Honors Programs vs. DEI

A month ago, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) announced that for the 2024-25 school year, they will be replacing their honors programs with a more “inclusive” and “equitable” program that will also be more “diverse.” You’ll notice that those three words are the components of DEI, which has two foci: race and sexual identity/orientation. In the case of SPS’s plan, the primary focus is on race, as can be seen in phrases like “historical inequity,” “historically excluded,” and “racial inequalities.” The Seattle Times reported that in the district’s gifted program, 52% of students were white while only 3.4% of them were black. The district’s new program will require teachers to create individual learning plans for each student.

The Seattle Times reported that both parents and teachers have been critical of the new program, saying that gifted students will be overlooked and that teachers will have the undue burden of having to create an individualized plan for each student. Seattle Public Schools is not the first district to replace honors/gifted programs with a more “equitable” model. In the fall of 2022, Culver City (CA) USD replaced honors classes at Culver City High School with a “one-size-fits-all approach that officials said would give students of all races an equal education.” A few months later, parents spoke out against the new program. One mom who was critical of it said, “My family are immigrants. We came to this country to have a better life, a better education, to get out of poverty … we want to be able to give them a better education.” Notice that this mom is an immigrant. Another parent said, “My daughter, who is a sophomore has said that it’s not working. She’s been in honors the whole way and as a sophomore now, she says she’s not challenged.” Notice that in this case the parent is quoting his or her daughter. A couple of high-school students from my church who were taking a statistics class at our local community college recently asked something similar: “Why are we taking class time to review fractions and decimals?”

Patrice Lee Onwuka, the (black) director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women’s Forum, has spoken against the elimination of gifted/honors programs: “I was an immigrant, latch-key kid excelling in my inner-city elementary school, but bored with my education. A program for gifted public school students sponsored by a local private school changed that.”

Sometimes parental pressure causes schools to restore honors classes. This hasn’t happened (yet) in Culver City, but it has happened at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego and at Barrington High School in Rhode Island. I think there will also be increasing pressure on Seattle Public Schools to restore its honors program.

On a personal level, I am grateful that my son was able to enter a gifted program starting in third grade; my daughter did the same starting in sixth. They also took some AP (Advanced Placement) classes in high school. That may sound prideful, but the fact is, my wife and I wanted our kids to be challenged as much as possible in school, not bored.

What does the Bible have to say about gifted/honors programs? As with so many contemporary issues, it doesn’t speak directly to this one. As I was researching this issue, however, one thing that came to mind was the parable of the talents that Jesus told in Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable, a man gives money to three of his servants: five talents to one, two talents to the second, and one talent to the third. The first two servants doubled their master’s money, while the third did nothing with his one except to bury it. When the master returns “after a long time” (verse 19), he commends the first two but punishes the third. Different commentators have interpreted this parable differently; some have seen it as a matter of money management; others have seen it as a matter of using our abilities; and others have seen it as all-encompassing: time, talent (ability), and treasure (money). I interpret it the third way. For the purposes of this blog post, here is the key point: in verse 15, we are told that the master gave each servant a different amount, “each according to his ability.” This is so important to understand in light of the fact that contemporary American society likes to throw out nonsensical bromides like “You can do anything!” However, the Bible teaches otherwise; the Lord does not give everyone the same abilities–and thus not the same responsibilities, either. We see something somewhat similar in a different context in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (and a few other passages), where the Apostle Paul writes about spiritual gifts, which are given only to Christians; the repetition of the phrase “to another” tells us that the Holy Spirit does not give every believer the same gift or gifts.

I believe this Biblical principle of differing abilities applies very directly to gifted/honors programs; since not everyone has the same abilities, we should not expect every student to be able to succeed in school to the same degree. And for those students who want–even need–to be challenged, I think that gifted/honors programs most definitely have their place. Eliminating such programs does students and their families–and society at large–a disservice.

Here’s another quote from Patrice Lee Onwuka that I like: “By committing to equality of opportunities – not outcomes – for all students, we will pave the way for more Black inventors, doctors and scientists to pioneer life-changing discoveries or cultivate future leaders to change our world.” I would add that this applies not only to black people, but to all, regardless of race. Gifted/honors programs do not detract from this kind of equality, but in fact enhance it: “equality of opportunities–not outcomes.” Now that is wisdom.