Administrators, teachers and elected officials, I’d like to let you in on a little something that you should already know: parents aren’t the enemy. This is one of those things that feels silly to even have to say out loud but, apparently, that’s where we are. There are a few exceptionally bad parents but believe me when I say that as a whole, we know our kids better than you do. We birthed them, they live with us, we provide for them, we are with them in their most vulnerable and unguarded moments, and we have their best interests at heart. Believe me when I say we love them more than you do. Educators, administrators, and coaches, you are valuable team members - but you aren’t the parents.
Parents aren’t the enemy.
We’re not the enemy and we’re not terrorists. Asking questions and even (gasp) asking for transparency from school administrators or school board members is not terrorism. In the real world, we call that accountability. Parents who want to know details about what their children are learning in school used to be considered active and engaged parents. Now, they’re labeled as divisive - or worse. Parents who ask for transparency are derided as busybodies, irritants, or time-wasters. That’s patently absurd.
Parents aren’t the enemy.
Recently in Montgomery, school board administrators and bureaucrats publicly questioned the ability of parents to teach their children adequately without what they see as proper public education oversight. They also want more authority over private schools and are actively trying to submarine the school choice bill that would allow for parental control over their children’s education for the umpteenth time.
Parents aren’t the enemy.
Parents who have trouble with their children being taught to hate or blame other specific groups of people due to the color of their skin are considered a disturbance. We’re told that MLK, Jr.’s dream of color-blindness is now passé. Color blindness isn’t a goal anymore for Alabama public educators. Equality of opportunity is so 1965, equality of outcomes (equity) is now the only worthy goal. If parents disagree with this concept, legislators assume the worst about them and educators gladly inform their students that is because their parents just don’t understand current times or that they “haven’t done the work” to be anti-racist. Parents who care enough to ask to look through materials that administrators or third parties use to train teachers have their motivations questioned and are labeled as divisive meddlers.
Parents aren’t the enemy.
SEL (social-emotional learning) is infused into every single subject without parental notification or input. Children are asked intimate questions and their answers are discussed and documented without authorization. Additional mental health professionals are being hired by the state to evaluate and treat children within school walls without parental knowledge. Children document their innermost thoughts on online diaries and give answers to leading questions regarding personal lives and relationships that are frankly none of the school’s business. School authorities usurp parental authority and undermine certain worldviews without hesitation. When parents ask questions or want to pump the brakes on this type of learning for their own children, they are treated with disdain or called crazy.
Parents aren’t the enemy.
Parents aren’t the enemy, but we’re being treated like we are. I read something the other day that said, “You can’t cancel moms. It’s not politics … it’s our children.” The same goes for engaged and loving dads. You can’t cancel or intimidate us into silence because they’re our children and we won’t give up on their education or on them regardless of the names that are called and despite the labels that are assigned to us.
Parents aren’t the enemy but you know who might be?
Those who assert they are.
Stephanie Holden Smith is an experienced policy analyst, political commentator, and public speaker. Smith has worked and volunteered in Governmental Affairs in Alabama since 1997, including lobbying for a Fortune 500 company and serving as Deputy Director of Finance for the State of Alabama. She is currently the principal of Thatcher Coalition LLC. To contact Stephanie, please go to http://thatchercoalition.com. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information Commentary@1819News.com.
