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Former Gov. Paul LePage calls his education plan the “Parents’ Bill of Rights.” He is following the conservative playbook that claims parents are being excluded from their child’s education in favor of liberal agenda of “indoctrination.”
As a retired teacher, I believe LePage wants to fix a system that is not broken. Parents have extensive rights to advocate for their child. If they have concerns it is their individual responsibility to contact the school.
However, parents don’t have the right to impose personal moral beliefs on others. Public schools serve the entirety of a diverse community. The curriculum needs to address this by assigning books about a variety of points of view, teaching about the good and difficult parts of our history, uplifting all voices. Children can handle what we have done wrong if our mistakes are taught as lessons for change. Critical thinking skills have long been taught to help children understand how the beliefs they are taught at home fit with a variety of ideas. It is basic educational practice to teach to children’s developmental level.
The truth is children will encounter issues throughout their lives that are confusing or unsettling. Even very young children can appreciate that people are not all the same. Very early children have a sense of a developing self separate from anyone else including their parents. It is the parent’s responsibility to discuss their specific moral beliefs with their children.
It has never been the right of one portion of the community to set the educational agenda. Parents can advocate for their child, not dictate the entirety of the curriculum.
Jo Trafford
Portland
