By Mike McDaniel
It is often observed that students across the nation, but particularly in the schools of large cities and blue states, are learning little. It’s not uncommon to discover huge portions of kids in those cities can’t read, write or do math and many graduate from high school functionally illiterate. That this is on purpose is horrifying:
A recent study suggests that, for the first time in nearly 100 years, Americans’ average intelligence quotient (IQ) is declining.
The professors who authored the study theorize that the quality of education could play a role in reversing the IQ gains enjoyed by previous generations.
No! You think? Actually, it’s worse than it seems:
Professors from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and the University of Oregon in Eugene explain the Flynn effect: starting in 1932, average IQ scores increased roughly three to five points per decade. In other words, “younger generations are expected to have higher IQ scores than the previous cohort.”
Data from the sample of U.S. adults, however, imply that there is a reverse Flynn effect. From 2006 to 2018, the age groups measured generally saw declines in the IQ test used by the study, the International Cognitive Ability Resource (ICAR).
It has also been apparent that girls and some minorities–not Asians–do particularly badly in STEM fields, and most don’t enter them at all. This might indicate why that’s true:
A group of educators has published a guide on implementing “Black Feminist Mathematical Pedagogies” in classrooms, arguing that such an approach is necessary because minorities—especially Black girls—face “violence and trauma” in math education.
“When Black female students are repeatedly disciplined for being social, loud, or goofy in the mathematics classroom, they experience mathematical violence,” claim the authors of Designing Mathematics Curricula That Center Students’ Brilliance.
Normal Americans, including math teachers, understand math is math. There is no “black feminist” mathematics any more than there is a white male mathematics. One either understands the theories and processes of mathematics that lead to correct answers or they don’t. They either do the hard work of math, or they don’t, and race or gender have nothing to do with it. But the authors think otherwise:
“As a culture, whiteness is toxic in society and in education. More specifically, in society, whiteness presents through norms including—but not limited to—perfectionism, a sense of urgency, individualism, and objectivity.”
They argue that these cultural values place an “additional burden” on minority students, making them feel unwelcome and alienated in math classrooms.
Many Americans born without the math gene have experienced discomfort in math classes, but it may be a bit excessive to say they’ve been traumatized. Are generations of American really that weak-minded? The authors suggest requiring kids to be quiet, pay attention and do their work is “mathematical violence.” This is a type of lunacy all too common in contemporary American education, which largely buys the idea that disciplining unruly kids, and particularly black kids, is somehow racist and wrong. Never mind that their disruptions prevent attentive, polite kids from learning and make schools dangerous places.
In any competently conducted classroom, there must be a sense of urgency—there is never enough time to cover any curriculum—and if kids aren’t seeking perfection they aren’t learning as much as they should and can. This is particularly true in math where there is one right answer, though people like the authors always deny that too.
A University of Delaware Professor, Casey Griffin, is onboard:
Griffin argues that women’s sense of belonging in math is hindered by values such as ‘objective’ and ‘rational thought.’
Imagine that: a female professor opposing objective and rational thought.
“Given that the U.S. system of education—particularly secondary and postsecondary institutions—was created by men, for the sole purpose of educating men, it is not surprising that it was developed with ‘masculine’ qualities.”
Female math teachers might find that surprising.
“I hypothesized that incorporating feminist [teaching methods] into math classes might support women’s retention in STEM. Feminist pedagogies aim to position not just the instructor, but all students, as sources of knowledge.”
This too is a common, anti-intellectual approach in American education. Teachers must not actually teach, but must stand aside and “facilitate” each student’s innate brilliance. As Ben Franklin noted, the wise learn from everyone, but that’s not remotely what these people are advocating.
In schools where merit is ruthlessly suppressed and social and sexual pathologies are the focus of the curriculum, it’s unsurprising things like “feminist pedagogies” are the order of the day. That’s far easier on teachers and students than preparing to effectively teach, behaving like civilized people and doing assignments to build bigger, better brains.
These methods have produced predictable results: generations of less intelligent, less capable, but supremely entitled people with high and undeserved self-esteem and little ability to be productive citizens. Is fixing this yet another urgent, Trump project?
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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/01/black_feminist_math_equals_lowered_iqs.html
