Move aside 1

Does the government or the school board own your kids? Many seem to think:

Move aside, parents, we've got your kids. We decide what they learn and what they value. We  protect them from you. Your values and opinions are wrong. Ours are right, so you must obey our agenda. Accept it: we are in charge, so move aside.

No one to my knowledge has actually said those words, but the attitude is very real. Here are the actual words of a real Ph.D. educator:

"Parents have always tried to interfere with curricula . . . Part of the problem is that parents think they have the right to control teaching and learning because their children are the ones being educated. But it actually (gasp!) doesn’t work that way."

Their goal, she says, is to train students in "empathy, passion, intelligence and engagement," in thinking for themselves--while parents' influence would produce "the exact opposite." So, in her view, parents want their kids to be cold-hearted, stupid and isolated. 

When it comes to empathy, she seemingly has none for parents.

from NBC News

(cont'd tomorrow)

Move aside 8

Follow-up to these posts

Welcome to the week of celebrating Independence Day (4th of July). We start with an excellent ruling coming down last week from the Supreme Court: 

Parents are the authority in choosing what is best for their children. Schools cannot take that authority away from them. 

In a post from 2022, I reported that Muslim, Jewish and Christian parents tried to "opt out" their kids from classes promoting LGBTQ. School administrators would not cooperate, saying that parents have no right to "opt out" their kids. The Supreme Court decided with the parents that they do have that right. 

Many schools are trying to subvert the choices of parents, trying to get parents to "move aside" and let them take control (image generated by Grok). With this SC decision, that will end -- or should. When school teachers or administrators in the future try to re-assert dominance, a lawful judge will have to decide with the parents.

Move aside 7

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

A power struggle is taking place in public schools over the question of who has authority to choose what is best for children. Government schools claim it for themselves (yesterday's post) and deny it to parents. Courts are deciding the answer in cases around America.

Decisions vary. Muslim, Jewish and Christian parents fought back in Maryland. They wanted the freedom to release their kids from LGBTQ curriculum, to opt out; but the judge denied them that freedom. She said parents had no right to do that.

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Is it true that parents don't have that right before the law in America? Judges are supposed to make decisions that are consistent with precedent, that is, "previous judicial decisions on the same subject."

Precedent in American law is solidly on the side of parents in multiple cases. In 2000, the Supreme Court said, "“The interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children is the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.” 

That Maryland judge was acting on her own preference or politics, but clearly not on the side  of established law in America. "Supreme Court precedent unequivocally establishes parents’ fundamental rights in raising and nurturing their children . . ."

from The Stream

Move aside 4

Only 38% of teachers feel well prepared when they first start to teach. "[A] mere 13% of principals and just 7% of superintendents believe certification guarantees a teacher has what it takes to be an effective teacher." So . . virtually nobody thinks the training is adequate.

Except that Ph.D. educator of last Tuesday's post.  She assures us that state training and state certification of teachers is excellent. But Hillsdale College's Chairman of the Education Department thinks it would be better to put it into local hands:

"State law should permit school leaders to hire and train teachers in a manner they determine so long as candidates have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited undergraduate institution and have passed a criminal background check. Schools should be encouraged to provide new teachers with on-site training . . ."

If parents want their kids educated in their values, they're going to have to take some of the power and control of certification out of the hands of politicians.

from Washington Examiner

Move aside 5

Follow-up to this post

Another example of parents being blindsided: 

"Non-binary biological male counselors allowed to sleep in fifth-grade girls' cabins at science camp."

Weaver Elementary School in Los Alamitos, California, organized a science camp for students. Parents were surprised to find out that adult biologically male counselors were allowed to sleep in the same cabin with their 5th grade daughters, who would be about ten years old.

They objected. What parent would think that's a good idea? The response was that they are just complying with California state law. Staff sleeps in the cabin of the gender they identify with.

Time to wake up, parents. This situation is endorsed, mandated, and coerced by your state's law. The law was established by officials voted into office by you and your neighbors. 

Move aside 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Fortunately, there are a few Ph.D. educators who believe in parents. Dr. Keri Ingraham is one of them. She says it's time that new politicians and school boards are elected to work with parents in the education of their children -- not against them.

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It seems like parents were asleep with regard to some of their schools' policies until recently. Maybe it was watching their kids doing school on screens at home that triggered the wake-up. Maybe it was something else. But for some parents, their assumption that the school shared their values has died an abrupt death.

Parents don't want gender confusion taught to their children, for example. Kids as young as five may be taught to select whether they are girls or boys, along with a new name. Older kids can go to a "wellness center" for an abortion, or for opposite-sex hormones, all free of charge. All without parent consent, or in some cases without even their knowing about it.

Parents don't want the new racism called "critical race theory" taught to their kids either. It's why this dad made an appearance at his school board meeting to object in a very loud voice. It's why this "Mama Grizzly" goes to school board meetings. It's why this dad removed his daughter from her private New York school and sent a letter to all the parents urging them to wake up. It's how this dad feels about his babies.

from Discovery

(cont'd tomorrow)

Move aside 6

Follow-up to these posts

Should schools tell the parents if a student wants to change to the opposite sex? 

Parents say yes; schools often tell parents to mind their own business (in effect). Parents get the feeling that they're being attacked for trying to protect and raise their kids. 

Yes, it's hard to believe that schools violate parents like this, but they do. In California, the government throws its enormous weight on the side of the attack.

Rocklin Unified School District board of trustees voted 4-1 last month to require that teachers tell parents if their child wants to change their sex. Trustees said, "We trust our parents to know what is best for their children."

Orange Unified School District voted 4-0 to require the same kind of notification. Four others adopted this policy during the summer.

One of the four, Chino Unified School District, is being sued by the state's attorney general. A judge has temporarily put a hold on their chosen policy.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Move aside 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

A political campaign last fall brought the issue to national attention. A candidate for governor took his stand against parents in a similar way to the educator in Tuesday's post. Shocked parents voted "No" to his campaign, and he lost. The new governor seems to have their backs.

It came as a shock to find out that political indoctrination had replaced academic learning in their children's classes. Parents know that gender confusion, malicious new racism, declining academic standards, etc., may result in permanent harm to their kids - not the empathy/intelligence claimed by this educator.

Now we've found out that there's a sizable number of parents who are by no means ready to give away their responsibility and rights. Eventually we'll find out if enough of them will stay engaged with their children's education long term . . long enough to turn this ship around.

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