Tag: politics

In 2022, Another “First” for a Black Man

Can. You. Believe. It?

That in 2022, we still have firsts for Black Americans in major positions of power.

Today, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, was selected to to serve as the first Black man to become minority leader in the House of Representatives.  It is an honor that Jeffries’ hard work was rewarded with a coveted political plum. It’s amazing that more than 400 years after Europeans invaded this land and created the United States that a Black man was recognized for the leadership he worked hard to attain.  

Still fighting to reach equitability…..

The cynic in me says “It’s about damned time!” My cynical self also sees that there are two things that permitted this to occur, The first is that long-time leader of the Democratic party Nancy Pelosi decided not to run for the position of House speaker. The second is that the Democratic Party is the minority party in the house now. Had either of those things not occurred, we’d still be looking for the “first” Black man leading the House.

The Semester Has Officially Started….And Yet Another Cheating Scandal

What is it about learning that inspires cheating? If seems that if you make it to Harvard, you are one of the “smartest [people] in the room.” Picture from movie: Smartestguysintheroom Yet the latest from Harvard is about a number of students who cheated on a take home exam. And according to MIT behavioral economist Dr. Ariely’s blog, there were LOTS of students who (allegedly) cheated–125!! Students claim that they thought collaboration was allowed (although the exam instructions said something different) because they collaborated for other things during class, they skipped lectures and shared notes and because the student guidebook, the Q Guide,  said students in the past had collaborated with the teaching fellows (of course, that’s probably why the instructor included the statement NOT to collaborate!). (Source of this student perspective: Harvard Students Fighting Allegations of Cheating on Exam).  And these are students that educators claim are the brightest and best–that’s how they merited entry into Harvard.

How can educational institutions encourage learning without promoting cheating? I am disappointed, but not surprised, that the “smartest people in the room” remained there and graduated by cheating. Maybe we need to figure out  different ways to measure intelligence.