Why Learning Programming and STEM is Difficult: A Cultural and Systemic Failure

As a former community college instructor in electronics and programming, I’ve seen firsthand why learning programming and STEM is so difficult for many students. The root cause isn’t racism or discrimination—it’s a failing education system, cultural attitudes hostile to academics, and a lack of aptitude in some groups. Liberal politics and social engineering have replaced merit and rigor, undermining the skills needed for success in STEM fields.

Systemic Failures in Math and Science Education

Social engineering is crippling our education system, particularly in math and science—foundational skills for programming and STEM. As a former instructor, I can confirm that math is the most significant barrier to STEM success, and the low math proficiency rates nationally are a nightmare. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024 data shows only 39% of fourth-graders and 28% of eighth-graders scored at or above NAEP Proficient in math, with nearly 40% in both grades below NAEP Basic—lacking even partial mastery of fundamental skills, like using similarity to find a triangle’s side length in eighth grade. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2023 reports U.S. fourth-graders’ math scores dropped 18 points and eighth-graders’ dropped 27 points since 2019, with 18% of eighth-graders below the Low international benchmark, unable to demonstrate minimum proficiency.

Even when students overcome these barriers and earn STEM degrees, they face another systemic failure: millions of STEM graduates can’t secure STEM jobs—not because they can’t do the work, but due to abusive visa programs and foreign replacement workers. The U.S. Census Bureau (2021) reports 74% of STEM bachelor’s degree holders are not employed in STEM occupations, with 32% of computer science graduates citing a lack of available jobs. The Center for Immigration Studies (2013) notes there are three new STEM degree holders for every two STEM job openings over a 10-year period, showing an oversupply of American graduates. Yet, in 2023, the foreign-born share of STEM workers reached 29%, with 615,922 foreign STEM workers brought in from 2021 to 2023, despite a net loss of 58,280 STEM jobs in 2021. Programs like H-1B and STEM OPT incentivize hiring foreign workers—offering payroll tax breaks of 7.65%—crowding out American graduates. In 2024, 442,000 people were sponsored for H-1B visas, despite a cap of 85,000 annually, flooding the market with cheaper labor. This isn’t a shortage; it’s a corporate strategy to suppress wages, as seen in prior discussions of crony capitalism in Southwest Virginia, where economic development favors outsiders over locals.

In California, home to Silicon Valley, the 2024 CAASPP data reflects this crisis: only 35% of students met math standards, with Black students at 18%, Hispanic students at 24%, Asians at 67%, and Whites at 49%. ACT (2023) data for California shows 53% of students met math benchmarks, but Black students scored 15% and Hispanic students 27%, compared to Asians at 78% and Whites at 65%. These gaps mirror national trends, as seen in Educational Failures in Diversity-Driven Systems, where 70% of Black students in California failed English standards in 2024, and 13 Baltimore high schools had zero students proficient in math in 2023. Nationally, Black fourth-graders are at 18% math proficiency, eighth-graders at 13%; Hispanic students at 24% and 17%; Asians at 67% and 54%; and Whites at 49% and 39%. The national average public school math proficiency is 39%, ranging from 20% in D.C. to 89% in the Virgin Islands, but this hides a growing achievement gap—low-performing students lost more ground since 2019 than high-performers, exacerbating disparities. Interest in STEM remains low, with only 4% of high school graduates taking the ACT in 2023 expressing interest in computer science fields, up slightly from 2% in 2011 but still dismal. Without strong math skills and fair job opportunities, American students are set up to fail in programming and STEM careers.

