor black and Latino kids, who form far larger demographic groups within the California districts, might just be not bolting because economically, they can't.


There's another aspect to this. I know that in my area there's a stark disparity--on an ethnic/racial basis--in the return rate of students as schools slowly reopen. Anyone with a bit of awareness of area demographics will quickly realize from news reports that schools that are heavily White or "White Adjacent" (a term I learned yesterday--it means Asians or high achieving "Non-Whites" and is a Woke pejorative) are experiencing very high rates of return. By contrast, schools that are dominantly Black or HIspanic have return rates that are catastrophically low. The real question, of course, is what happens in September--or late August, as the case may be. Who expects school districts to enlist the police to become truant officers? We may see permanent dropouts from government schools beginning at very young age as another part of the fallout from the Covid Hoax.

Showalter states that the move is most prominent among younger students--K through 6th. She attributes that to the need younger kids have for more visual, hands-on learning, so parents are desperate to get their younger kids into physical schools. I suspect that another factor in this is that it's much easier to switch schools with younger kids than it is with older kids--much less culture shock involved, much less push back from the kids. I suspect also that the move is most prominent among the higher achieving demographic of all races/ethnicities.

Local school boards have been enablers of the ongoing child abuse that we've witnessed, but the list of the usual suspects will surprise no one. The government teachers unions have used Covid to maximize and extend their political muscle, which translates into ever harder Left policies that go well beyond education:


The unions themselves were beyond-vile in their behavior. as RedState contributor Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, in an excellent piece, noted here:

This is a nice way of saying that the California Teachers Unions held parents and students hostage while they made demands for social justice contingent on their return. Demands like funding BLM, and Defunding the Police. While doing this, they still collected bonuses for teaching 45-minute Zoom classes, and maligned parents who wanted their children to actually be taught in person.

What's more, they not only made strange hostage demands, as well as called for more money, they extended and extended, and extended the lockdowns, as they drew higher pay and worked fewer hours, ...


Not surprisingly, measures against charter schools figured prominently in government teachers union demands--the government teachers want a captive population and are mostly OK with the White Flight from government schools. Also notable was the push for the right to strike for almost any reason, which translates into enormous political muscle in Blue states.

And, of course, the Leftist politics--Critical Race theory, the Trans takeover of girls school activities, especially sports--is part of the dynamic that is also leading to White parents taking their kids elsewhere for a real education:


Now [Zhou is] busy imposing critical race theory on all public schools nationally -- that's the stuff that tells whitey he's the bad guy, or needs to 'try to act less white,' even if he's just four years old. That likely accounts for at least some of the white exodus from public schools. (Remember: much of California still votes Republican even if they don't win). It's a phony education that wrecks some kids' self-esteem, makes other kids hate their neighbors or think they're victims, and amounts to propaganda at the expense of education. Who'd want that?


It all adds up, and what it may--hopefully--be adding up to is a growing cultural awakening and shift. This is what is needed for America. What we're seeing could be just the beginning--what we see come September should tell the story. Will parents return their kids to government control come Fall, or will they keep them in privates schools? The private schools will want long term commitments--including in the very tangible form of tuition down payments--from their new families. The lure of "free" schooling is strong, but the uncertainties and craziness that involved parents have witnessed have eroded trust. And all of this is part of the leadup Election 2022.


15 comments:

  1. along those lines, went to a small gathering yesterday in Northern Virginia for a guy running for the GOP nomination for Governor. Much of the discussion focused on education (or the lack thereof) and the idiotic proposal to basically do away with math and replace it with "essential concepts", whatever that means, sheesh! The candidate pounded away hard at teacher unions and the need for school choice as an antidote for wokeness. I hope the debate over this single matter intensifies to the point that our Asian community finally understands that the Dimms are not their friends.

    You can call me a dreamer, but perhaps I'm not the only one...we'll find out come November, I suppose

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  2. I should be able to say our family is in the middle of this but we never planned to put our 6 yr old into a public school to begin with.

    I don't know how people do it personally and I don't just mean the idea of subjecting ones child to that environment. But the whole ball of wax of 2 "in debit" working parents and all of the toxicity that bleeds from it. Life, family and relationships are complicated enough.

    I made my mistakes early in life, I only learn the hard way... Simplicity is harder in some ways but way more productive and satisfying over all... For us anyways.

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  3. First off my kids are out of public K-12 school now. 2nd, I hope when these districts come calling with referendum's they show the metrics to compare/contrast enrollment, teacher population etc.. side-by-side over the last 20 years. 3rd, shifts away from public education will continue as no one wants to be held hostage by the teachers unions. 4th, a bi-product of this change will be less public school teachers. 5th, I want to know the property tax implications of less students, less teachers, less facilities...

