Choice Could Depoliticize Battles over Schools

David BoazThe Washington Postreports—yetagain—that conservative parent/​activists are running for and often winning seats on local school boards in order to change school policies on virtual learning, masks, and the kinds of books in school libraries. Regardless of what one thinks about the specific policy changes that school board candida tes may propose, the whole issue illustrates the problem of public schooling: that there must be one solution for a whole school district, a whole state, or even the whole country. Over the years parents, taxpayers, and other voters havedisagreed over many things: evolution, school prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, school uniforms,gay teachers, teaching tolerance, drug testing. This year the flashpoints seem to be masks and what teachers and books should say about America ’s racial history. Many conservatives object to books and curricula based on what they perceive as “critical race theory,” blaming white students for their “privilege,” or helping gay students understand themselves. But other government officials and activists areremoving books deemedinsufficiently progressive.I recall a fight in the 1990s over the “Children of the Rainbow” curriculum in the New York City schools. Christian conservativesobjected that the schools were going to teach “complete acceptance” of homosexuality, and a school board president said, “We will not accept two people of the same sex engaged in deviant sex pra...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs