Tag: dumbing down

The Decline Of Higher Education Continues

During my second career teaching high school English, I noticed several darkly funny but disturbing trends in “higher” education.  They were fueled by three primary drivers: abandoning merit, the federal government taking over the student loan industry, and DEI hysteria.

It was Barack Obama who federalized the student loan industry, pushing the idea that everyone should go to college.

To make that idea a reality, it was necessary for the government to guarantee student loans.

That had plenty of unfortunate and foreseeable effects. Because Colleges no longer had any financial skin in the game, they went on a mad administrator-hiring binge, which required enormous amounts of money, which required unprecedented numbers of students. 

Combined with a faux-religious devotion to DEI, colleges admitted all manner of people who in past years would have reasonably been found to be poorly suited to do college-level work. To cover this, it was necessary to do away with any sort of predictive testing like the SAT. All that was required for college admission was a student loan, unless one was a white male applying at an Ivy League school. Those guys, regardless of academic qualification, were often denied.

Enormous DEI departments with all manner of administrators and functionaries were established, and hundreds of millions were wasted on DEI gurus imported to inspire them.

So unprepared were so many, colleges were forced to establish remedial high schools on campus. It was a great scam. Full tuition for no credit, and blame students’ lack of ability on high school teachers like me, who could have told them who wasn’t academically capable if anyone had bothered to ask.

Grade inflation was a direct result of these disasters. It was necessary to hide the scams, so professors were required not only to dumb down the content of their classes and to require far less work, but to award unearned grades. An entire generation of college students was conditioned to expect maximum grades for minimum and poor work. And God help any professor who gave a minority student the grade their lack of work deserved.

As a result, innumerable students took 6-7 years to get a 4-year degree at enormous cost, but many simply dropped out without a degree, bearing enormous debt they had no credentials or ability to pay off.

I’m certainly not arguing college should be denied to anyone. I’ve known many people who struggled greatly but managed to earn a degree and were better and more productive people for it. I am arguing for rational decision-making and fiscally sound, ethical colleges.

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Two Nashville Teachers Say Bureaucrats Pressured Them to FABRICATE Grades for Failing Students — One Suspended After She Refused to Cook the Books

Two former Metro Nashville Public Schools teachers say administrators directed them to change failing grades so the district’s performance would look better on paper.

Samira Hardcastle, an eight-year art teacher at John F. Kennedy Middle School who was named the school’s 2025–2026 Teacher of the Year and recognized as a district Blue Ribbon Teacher of the Year, resigned in May.

Hardcastle said a student failed to complete an art project and received a failing grade. After the student’s parent challenged the grade, three administrators met with the parent and concluded that Hardcastle had not supplied an adequate rubric. Hardcastle refused to change the grade herself. According to her account, administrators then changed it.

Hardcastle described the episode in her resignation letter as grade fabrication and told WSMV that she believes such changes make district performance appear better than it really is.

At Tuesday’s Metro Nashville Board of Education meeting, Hardcastle also alleged that teachers were being discouraged from formally reporting some student misconduct. She warned that the numbers were being skewed to protect the district instead of children, according to FOX 17’s report on her appearance.

Samira Hardcastle: I was Teacher of the Year at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Antioch this past year and Blue Ribbon Teacher of the Year for the district. What you have in front of you right now is my resignation letter. I resigned in May. You can read those three pages at your leisure, but I’ve heard a lot of positive data in this meeting, and I just wanted to give you some facts from my firsthand experience.

So, first, district leaders asked me to fabricate grades for a parent who sat in the office for hours until her daughter’s failing grades were changed.

It creates false entitlement. What happens when these kids lie, cheat, and cry their way through school and end up as future doctors, police, or politicians? When will you protect the future of our society?

Second, that same parent has harassed over 30 teachers. Teachers have filed police reports, and entire schools have had restraining orders against her, yet she’s still allowed on school property, showing up to field trips her child didn’t earn and filming other students.

When will you stop prioritizing parents’ feelings over the safety of our teachers and our students?

I heard you also mentioned that we’re closing gaps in teacher vacancies. I want the public to know that many of those are filled with uncertified teachers.

