Ben Mathis-Lilley of Slate points out the obvious flaw in this proposition in his piece called “As a Parent, I Would Rather Fake My Own Death Than Take Over Curriculum Planning From Teachers and School Boards.”
There are a few problems with this question, one being that parents elect school boards in the first place. But a much bigger problem is that it suggests the existence of parents who want to spend more time dealing with logistical issues related to their children, something that already takes up approximately 99.9 percent of my waking brain energy.
Can you imagine even having to review one entire year’s worth of curriculum to approve it, much less providing detailed input on it? And doing this, probably, on a Zoom meeting with hundreds of other people? Do these angry parents know how much planning it takes to fill six hours each day with material that’s interesting enough to keep children from breaking everything in the classroom by hitting each other with it (elementary school) or texting each other TikToks about recreational drug use and open-minded sexual promiscuity (contemporary high school, I assume)?
Anyone who answered “parents” on that question has too much time and needs a hobby or other means of passing the time and finding purpose in life. In fact, I have the perfect thing: taking care of my children, this afternoon. Bring an umbrella
The point about electing school boards is important. Parents go to their polling places and vote for people to do that job on their behalf. Most of the people they vote for are parents too! Some voters may not like who gets elected but this is how people have organized themselves. These folks seem to think they are all Joe Manchin and Donald Trump and have the right and the power to decide, regardless of who they represent or what anyone else desires. Dominance by yelling.
Of course, it will only be 1% of parents who actually involve themselves, if it were to come to that, and they are right wing extremists who would move on to the next grievance as soon as the grievance trolls trot it out.
But it’s good for now. Piggybacking off of the discontent with schools being closed last year they have seen an opening for one of their “grassroots” uprisings that allow regular voters to show up at public meeting and act like animals. If it isn’t schools it will be something else. This is their out-of-power modus operandi these days. And it’s quite effective.