by Mish Shedlock, The Maven:

Illinois may follow California as the second state to require history courses on Gays and Lesbians.

The Illinois Senate voted to require public schools teach LGBT history.

The Senate voted 34-18 Wednesday on the plan by Chicago Democratic Sen. Heather Steans. It would require schools to teach a history unit on the role in society and contributions of gays, lesbians and other LGBT individuals.

Agenda

Unlike others, I do not believe there is a gay-lesbian conspiracy to persuade people to become gays or lesbians.

Nor do I care what a person’s sexual preferences might be.

I do have a concern about the quality of education and why people flee Illinois.

Dismal Chicago Public School Stats

The Chicago Tribune reports a rising rising trajectory of CPS graduation rates.

Hooray, the CPS graduation rate is up to 74.7% vs. a national average of 83%.

The Tribune offered this caveat: “CPS has in the past been caught exaggerating its graduation figures. It has corrected those practices, we’re told. But a pinch of skepticism when it comes to CPS numbers is always warranted.”

Chicago Lags

Heartland.Org offers a more sobering CPS assessment.

The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research (CSR) estimates only 18 percent of 2016’s ninth-graders in Chicago Public Schools will earn a bachelor’s degree by 2026, seven years after their anticipated high school graduation in 2019.

This is expected despite a significant increase in the number of high school graduates in the Chicago system, from 57 percent in 2006 to 74 percent in both 2015 and 2016, according to the CSR study The Educational Attainment of College Public Schools Students: 2016, released in October 2017.

Question of the Day

Of that alleged 74.7% graduation rate, how many cannot do basic math? How many struggle with English? How many are ill-equipped for a job?

Instead of wasting time on fluff courses, why not improve skills needed in the real world?

Read More @ TheMaven.net