The Social Justice Warrior/Math Teacher

By Professor Doom

     The recent kerfluffle with the math EDUCATION professor claiming mathematics is now “white privilege” reminds me it's been some time since I've discussed the insanity of Education departments.

     Now, it’s no secret that Education classes have minimal requirements and ridiculously easy grading:

Education students face easier coursework than do their peers in other departments, according to the study, and they’re more likely to graduate with honors.

     When I was at a fake school, every year some clown with a Ph.D. in Education would come and lecture me (and all the other faculty) for 2 hours or more on how to be a better teacher. Since it was for all faculty, the advice was of no relevance to any particular course, so nothing useful like a good mnemonic for remembering a formula.

      No, it was always idiotic advice, like “assign more papers in the math classes (because it’s easier for students to plagiarize)” and “assign more group projects (because it’s easier for a student to slack and get a passing grade because his group did his work for him)” and “Don’t expect students to know material from other courses (because they’re cheating through those courses and thus don’t know anything)” among other ridiculous tidbits. Ok, they didn’t include my parenthetical additions, but it there was always a subtext, approved by the admin at the school, that we needed to have no integrity whatsoever, at any point. Admin led by example in this regard, I admit, and I was forever being punished for having integrity.

      In any event, these Educationists primarily were about degrading education, about ripping off and hurting kids. The worst, absolute worst kind of educationist was the Math Education professor. Oh how I hated how they’d strut around, often calling themselves “math professor” while lecturing on teaching ideas which had nothing to do with math.

       Being at a legit school now, I’m not subjected to nearly so much indoctrination, but I suspect things have gotten worse. Consider this snippet from a want ad for a professor of Elementary Math Education:

We seek candidates who share our commitment to educational equity, to social justice,

     Now, wait just a second here. I understand requirements for experience, for research, for appropriate degrees but…now you must adhere to a self-destructive and hypocritical belief system to be a professor?

     How embarrassing!

     Even more shamefully, this is for a position in Texas. In much of the country, the “social justice warrior” is held in as much disdain as a Klansman, for espousing bigoted views filled with hatred. In Texas, however, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that there is an official hunting season for social justice warriors.

      But this Texas university is actively recruiting social justice warriors in their Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Isn’t that a funny name for a department? How did it happen that the minor topic of “Curriculum and Instruction” managed to get its own department? Can any of my gentle readers think of any time where something in this topic actually mattered to anyone?

      I’ve been in higher education my whole life, teaching, attending classes, and reviewing curriculum…absolutely nothing has changed from a general standpoint. I had no idea such a department could exist, because I’ve never seen any relevant research. I assure the gentle reader, there are no big questions in “Curriculum” worthy of doctorate research, much less a whole department.

      Now, one topic can branch out into its own department. Statistics, for example, used to be a topic in mathematics. But, seeing as it’s used everywhere (mostly badly, mostly for evil, but bear with me), I can see how it managed to become popular enough to justify its own department—the wide applications of topic meant there was incredible demand for specialists.

     But, outside of university, how much application is there for Curriculum and Instruction? Seeing as we’re perpetually mandating all classes be alike, all tests be standardized, there should be reduced need for this topic.

     I digress, my point for today is how now Social Justice Warrior is a prerequisite for a job, just as important for being a professor as having a relevant degree.

     Higher education is riddled with deep problems right now. Falling enrollments  due to demographics are cutting into revenues, revenues which are already being soaked up by a ludicrously top-heavy administrative caste--the bureaucratic structure of most universities today resembles a helium balloon with a monofilament string hanging down below it, with faculty being the string. Revenues are further being soaked up by overhead costs on excessive buildings on campus, palaces to hold those highly paid administrators.

      Endless riots are further eroding the future student base, and a heavy reputation for indoctrination wears even further away. At this point, it seems clear higher education should consider doing things to make people think universities are welcoming and good places to be.

     And yet, somehow, this university in Texas, and they’re hardly alone, is actively seeking to hire more professors following a belief system that the sane people in this country want nothing to do with. Much like with the NFL (and Hillary, for that matter), it appears our “leaders” running higher education are under the premise that insulting people will make them more likely to continue to follow along a path that clearly leads to destruction.

      I sure wish I could get the leadership to listen to me even a little and turn away from their path of assured annihilation. Higher education has been doing great evil this last score years, but I still feel there are some good things here worth saving.

      I reckon I’m alone, however.

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