It’s not a question of if your child will be harmed at school but when. The question is why American parents are putting up with it.
The typical American parent sees public school as a resource. Parents are a child’s primary educator; it is our right, privilege, and obligation to inscribe values, morals, and character on the hearts of our children. The primacy of feeding, clothing, and sheltering them notwithstanding, these three responsibilities form the bulk of the mental and emotional labor of parenting. We send our children off to school so that professional teachers of content can play a supporting role in helping our children develop the academic skills, cultural literacy, and scientific knowledge that will help them succeed — a necessary part of educating the whole child.
But just a part.
Over the last ten years of my teaching career, I’ve watched three school districts, incentivized by the state, increasingly encroach on parents’ territory. This encroachment comes from people who have no stake in the long-term success and happiness of your child.
This tendency is now policy. It is pronounced and aggressive. There are hundreds of examples across our country of teachers using their classroom authority and the hours they spend with our children to instruct them in matters of sexuality, self-perception, and personal beliefs.