top of page


UC students may struggle with basic math, but -- hey! -- they graduate!
Can the University of California be "excellent" while admitting students who struggle with math?

Joanne Jacobs
4 days ago3 min read


Oops: The post-credibility university
DEI drove Tyler Austin Harper out of academia: He realized he'd been hired to be "visibly black first and a scholar second." Or not at all.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 134 min read


Unprepared: SF high helps grads get into Berkeley, but many fail
It's "cruel" to admit students to colleges where they're likely to fail, says UC professor.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 43 min read


From Jonah to Job, the Bible belongs in public schools
Why was Harriet Tubman called Moses? Texas goes big on knowledge building in reading, history and civics.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 33 min read


Classical ed -- Great Books and George Washington -- is coded conservative
Teaching classical literature, history and philosophy is considered conservative and lacking in diversity.

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 232 min read


No wonder kids don't like to read: YA books are vapid and ideological
Simplistic, heavily political YA books turn students off to reading.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 8, 20252 min read


Poet X hasn't replaced Shakespeare -- yet -- in English classes
English teachers still teach classics, but think students relate more to "diverse" young-adult books.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 1, 20253 min read


Get your own soapbox
After a few DEI workshops, an elementary teacher decides to teach settler colonialism, climate change, slavery and gender norms in music class.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 8, 20252 min read


You say you want a revolution: NEA votes to call Trump a 'fascist'
The National Education Association will fight for DEI and the U.S. Education Department, and vows to use "fascist" to describe President Trump.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 8, 20252 min read


DEI dominoes wobble in California
Ethnic studies mandates based on racism, colonialism and Marxism are being rejected, even at the University of California and San Francisco schools.

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 29, 20253 min read


Colleges can admit 'diverse' students without racial preferences
Universities can enhance diversity by giving an admissions break to disadvantaged students of all races. It's legal and it's good politics.

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 2, 20252 min read


Dear Colleague: Do what the Ed Department wants -- or else
The Education Department has used "guidance" letters to force states, colleges and districts to spend hundreds of millions of dollars.

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 4, 20253 min read


Asian-American computer whiz sues UC for admissions bias
The University of California is being sued by Asian-American achievers who charge racial discrimination in admissions.

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 23, 20251 min read


'Americans got tired of being ridiculed for values like equality, color-blindness, and responsibility,' and now it's backlash time
The anti-DEI backlash is fierce, because so many people were forced to suppress their real feelings.

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 18, 20252 min read


The true meaning of Christmas
Christmas traditions are worth preserving.

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 24, 20242 min read


'Diverse' college graduates are less likely to become teachers
Black and brown college graduates are less likely to choose a teaching career and more likely to leave the classroom for other jobs,...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 13, 20242 min read


College students are young adults - not fragile children
Stop babying college students and teach them that they're living in a diverse, pluralistic democracy.

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 24, 20242 min read


Who's truly disadvantaged? Look at single parenting, not race or poverty
Growing up in a single-parent family is a huge disadvantage in life, writes Fordham's Michael Petrilli in Forbes. If racial preferences...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 25, 20242 min read


Disadvantaged? Really???
Vice President Kamala Harris, the daughter of two university professors, was admitted to Hastings law school via a program for applicants...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 24, 20242 min read


Why did black enrollment fall at Wellesley, but not at Yale?
"Holistic" admissions to selective colleges is a "black box," writes Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute. Nobody knows...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 18, 20242 min read
bottom of page