“Good morning students and welcome to a new school year at Everywhere High School! I am Principal Pencilwhip and I have a few announcements to make.”
“Due to recent legislation enacted by your state and local government concerning parental rights on how we teach, we have had to make a few changes to your curriculum.”
“First, English. This will no longer be taught, as certain parents feel that you should already know how to speak and spell at this point. You will, instead, be spending your time writing essays about how great this country is and have them reviewed by the rest of the class.”
“Next, French and Spanish will no longer be taught as certain parents believe you should not have to know any other language except for English. Those of you enrolled in French or Spanish lessons will be moved to the English classes where you too will be writing essays about how great this country is.”
“There will still be math courses. However, rather than figuring out equations yourself, you will be given a calculator and shown how to use it. Those of you in the vocational track will be given a mock-up of a fast-food register so you can prepare for your future.”
“The computer courses have been suspended as one parent has said that most of you do not use computers and should not know how to use one since you rely on your cellphones and our faculty are still learning how to use them. On a related note, the selfie and meme student groups have been dissolved after several parents complained about them.”
“English Literature has been suspended until a group of parents and pastors can decide which literature is appropriate for you to learn.”
“History courses are still being reviewed, so, for the time being, you will be watching the following movies approved by your parents: ‘Birth of a Nation’, ‘Triumph of the Will’, ‘Patton’, and five films to be later determined that feature John Wayne.”
“There will still be gym class. Coach Ballsak is proud to show you the joys of dodgeball. And for those of you with approved medical conditions, Carl, the school janitor, will show you the fine art of keeping the bathrooms clean.”
“The library is closed until further notice as a committee of parents are still reviewing which books are appropriate for you to possibly read.”
“And finally, I hope all of you took part in saying the pledge of allegiance and gave your required minute of reflection about the servicemen and law enforcement lost this past year. For those of you who didn’t, your homeroom teachers will be forwarding your names to the office so you can go through mandatory re-education.”
“Thank you, have a great year, and be sure to thank your parents for making all this happen!”
Obviously what you just read was a slight exaggeration, but this is the kind of stuff that certain political groups and certain state and local legislators are trying to get enacted.
They’re calling these “parental rights” bills. They believe that “parents” should be given a veto power over what is taught in schools across the country, overriding educators and even school boards. If a parent believes that something shouldn’t be taught in school for whatever reason, they get to override the will of teachers and school board members.
Right now, the focus of these “parental rights” is on any mention of LGBTQ+ issues. They don’t want their precious tax deductions to know that someone in their class has two mommies or two daddies or a daddy that looks like a mommy. It’s also a backdoor to go after what they call “critical race theory”, which they cannot seem to define or point to but firmly believe it is being taught nonetheless.
It should also be noted that not every parent will have that “right” to decide what gets taught. Let’s say you want your kids to know about the civil rights struggles, but some other parent says no. Even if you have others backing you up, that one parent’s veto overrides everyone else. How is that a “right” if only an elite minority gets to use it?
Now you may think this is somewhat tame, unless you happen to be one of those parents or students being targeted, but then you add that with some of the other laws being passed in certain places like the fascist state of Florida, where the “Don’t Say Gay” bill has been green-lit to signature and they also want to block any teachings that make a certain group – namely white people – uncomfortable. Then you have Texas and their new effort to prosecute parents who have transgender children for child abuse and drag in educators and doctors as well. And let’s not forget Fascist Florida’s U.S. Senator, Rick Scott, himself a former governor, and his supposed 11-point plan for the party of fascism which includes forced patriotism for students and to control what students are taught based solely on his faction’s worldview.
Put those together and – if it’s all enacted – you have that announcement from Everywhere High School in the near future.
Let’s get brutally honest here... these so-called “parental rights” bills are a hoax. It’s not about “parents”. It’s about one pompous self-serving self-important faction in society to have unchallengeable veto power over what is taught in our schools.
Homeschooling didn’t work for them. The push for vouchers for charter schools didn’t work. And their current effort to take over all the school boards is not a sure thing and takes too long for them. Because it was never about just their own children. It was about the rest of the young minds. Your kids. Your teens. This younger generation and all the ones that follow.
Like any other abusive entity, this is about power and control. Power over all and control over everything, especially over what we know. Some of us learned that from history. That too is something that they would want others to know. I would hope that we would not have to learn it again in the near future from current events.
No comments:
Post a Comment