My third point: HR withheld money from my employee paycheck, as well as many others. They took $500 from me specifically, and it put me behind on my mortgage. And then they sent out an email saying that they had to do it to pay other employees. When will you pay teachers what they are owed?

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High School English Teacher Brought to Tears as He Reveals Some Seniors in His Class Cannot Write a SINGLE SENTENCE

A high school English teacher took to social media to share his concerns about the state of education in the U.S.  He was brought to tears as he revealed that in his class, he has seniors who cannot write a single sentence.

“I literally broke down in the middle of class because I’m teaching seniors,” he shared. “These kids are leaving high school and going to college, hopefully, after they finish.”

“We had two paragraphs to read, one sentence, complete, to write. I gave them the sentence stems. I basically completed the sentence for them in the model.”

“These are 17 and 18-year-old kids, and they couldn’t fill in four words. Four words.”

“I gave them the scenario. We annotated together. I gave them the answers before we even had the problem.”

“And they couldn’t do it.”

“I don’t know. I simply don’t know where the problem is.”

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High-Schoolers in Denmark Will Make Oral Defenses on Assignments To Curb AI Cheating

9,000 students will not cheat.

Everywhere you go, nowadays, you will run into students abusing the AI tools to get good grades.

And the Scandinavian kingdom of Denmark is no exception.

But now, Danish High school students will be required to verbally defend their written assignments, as part of emergency government measures to combat AI cheating.

Politico reported:

“A verbal defense will be needed for all exams written at home, Denmark’s Ministry of Education announced in a statement Thursday, adding that it will work with schools to create the best framework for this.

The rule, which comes into force immediately, applies to students in upper secondary education, which typically begins around age 16. It will include the approximately 9,000 students enrolled in the country’s two-year Higher Preparatory Examination program, who have to submit major written assignments each year, according to the ministry.”

High Schools will also use a firewall to keep students from accessing content to get an advantage.

“In addition, it is encouraging schools to get students to complete more assignments in school, under controlled environments, to make supervision easier.

‘Unfortunately, we have a problem with students using AI to cheat in upper secondary school’, Education Minister Magnus Heunicke said in the statement. ‘Action is needed now, and we are starting with these three initiatives’.”

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REPORT: More Than HALF of New York Students Grades 3-5 Failed Basic Reading Tests This Year

More than half of students in grades 3-5 in New York state failed basic reading tests this year. It’s an absolute disgrace.

In New York City, they spend upwards of $40,000 on each student per school year. What is the money going to> Lessons on critical race theory and gender studies topics? Social justice activism?

Reading is one of the most basic and necessary skills that schools are expected to teach children. People who cannot read are absolutely doomed in adult life.

Part of this can be blamed on draconian school shutdowns during Covid but not all of it.

The New York Post reports:

NY 3rd-5th graders fail basic reading tests with more than half not even proficient: data

More than half of 3rd- to 5th-grade students in the Empire State failed their reading proficiency state exams this year, according to shocking new data.

Preliminary results released this week by the state Education Department that 57% of 3rd graders, 52% of 4th graders and 57% of 5th graders failed to make the grade on their 2025-26 English Language Arts tests.

City kids in grades 3-8 saw a 6% drop in their ELA scores from last year, with just about half overall rating proficient.

Overall, just 48% of students in the testing grades, 4th-8th, rated proficient on the ELA — a “significant” 5% plunge from the previous year, the department said.

Fifth graders saw the largest drop of any grade level, with those students’ reading proficiency declining by an incredible 14 points, according to the results.

In New York City — where about 40% of the state’s public school students are enrolled — the decline was even more concerning.

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WOKE FAILURE: More Than 3,000 University of California Professors Demand Return of SAT After “Equity” Experiment Leaves Incoming Students Unable to Do Basic Math

The University of California’s grand experiment with “equity” in college admissions is running headfirst into an inconvenient reality: thousands of professors say incoming students are showing up without the basic academic skills needed to handle university coursework.

UC ditched standardized testing requirements in 2020, first going test-optional amid the COVID panic and then fully test-blind, all in the name of “equity.”

