Heated debates over curriculum between concerned parents and local school boards are fueling a thunderclap of upheaval across the nation. School board members and education leaders, who for decades pleaded for more parental involvement, are now trying to muzzle parents.
Loudoun County, Virginia, currently is the epicenter of opposition to the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT), a doctrine that blames America's systemic racism for oppression based on the color of a person's skin. Adherents believe every institution in the nation is infected with endemic racism.
When raucous crowds began showing up at Loudoun school board meetings, they were stonewalled by pompous school board members who had grown accustomed to dictating decisions without interference. The nerve of parents to insist they be informed about what their children are being taught.
Media fact-checkers, such as USA Today, are providing air cover by insisting Critical Race Theory is not being taught in most schools. By the media's definition, CRT is a legal framework for examining laws in our society. Schools do not have courses on Critical Race Theory, they contend.
This is a charade because the schools are teaching that racism and white supremacy exist in America, while castigating white privilege. These are the same tenants that underpin Critical Race Theory. Calling it a different name is just a ruse by educators to avoid accountability for indoctrination.
Furthermore, the National Education Association (NEA) has endorsed the teaching of Critical Race Theory to K-12 students. The lobby explicitly used the term Critical Race Theory. Teachers unions have stopped short of support for CRT, but they are defending teachers who embrace the doctrine.
Critical Race Theory isn't the only concern of furious parents.
Last week Loudoun parents and residents rallied outside the school board headquarters to signal their outrage at a policy allowing transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity and requiring teachers to refer to students by their preferred pronouns.
The crowd was addressed by a former elementary school physical education teacher who was suspended by the Loudoun school system for speaking out against the policy when it was originally proposed. The Virginia Supreme Court sided with a judge who ordered the teacher be reinstated.
Parents are fed up with being ignored by school boards. They feel empowered to confront the powerful. Their anger bubbles over at school board meetings. Most have been loud but peaceful. There have been a handful of over-publicized incidents of rowdy behavior, resulting in police intervention.
The media creates the image of out-of-control parents by highlighting a single video of police wrestling a belligerent parent to the ground. Network broadcasts run old clips of parents standing and shouting at school boards to be heard. Apparently, raising your voice is a criminal offense in America.
The parental uprising in Loudoun turned political when candidates in Virginia's gubernatorial race waded into the issue. Former Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe ignited a firestorm for his remarks during a debate with his Republican opponent. Here are McAuliffe's comments:
"I'm not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decision," he said. "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach." His opponent Glenn Youngkin retorted, "I believe parents should be in charge of their kids' education."
Now the National School Boards Association (NSBA) has joined the brewing squabble. On September 29, the NSBA sent a letter to President Biden calling for "immediate assistance" to protect our students and school board members who were susceptible to acts of violence" and "intimidation."
In its letter, the school board group cited "angry mobs" of parents protesting local board actions, including the wearing of masks and other COVID restrictions. The NSBA characterized the ongoing protests as "domestic terrorism." Last summer's riots were peaceful protests, right?
Yet in the very same letter the NSBA piously claims it is open to discussion. "Local school board members want to hear from their communities on important issues and that must be at the forefront of good school board governance and promotion of free speech," the letter says.
This statement smells like a cow patty. If school boards embraced parental input, there would be open and honest discussions of curriculum before implementation. Teachers unions and local boards want to operate as walled fiefdoms without scrutiny from parents. Free speech is verboten.
Biden's Department of Justice bowed to the pressure of the NSBA, directing Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate "threats of violence" at school meetings. This heavy handed approach contradicts Mr. Biden's campaign commitment to keep the DOJ out of politics.
What's appalling is the DOJ refused to deal with the domestic violence in the summer of 2020 when mobs torched police buildings, looted stores and battled with police. Mr. Biden, who supported the protests, apparently believes parents are the real criminals, not those who brazenly break the law.
Will the DOJ investigate charges of educators blacklisting parents and bullying students whose parents oppose the curriculum? Of course, not. Teachers unions will block such a probe. In today's America, disobedience to autocratic doctrine will be punished. Freedom to disagree is an outdated notion.
While Loudoun is the focus of today's headlines, school boards from Michigan to Kentucky to New Hampshire and New York are feeling the political heat from parents. Children's education curriculum is a boiling issue that likely will spill over into the mid-term elections.
In Gallup's latest poll on education, 54% of Americans are either somewhat or completely dissatisfied with the education their kids are receiving. Polling has shown growing levels of dissatisfaction over the past two years. Tin-eared politicians avoid addressing this issue at their own peril.
Every American parent should have a voice in their children's education. Parental involvement should be welcomed as a healthy sign of democratic participation in their children's education. For too long, educators and boards have not been held accountable and thus resent any inference.
This is wrong. un-American. It is a sign educators and boards view themselves as banana republic dictators above reproach by those who pay their salaries and finance their schools. Sicking the FBI on parents is a deliberate tactic to bully them into remain silence.
When legitimate dissent is outlawed, it resembles one of the main features of a Marxist regime. No speech is tolerated unless it adheres to the ideological doctrine of the ruling government. Any opposition is met with police force. That is where America is headed.
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