This brings us to the larger concern and the heart of the cultural divide, which is the degree of influence parents should have on what public schools teach. Further, whether public schools should continue on their current trajectory of replacing the parent and the home as the primary authority for values.
For example, it is widely agreed that Terry McAuliffe lost the Governor’s office in Virginia to Glenn Youngkin in the last election because he said that parents shouldn’t influence what schools teach. His exact statement, offered during a debate, was, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” Before anyone could stop him from opening his mouth and changing feet, he added that he was “not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decisions.” Youngkin, however, argued that parents should have influence over what school districts teach their children. 81 percent of all voters who decided who to vote for down the stretch said that McAuliffe’s statements were a factor in their voting, and it didn’t make them want to vote for him.
But back to Florida…
To me, this is not about left vs. right, Democrat vs. Republican, or LGBTQ community vs. Christian bakers and florists. This is about the role of the school and the role of parents when it comes to talking to young children about sex.
It’s not the school’s job.
It’s a parent’s job.
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