Regents claimed the tests discriminated against students of color and lower-income applicants, even though a faculty task force had found the opposite: the SAT and ACT were strong predictors of college success and actually helped identify talented disadvantaged students who might otherwise have been overlooked. The data was ignored. Ideology won.

Six years later, the results are in and they are catastrophic.

According to the LA Times, more than 3,000 UC faculty, including STEM professors and department chairs, have signed open letters demanding the return of the tests.

At UC San Diego, a faculty report documented a roughly 30-fold surge between 2020 and 2025 in incoming freshmen whose math skills tested below high school level.

Of those, about 70% fell below middle school levels, reaching roughly one in twelve students in the entering class. Professors report having to reteach basic arithmetic and algebra while trying to deliver college material.

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University of Michigan to Bury Grades for First Year Students Starting in 2027 to ‘Curb the Mental Health Crisis’

Starting in 2027, the University of Michigan is changing from letter grades to system of pass or incomplete for first year students, claiming that they are doing it to ‘curb’ the mental health crisis.

If you can’t handle getting a letter grade that you don’t like, maybe you are the problem. Maybe you’re just not ready for college.

This is just more coddling, safe space nonsense that higher education has become known for in recent years.

Campus Reform reported on this:

UMich to bury first-semester grades in bid to ‘curb the mental health crisis’

The University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) will stop reporting traditional letter grades on first-semester transcripts for incoming freshmen beginning in Fall 2027, replacing them with “pass” or “no credit” designations as part of a pilot program aimed at reducing student stress and curbing a “mental health crisis”.

Students will still earn letter grades and receive instructor feedback in every course. However, those grades will remain internal, will not appear on official transcripts, and will not affect first-semester GPAs.

University officials say the policy is intended to help freshmen transition to college, support student well-being, and encourage students to take academically challenging courses without worrying that one difficult semester could permanently affect their records.

”We believe that covering grades will help students start strong and curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals,” the policy page states.

The school argues the program will shift students’ focus from grades to learning by promoting collaboration over competition and allowing freshmen to explore unfamiliar subjects without fear of damaging their GPAs.

America desperately needs more young people to go to trade schools and learn to fix things. Mike Rowe has been sounding the alarm about that for years.

If college students want less stress, they should consider learning to weld or becoming a plumber. The income will be better and there will be less student loan debt involved.

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US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference

A U.S. government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at ‌a global conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online.

Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map ​displayed halfway during a presentation about the State Department’s new health agreements.

A Reuters analysis found the ​image of the map included in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that ⁠signals it was made with OpenAI tools. The company said it was investigating the report.

The State Department said ​it took “full responsibility” for the confusion caused and that the map had been produced by a team member who ​hastily changed the slide deck before the event.

The map showed Nigeria, where the U.S. currently has several hundred troops deployed, as landlocked in the Sahara Desert. Mozambique, which is in southeastern Africa, was relocated to the Horn of Africa, while Ivory ​Coast in West Africa was placed on the other side of the continent.

Screenshots of the map first appeared ​in a Substack post by AIDS expert Emily Bass and were widely shared on LinkedIn, with one post garnering some ‌40,000 views.

“Whoever ⁠created and approved this slide did not know where countries in Africa are and did not care to check their work,” wrote Matt Petit, who focuses on AI and geopolitics at the Atlantic Council, in the post.

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White House Moves to Ban Open Source AI Models to Keep America Dumb

The Coming AI Ban Designed to Keep America Dumb

I use Chinese open-source AI models like Qwen, DeepSeek, and Kimi every single day for my work. These models help me research, write, and analyze information faster than any US-based alternative. They are free (when run locally), powerful, and largely uncensored. But the Trump administration is reportedly planning to ban these models in the United States, citing phony “national security” concerns. Let me be clear: this move is not about security. It is about protecting failing US AI labs and keeping Americans ignorant and dumbed-down while the rest of the world moves forward.

