Schools also tell kids that their parents are invalid or hateful/toxic, etc. for having a different perspective. Schools undermine parents and have lost the ability to discern true abuse. Having a different opinion is not abusive. When will schools value parents again instead of placing a wedge between the parent and the child? When will resiliency, debate, listening skills be taught again? When will the focus be less on finding and celebrating victims and be more on finding and celebrating those who courageously overcome difficulties?
It is time to stop belittling parents and people the teachers/school don't even know. The trend that schools know more about the child in the classroom than the parent is not healthy. The trend to keep secrets from parents must also end. Most parents are incredibly valuable to their child and will be there for them for the rest of the child's life, not just part of a year in one grade. Estrangement is at an all time high, and I suspect schools are contributing to estrangement. It is not healthy for society.
I'm genuinely puzzled. FAIR consistently champions a focus on 'DEI overreach' in public education, yet seems to overlook or remain silent on the significant constitutional concerns arising from laws in states like Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas that mandate specific religious content in public schools. This appears to be a notable omission, given FAIR's stated commitment to civil liberties and non-partisanship.
Hi, Brad. Thank you for your comments. Just to be clear, FAIR’s nonpartisan, civil liberties mission challenges discriminatory identity-based practices. While religious dogma in schools is certainly unconstitutional, this practice does not separate students from one another or invite them to treat others differently based on their religious beliefs or Christian identity.
Thanks for the response. I’m still struggling to reconcile FAIR’s attention to DEI-related mandates—which may pressure students to conform ideologically—with a seeming silence on state-imposed religious mandates, which do precisely that from a different ideological angle. Shouldn’t a nonpartisan civil liberties organization be just as concerned with the state enforcing a religious worldview, particularly in settings where students are legally required to attend?
You’re correct that religious mandates impose unconstitutional ideological conformity, but there are many other organizations (notably the ACLU) that are committed to challenging those violations.
If you are familiar with FAIR’s history you might recall that our organization was created four years ago to fill a void: other organizations were not addressing the emergent pattern of discriminatory ideological mandates based on race, sex, and sexual orientation, and other physically-based characteristics.
Similarly, FIRE and other organizations are well-positioned to deal with First Amendment violations, in general, whether religious-based or otherwise. By contrast, FAIR was created to specifically address restraints on free speech that are identity-based, not simply ideologically-based.
I think what’s helpful to realize is that we in the nonprofit space try, as much as possible, to avoid duplicating the efforts of other organizations that have a longer track record of experience in a particular area or more resources to address particular issue(s). Younger organizations are often more successful when they narrow their focus.
Of course they're not talking about it. Too many of the parents experienced the same thing in college, so they think it's normal. If you're one of those who were convinced you had to go to grad school, the last thing you're going to do is take a position contrary to that of your professor and risk a grade lower than a B. And God forbid you disagree in grad school, where they have all the power. Do I think this situation should exist? No. But sadly it's a reality in far too many higher-ed classrooms and has been since the 1980s ( at least).
Schools also tell kids that their parents are invalid or hateful/toxic, etc. for having a different perspective. Schools undermine parents and have lost the ability to discern true abuse. Having a different opinion is not abusive. When will schools value parents again instead of placing a wedge between the parent and the child? When will resiliency, debate, listening skills be taught again? When will the focus be less on finding and celebrating victims and be more on finding and celebrating those who courageously overcome difficulties?
It is time to stop belittling parents and people the teachers/school don't even know. The trend that schools know more about the child in the classroom than the parent is not healthy. The trend to keep secrets from parents must also end. Most parents are incredibly valuable to their child and will be there for them for the rest of the child's life, not just part of a year in one grade. Estrangement is at an all time high, and I suspect schools are contributing to estrangement. It is not healthy for society.
Monica is a heroine. Also: great porch! Porch Rater: 10/10.
I'm genuinely puzzled. FAIR consistently champions a focus on 'DEI overreach' in public education, yet seems to overlook or remain silent on the significant constitutional concerns arising from laws in states like Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas that mandate specific religious content in public schools. This appears to be a notable omission, given FAIR's stated commitment to civil liberties and non-partisanship.
Hi, Brad. Thank you for your comments. Just to be clear, FAIR’s nonpartisan, civil liberties mission challenges discriminatory identity-based practices. While religious dogma in schools is certainly unconstitutional, this practice does not separate students from one another or invite them to treat others differently based on their religious beliefs or Christian identity.
Thanks for the response. I’m still struggling to reconcile FAIR’s attention to DEI-related mandates—which may pressure students to conform ideologically—with a seeming silence on state-imposed religious mandates, which do precisely that from a different ideological angle. Shouldn’t a nonpartisan civil liberties organization be just as concerned with the state enforcing a religious worldview, particularly in settings where students are legally required to attend?
Hi Brad,
You’re correct that religious mandates impose unconstitutional ideological conformity, but there are many other organizations (notably the ACLU) that are committed to challenging those violations.
If you are familiar with FAIR’s history you might recall that our organization was created four years ago to fill a void: other organizations were not addressing the emergent pattern of discriminatory ideological mandates based on race, sex, and sexual orientation, and other physically-based characteristics.
Similarly, FIRE and other organizations are well-positioned to deal with First Amendment violations, in general, whether religious-based or otherwise. By contrast, FAIR was created to specifically address restraints on free speech that are identity-based, not simply ideologically-based.
I think what’s helpful to realize is that we in the nonprofit space try, as much as possible, to avoid duplicating the efforts of other organizations that have a longer track record of experience in a particular area or more resources to address particular issue(s). Younger organizations are often more successful when they narrow their focus.
Of course they're not talking about it. Too many of the parents experienced the same thing in college, so they think it's normal. If you're one of those who were convinced you had to go to grad school, the last thing you're going to do is take a position contrary to that of your professor and risk a grade lower than a B. And God forbid you disagree in grad school, where they have all the power. Do I think this situation should exist? No. But sadly it's a reality in far too many higher-ed classrooms and has been since the 1980s ( at least).
Thank you!
Great concept.
But the bottom line comes down to parents not bowing to the PC police.
Parents are key in teaching kids to think and have sufficient confidence to not be bullied.
The first people who need to take the curriculum is parents.