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  4. I walked away from mass education 23 years ago and DIY-educated 4 kids, K thru 12. I had to give up career but it was 100% worth it. The insanity, which I thought could get no worse than it was, has grown exponentially. If you can...walk away. And when they try to control what you teach and how you teach from their pulpits, smile agreeably and do what you want.

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    1. Thanks Rosemary. It's a question that a lot of people need to really ponder: What are your priorities in life, what is a human life all about? It's one thing to SAY that family comes first, but that needs to be put into practice. That can lead to some difficult decisions. As for the insanity, it can almost always get worse--sadly.

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    2. Thanks indeed, Rosemary!
      When both parents work, when they don't lack for $$, and send their kids to public school jungles, they should all but expect their kids to become traumatized, esp. under recent conditions.

      "smile agreeably and do what you want", and make sure your kids learn to not trust most strangers (with the real score on what you're doing), like inhabitants of the Soviet empire had to do.

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  5. Has anyone actually read the journal articles that launched Critical Race "Theory"?

    The authors would fail any entry-level research methods course. They don't understand the basics of hypothesis testing, empirical evidence, etc. Their "theory" is merely a collection of absurd assertions.

    An example from one of the journal "articles": a female student of color enters a classroom and believes a white male student is thinking she was admitted due to affirmative action, not merit. Her belief is entirely predicated on her reading of his facial expression and her reaction to his presence in the classroom. She believes he is harboring racist thoughts and displaying white privilege and white supremacy.

    So, her inner belief / inner feeling constitutes "evidence" that the male student has committed a racist transgression.

    CRT advocates the totally subjective, unverifiable, nonsensical claim that merely thinking something about another person (that they are x, y, or z) is enough to make it true.

    Extrapolating this: CRT says: if I look at a stranger across the aisle on a train and think that stranger is an ax murderer, then that person is, indeed, an ax murderer. My thought is sufficient evidence.

    So, CRT is total garbage. Additionally, it means select individuals are the arbiters of reality. They are mind-readers. Whatever they are thinking at the moment: about other individuals, situations, etc. is valid, solely because they are thinking it. The mere thought constitutes proof. 2 + 2 = 5 because that is what I believe. My belief, alone, makes it true. And, because I believe it is true, everyone else must also believe it is true.

    Separately, this video was good:

    https://twitter.com/GadSaad/status/1385650444974891008?s=20

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    1. Yeah, Saad can be quite good, see e.g.
      https://thoughteconomics.com/gad-saad-parasitic-mind/

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    2. This is why I like this blog--lots of thought-provoking articles and comments. Thanks for these.

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  6. What's all the rage in my school emails right now is "microaggression." The school illustrated this concept for us with an image of a small, grey-haired woman nervously clutching her purse as a tall black youth was walking toward her, and we were told that this woman was exhibiting a microaggression toward the youth. I was recently sent this article about microaggressions that everyone was applauding:
    https://www.higheredtoday.org/2016/07/27/understanding-and-combatting-microaggressions-in-postsecondary-education/

    Like Rosemary said, all I can do is smile at them and think my own private thoughts.

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    1. @sawadika
      "Like Rosemary said, all I can do is smile at them and think my own private thoughts."

      Not if they are racist. Or, more accurately, not if I think they are racist.

      Ultimately, you can smile and think your own private thoughts, but, because you're racist, you'll have to leave. Or fight. I think that's the logical end point.

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    2. Yeah, I know. I'm not ready to leave my job yet, but I am actively looking for the way to fight back.

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  7. White flight is only a thing because they, generally, but not all, could do it, and even that is not fully true, see the Dust Bowl and the Depression in the US.

    As we see with a national BLM head, flight is irrespective of race.

    To any blacks on this site ...

    The cross of being your brother’s keeper is immense and has no historical or recent justification. It’s too much for any person to bear.

    Jesus died for all of us. The notion of original sin was cleansed by Jesus.

    Not one individual of a race has to bear the burdens of others of the same race, period.

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  8. In California school funding is mostly tied to enrollment. So the drop in funding may have a huge impact.

    The current Ca school funding is about “equity” and how unfair a school district could pay more per student if was in a rich area. It also resulted in everything getting centralized.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrano_v._Priest

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    1. Oh, yeah, that could have a huge impact, alright. Here in IL that hasn't happened yet, although there's been talk.

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