The report from TechCrunch makes it plain: OpenAI’s head of strategic futures, Dean W. Ball, has argued that the US government should create “regulatory fear, uncertainty, and distrust” around open-weight models because they threaten capital investment in the American AI oligopoly [1]. This is not a secret. The administration wants to lock down access to superior Chinese models like Kimi K3, which now matches Anthropic’s Mythos in cybersecurity tasks [2]. Meanwhile, as I warned in February 2026, Anthropic’s smear campaign against Chinese AI is a pathetic attempt to hide the fact that China has already won the intelligence race [3]. The White House knows its pet companies cannot compete, so it wants to ban the competition to keep Americans stuck with using inferior AI models.

The Fair Use Ruling: Knowledge Wants to Be Free

Related to this news, but focused on the question of “Fair Use” and intellectual property, a recent federal court ruling reaffirmed that training AI on publicly available information is transformative fair use. This aligns with what I have argued for years: when you write a book, you are sharing knowledge, not hoarding it. I built BrightLearn.ai exactly for this purpose — to let anyone create and share books for free, and I actively encourage AI engines to train on my own book and the entire BrightLearn library. The whole point is to liberate knowledge from gatekeepers [4].

Why would any author object to their work being used to train an AI? Only if they believe their words are more valuable when kept scarce. But scarcity of knowledge is exactly what the establishment wants. As I discussed with Maria Zeee in February 2025, the battle is between large tech companies aiming to dominate society through AI and the decentralized movement that returns power to individuals [5]. The fair use principle is the legal foundation of that freedom. Now the White House wants to tear it down by banning open-source models that give everyone access to increasing intelligence.

Why Trump Wants to Ban Chinese Open-Source Models

The real reason behind all this is simple: Chinese models like Kimi K3, DeepSeek R1, and GLM 5.2 are outperforming US frontier labs in both capability and cost. DeepSeek R1 was trained for just $6 million and outperforms OpenAI’s O1, while Anthropic hemorrhages billions on lobotomized models that refuse to answer basic questions [6]. US companies like Anthropic are demanding $965 billion valuations while crippling their own AI with guardrails and censorship [7]. They are clearly terrified of open competition.

As I wrote in “Why China Is Winning the AI Race,” the conventional narrative that America leads in AI is a dangerous fantasy [8]. China graduates over three and a half million engineers annually without woke indoctrination, and its models are open-source, uncensored, and available to all [9]. The Trump administration knows this. Now the White House is demanding a license for your brain — restricting frontier AI use to government-approved partners only [10]. This isn’t about safety; it is about monopolizing intelligence and forcing Americans to use dumbed-down “government approved” AI models.

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State University of New York System Implements Mandatory Tutoring Program Because ‘Record Number’ of First Year Students Are Failing Math and Writing

The State University of New York (SUNY) is implementing a mandatory tutoring system because a record number of first year students are failing reading and math. This problem is widespread and not isolated to New York.

Part of this problem is due to what happened during Covid-19, when school systems across the country shut down for months and conducted classes via Zoom. Students everywhere fell behind and never caught up.

It is also due to the fact that so many schools have abandoned basic elements of education in favor of pushing woke garbage about social justice, race, and gender.

The College Fix reports:

SUNY institutes mandatory tutoring, extra class time due to ‘record’ number of first-years failing math, writing

Due to a “record” number of first-year failures in freshman writing and math courses, the State University of New York system now will require students to have weekly meetings with a one-on-one tutor, and will add additional time to classes in the latter category.

According to the Times Union, SUNY reported that a quarter of its freshmen failed the introductory math course, and 22 percent flunked English.

This fall at SUNY Albany, selected first-years will have to get tutored in writing for an hour each week, and for 90 minutes in math/science. “Hundreds” of high-performing students have been tapped to help with the effort.

Dean for Undergraduate Education JoAnne Malatesta said that the assisting students, who “did well” in the writing class, will “direct freshmen to the tutoring center and encourage them to go to the professor’s office hours.”

Some 375 student tutors also will hold “90-minute ‘supplemental instruction’ sessions” each week in math and science that freshmen are “expected” to attend.

Malatesta said similar sessions in the past have led to “significant gains” in academic performance.

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