Cultural Barriers and Lack of Aptitude

Cultural attitudes play a significant role. At Cultural Excellence, I noted that Asian poverty rates are low—6% in 2022 compared to 15% for Hispanics—due to cultural values emphasizing education and hard work, despite many being immigrants. This contrasts with other groups, like Hispanics, whose lower educational attainment contributes to higher poverty, reflecting cultural differences, not systemic racism. In my classes in Appalachia, over 60% of entering freshmen needed remedial math, a trend continuing with 55% in 2023 per the Virginia Community College System. Nationally, math proficiency rates are a nightmare—only 28% of eighth-graders are proficient, meaning most lack the skills for STEM. Many of my students couldn’t move a decimal point or use a scientific calculator, despite my courses requiring trigonometry and algebra—key barriers to STEM success. Even if they graduate, visa programs block their path to STEM jobs, as discussed earlier.

These were White students in Appalachia, where cultural priorities often favor football over academics—thousands attended games, but barely a dozen showed up to a science fair. I grew up in a coal town in Southwest Virginia facing the same issue. It’s not just Appalachia; many failing subgroups, particularly Black and Hispanic students, exhibit cultural hostility to education. The *New York Times* reported that nearly 90% of high-achieving, low-income students are White or Asian, a trend confirmed by a 2023 Thomas B. Fordham Institute study showing 85% of such students are White or Asian. Yet, the system obsesses over low-achieving, non-Asian minorities, pursuing unobtainable outcome equality instead of supporting those with potential.

Aptitude also matters. Like it or not, some students lack the capacity for abstract-analytical thinking or book learning required for programming and STEM. This isn’t racism—it’s biology and culture. Excuses like non-English speakers in the home don’t hold up; Asians, often from non-English-speaking households, consistently outperform Black and Hispanic students. Dysfunctional households, which I experienced growing up, are an impediment, but they don’t fully explain the disparities.

Social Engineering Over Merit

The education system’s focus on social engineering over merit exacerbates these issues. In Fairfax County, Virginia, honors classes were dropped due to complaints that Black and Hispanic students couldn’t compete with Asians and Whites—a trend seen nationwide. Andrew Hacker, a political science professor at Queens College, City University of New York, argues algebra and higher math should be dropped from high school and college admissions, citing “six million high school students and two million college freshmen are struggling with algebra.” This anti-reason mindset, as discussed in The Role of Western Culture in Pioneering Modern Science and Technology, mirrors the rejection of rigorous science—like GMOs and nuclear power—for ideological reasons. In my classes, students had taken biology-ecology survey courses focused on climate change, not real science, leaving them unprepared for electronics theory or programming.

Hands-On Learning: A Partial Solution

Hands-on learning can help bridge the gap. Using tools like Arduino and Raspberry Pi, I’ve seen students grasp programming concepts through practical applications. Before these tools, I taught using GW Basic and Borland C++ to program a PC printer port to blink LEDs and detect switches, and students got it. My electronics website, BristolWatch.com, demonstrates the value of hands-on projects, though much of my traffic comes from Asia, where academic interest is higher. But hands-on learning only works if students are motivated—interest must come from within, and many simply don’t care.

A Path Forward: Merit and Rigor

To fix this, we must reject social engineering and restore merit-based education. Math is the most significant barrier to STEM, and with national proficiency rates at 39% for fourth-graders and 28% for eighth-graders, we’re failing our students. Schools must prioritize knowledge and critical thinking, ensuring students master math before tackling programming and STEM. Immigration enforcement, as shown in Arizona’s Immigration Enforcement Success, can reduce the burden of non-English-speaking students—saving Arizona $400 million annually by 2023—freeing resources for native-born students struggling with math. We must also reform visa programs like H-1B and STEM OPT, which flood the market with foreign workers, displacing American STEM graduates. Policies should prioritize American workers, ensuring the 11 million STEM graduates not in STEM fields have a fair shot at jobs. Ending multiculturalism and demanding assimilation, as advocated in prior articles, ensures all students are held to high, equal standards.

The choice is clear: do we support high-achieving students with potential, or continue wasting resources on unattainable equality? Western education thrived on reason, merit, and individual liberty—principles we must reclaim to prepare students for programming and STEM.