In an effort to increase inclusivity and make things more even among pupils, educators in Barrington, Rhode Island, have canceled honors classes. Parents of children from the wealthy Providence suburb, on the other hand, are furious with the reform since they paid millions of dollars to live in Barrington so that their kids may attend one of the top-rated public school systems in the state of Rhode Island.
Barrington’s rank, on the other hand, has dropped considerably since it revamped its approach to education in 2020. The school district was well-known for preparing pupils for Ivy League colleges and high-paying jobs, but it plummeted 119 ranks due to its “woke” education model that makes learning more inclusive for all kids rather than just white ones.
Parents of Barrington kids are now claiming that the school system’s de-levelling strategy has done more harm than good. The technique is to keep all pupils in the same class, regardless of their skills. This is achieved by eliminating honors courses and other specialized programs that used to favor high-achieving students in the region.
A dentist father who has emigrated from Mexico to the United States understands that the new regulation would assist “someone like me,” but it will hinder his children’s chances of establishing a successful career in the United States.
“‘My parents came from Mexico. They didn’t speak English. I went to school. I started off from kindergarten to third grade before my parents could actually read my assignments. You guys have your own idea of what diversity, equity, and inclusion means,” he said. “It doesn’t take into account an actual person that has been through some of the worst public schools in Chicago lives in neighborhoods where people are shooting each other, drug dealers, and gang members. That’s where I grew up till I was about 12. So how come no one is asking me? I have a lot to share.”
It’s time to put a stop to it. This father said that although he “didn’t bother” paying high taxes to support the Barrington School District, he “wasn’t going to sit through a school district that’s not going to give my son a chance to fulfill his dream of following in his daddy’s footsteps.”
The new curriculum had parents fuming as well.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion” are all part of “radical left language,” according to the dentist’s father. These efforts fail to “take into account what I think.”
“All of you guys probably have dentists. If you guys really believe in [equity], then pick an average or below average dentist, and see what you get. But that’s not what you guys do, you guys look at ratings, and you pick the best that’s available,” the dentist dad added. One mother expressed her outrage at the school board for being “manipulative.”
“The school committee has failed again and again to listen to this community or to ask smart questions of the administration,” she said. “And I now ask you to do what is right, and it’s easy. Let me walk you through it. First, have the humility that this did not go as planned. It takes real leadership to admit you messed up. Give it a try.”
