It’s been said that teachers and administrators are not moms and dads, and they don’t have the same love, investment and responsibility that parents have when it comes to their children’s education. But sadly, many “woke” educators and politicians think that parents should have zero say in where our children go to school, and zero in what our children are taught. It’s an all-out assault on parental rights, and it must stop. 

When schools closed during the pandemic, parents learned two things: 1. Screen time is not “school time.” The collapse in math and reading scores makes clear what a grave disservice was done to students by closing in-person education for way too long. 2. Parents saw firsthand what their children were being taught. There was less reading and writing being taught and more indoctrination like Critical Race Theory. Instead of addressing the effects of “virtual learning,” like lost learning and declining math and reading scores, teacher’s unions and school boards doubled down on their “woke” curriculum. 

Headlines like this popped up around the country: “Parents claim they have the right to shape their kids’ school curriculum. They Don’t” from the Washington Post. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” declared Terry McAuliffe, Democratic nominee for Virginia’s governor, during a debate for the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race. He lost.

Now, I don’t normally get involved in politics, but this information came to me in a letter from Kellyanne Conway, spokesperson for an organization called AFPI — Center for the American Child. The reason I share this is because it’s common sense and every citizen of our great country needs to know about it. 

If you are a parent who has children now in school, or getting ready to attend school, you need to know what I’m sharing because it is definitely in your best interest to know about it. Here are a couple of stats to chew on: 50 million is the number of children in K-12 public schools in America. Roughly 82 percent is the percentage of public-school funding that comes from local property taxes, according to the Department of Education. I am sure you are familiar with the Economic Golden Rule: “He who has the gold makes the rule.” The bottom line is that parents are paying for the schools and have every right to be involved in what is taught to their children. 

If you want to know the truth, one of the main reasons our nation has so much violence and crime today is because our schools have stopped teaching the history of our nation. We have a terrific heritage that goes back to the country of England when our forefathers came to America seeking a better life and religious freedom. We must teach this to our children, and not indoctrinate them with the garbage that some schools have been teaching for the past several years. 

In addition to our nation winning the War of Independence to secure our freedom from England, our nation’s patriots also fought two world wars to preserve that freedom that has been graciously entrusted to us. There are better days ahead.

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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)