California student argues education should take priority over DEI
California high school student Jordan Brace and PragerU Kids outreach director Jill Simonian discuss the decline in the California education system as leaders prioritize 'woke' initiatives. Fox News' Ashley Strohmier reports.
California high school student Jordan Brace took a hard stance against the progressive state’s approach to education, which she branded a "failure."
Brace explained on "Fox News @ Night" Wednesday that her state ranks 33rd nationally in math and 38th in reading, placements that she believes are too low.
California was ranked 38th overall for Pre-K through 12th grade education, according to U.S. News and World Report.
In her op-ed, Brace wrote: "It seems like the entire California Department of Education is more focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and their woke ideologies than giving students a proper education."
California Department of Education statistics show less than half of students performed at their grade level in English, math and science in the 2022-2023 school year.
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"I feel that kids my age and just all throughout our country are now being exposed to diversity, equity and inclusion rather than conservative values and things that they should be learning about," she explained to host Trace Gallagher. "Instead of focusing on DEI and things that are being used to divide us, we should be focusing more on students’ education and making sure that they have the skills and tools that they need to have a successful future."
Jill Simonian, outreach director for PragerU Kids, said the statistics coming out of California’s education system are "terrifying" and warned students are not being taught the fundamentals of becoming an informed adult.
But Brace’s op-ed provided hope.
"It really proves that young people are intelligent, and they are catching on to this, and they're not going to have it anymore," Simonian said.
Brace then expanded her argument to include the Department of Education as a whole, saying it’s "very important" for young people to look to their parents as role models and for direction.
"I honestly think that this school system is not only failing students, but parents too. They're taking away not only their rights to their children's education, but their rights to their lives at home. I mean, parents who aren't allowing their children to go ahead and transition their genders and stuff are being called domestic terrorists, and I think that's absolutely ridiculous," she explained.
Simonian agreed, emphasizing the importance of instilling values at home so that children are well-equipped to enter the world as adults.
"It's our job to become educated and informed citizens of this country," Simonian said. "And our school system, not only in California but nationwide, we are the only school system that is actively teaching our children to hate this country and to divide each other by differences. It’s shameful."
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