![](https://san.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Time-for-parental-choice-in-education.png?w=1200)
Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
The issue of critical race theory is raising a more fundamental question about our nation: education.
Education is about more than teaching children to read and write.
It is about transmitting values, transmitting a worldview, that will define how our youth think and how they will live.
Per the Department of Education, in 2020, 56.4 million children were enrolled in K-12 education.
Of these, 50.7 million were in public schools, and 5.7 million were in private schools.
So, government plays a substantial role in the education of our children.
Per the Department of Education, “Each educational institution that receives federal funds for a fiscal year is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students.”
In a 2020 survey done by Pew Research just prior to the presidential election, 80% of Donald Trump supporters, and 77% of Joe Biden supporters said, regarding the opposition, “Not only do we have different priorities when it comes to politics, but we fundamentally disagree about core American values.”
Well, if half the country disagrees with the other half about “core American values,” what exactly can we expect public schools receiving federal funds to teach regarding the nature and purpose of our Constitution or about our nation’s history?
In a more recent survey done by Morning Consult/Politico, of those who said they had seen, read or heard “a lot” about critical race theory, 7% of Democrats and 78% of Republicans described it negatively.
Among all voters, 36% said it should not be included in K-12 curricula, and 32% said it should be included.
We’re not talking here about a difference of opinion regarding enacting some new national holiday, or difference of opinion about particular government spending programs.
We’re talking about fundamentally different worldviews about our national history and culture.
In one view, our nation is rooted in and defined by racism and oppression. In the other view, the nation’s founding was a landmark moment in human history, in which, for the first time, a society would be defined by liberty, justice and equality before the law.
Can we have a school system that mixes oil and water? I don’t think so.
Americans are not just deeply divided in understanding our nation’s history. We are deeply divided in our values regarding life itself.
According to a new Gallup poll, for the first time since they have been asking the question, more Americans define themselves as social liberals than social conservatives.
Thirty-four percent define themselves as social liberals, versus 30% defining themselves as social conservatives.
We’re talking here about deep differences in attitudes regarding sex, marriage, family, and abortion.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 30 states and the District of Columbia require their public schools to provide sex education.
But what are they teaching?
We all know that the culture war raging in our divided nation today is about two different and distinguished worldviews that cannot be reconciled.
So, the question regarding how we educate our nation’s children is one that needs attention.
I think it not rational nor reasonable to continue to insist that we can have a universal public school system.
I think there is only one answer.
And if we can all agree that our nation is about freedom, then we should be able to agree that it is time for parental choice in education across the nation.
It is time to let parents decide what their children will learn and give parents the freedom to select a school for their child that teaches the worldview and the values that they want.
It is time for money to follow children to whatever school the parents want.
And my hope is that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Maine School Choice case of Carson v Makin this spring, will put a final nail in the coffin of teachers’ unions and other outside interests trapping children in schools against their parents’ values and interests.
It is the only way forward to keep the culture war civil.
-
Trump has an excellent opportunity with Black voters
Former President Donald Trump’s gains with Black voters have narrowed since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race. Prior to his dropping out, polling indicated that Biden was losing support among Black voters, who had been vital to his 2020 victory. The Trump campaign has been courting Black voters, using the recent Republican…
-
Biden is wrong to support Supreme Court reform
The Supreme Court’s public legitimacy crisis continues to escalate after it issued a series of major recent decisions perceived by many Americans as overtly partisan, most recently the July 1 ruling in Trump v. United States. Calls to reform the Supreme Court long predate these rulings but have gained significant momentum and popularity in their…
-
Liberals stir fear over Supreme Court immunity decision
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled July 1 in Trump v. United States that presidents are immune from prosecution for any presumably “official” act taken while in office, including criminal acts. Some legal experts and liberal justices were “horrified” by the opinion and warned of grave consequences, while Chief Justice John Roberts, in…
-
Debate disaster raises questions about Biden’s capacity to lead
Even former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has stated that it’s valid for voters to question President Joe Biden’s mental health given his recent debate performance. Lawmakers from the opposing party are calling for a select committee to examine his mental health. Watch the video above as Straight Arrow News contributor Star Parker argues that,…
-
Black Americans should vote for Donald Trump
In the 2020 elections, 92% of single-race Black, non-Hispanic voters cast their ballots for President Joe Biden, while only 8% voted for Donald Trump. That one-sided turnout followed a summer of nationwide protests against police violence largely organized by Black Americans in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and then-President Trump’s crackdown on those protests…
Latest Opinions
-
U.S. Department of Defense
Congress still trying to figure out how to reduce wasteful military spending
-
DVIDS
US Navy, Air Force making waves with new weapons at RIMPAC
-
Getty Images
Israeli PM Netanyahu meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
-
Getty Images
Growing US nuclear power resurgence reaches the nation’s heartland
-
Getty Images
Beer from the sun, other solar thermal projects get government funding
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.