Mr. Allie is constructing a lively strawman to demolish. He is also inventing a right – Parental Rights. Parents and children have rights when it comes to education, but they are not what he is claiming.
The US has a unique education system. Unlike many of the world’s countries, the US does not have a central government agency that dictates policy or curriculum. The US Dept of Education is mainly charged with distributing and regulating funds for Special Education and programs like Title 1 which supports lower income children. Other than that they have little to say about how a state runs it’s schools.
The States run their individual education systems. They do it because it is in the best interests of the general public to have an educated citizenry. The state determines funding, curriculum, rules for hiring and firing staff, graduation requirements and attendance. The last is important because parents do not have the right to opt out of school. All states have compulsory education. Kids HAVE TO go to school. If a parent keeps them out of school, there will be consequences.
Parents do not have the right to determine that a curriculum is not appropriate for their child. Parents may petition state governments and local school boards about issues with curriculum, but it’s up to those agencies to decide, not parents. And no one is forcing kids to learn anything. After 35+ years in the classroom I’ve learned you can’t make anyone learn anything if they don’t want to.
This issue is all about creating a wedge issue out of thin air. Convince parents that their kids are under threat of some nefarious plot, tell them their rights as a parent are being denied and watch the sh!t hit the fan.
Mr. Allie is constructing a lively strawman to demolish. He is also inventing a right – Parental Rights. Parents and children have rights when it comes to education, but they are not what he is claiming.
The US has a unique education system. Unlike many of the world’s countries, the US does not have a central government agency that dictates policy or curriculum. The US Dept of Education is mainly charged with distributing and regulating funds for Special Education and programs like Title 1 which supports lower income children. Other than that they have little to say about how a state runs it’s schools.
The States run their individual education systems. They do it because it is in the best interests of the general public to have an educated citizenry. The state determines funding, curriculum, rules for hiring and firing staff, graduation requirements and attendance. The last is important because parents do not have the right to opt out of school. All states have compulsory education. Kids HAVE TO go to school. If a parent keeps them out of school, there will be consequences.
Parents do not have the right to determine that a curriculum is not appropriate for their child. Parents may petition state governments and local school boards about issues with curriculum, but it’s up to those agencies to decide, not parents. And no one is forcing kids to learn anything. After 35+ years in the classroom I’ve learned you can’t make anyone learn anything if they don’t want to.
This issue is all about creating a wedge issue out of thin air. Convince parents that their kids are under threat of some nefarious plot, tell them their rights as a parent are being denied and watch the sh!t hit the fan.