Should religious parents be involved in their children's school curriculum?

[Stevicus]

I was watching the News yesterday and there were 2 separate reports on schools that were implementing certain teachings and study materials into their school's curriculum which caused religious parents to oppose and protest. One school, in which the school district's community is 99.9% Muslim, Christian, and Jewish, implemented pro LGBT story books into it's reading curriculum. The other school was organizing a play about Darwin and Darwinism. Both of these schools were elementary schools. Should conservative religious parents have the option of being involved in their child's school (elementary school especially) curriculum as long as it doesn't affect their child's grades and school's academic standards? Are these teachings doctrines? And if so, are these doctrines necessary for a child's academic development?

Well, they certainly have a say in it, and as voters, they can elect whoever they want to their district school board. However, as far as the curriculum goes, there are certain guidelines the schools are required to follow, although that may differ from state to state or district to district. Even private schools have to follow a certain academic standard.

I don't know that they're teaching doctrines, although I've noticed how the schools invariably end up as some political football field over various social/cultural issues that society's adults can't seem to resolve for themselves. They use the schoolkids as pawns in their own political battles.

Besides, as far as indoctrination goes, the public schools have very little sway with the hearts and minds of America's youth. We used to snicker and laugh at those "don't do drugs" lectures we would periodically get. The schools aren't indoctrinating anyone, but even if they were, it's obvious that they'd be pretty bad at it. A lot of schools are chaotic and undisciplined. A lot of schools are underperforming and can't even teach the bare minimum. I've heard a lot of talk about how U.S. schools are so much worse than schools in most other industrialized nations.

If kids are being indoctrinated, then it's not from the schools. The schools only have them 30 hours out of the week, with three months off in the summer.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Well, not much point in us discussing this. I'm talking about what I think will happen based on history and human nature, and you're talking about what you think will happen based on prophecy.

However, I will say that I hope you're right. I just don't think you are.

Cheers

Thats great, be assured many millions of people of Faith and no Faithwork for these hopeful visions.

They just do not make the news and the greatest stories hardly ever get told.

Regards Tony

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Thanx for the additional info.... not for the duh!
And I'm sure more religious parents are opposed to their kids learning about Darwinism than they would like to admit due to the stigma of religion in a secular society.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. The duh wasn't for you, more to both the parents and teachers who should have understood discussing evolutionary biology would necessitate talking about reproduction, since it's all about inheritable traits.

That may be so, but it isnt reflected in polls, where evolution, like in most countries outside the US, was not difficultly absorbed into Christian viewpoints. Anti-evolution is a remarkably American phenomenon. Then again, so is anti-vaccination.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

 

[HonestJoe]

Should conservative religious parents have the option of being involved in their child's school (elementary school especially) curriculum as long as it doesn't affect their child's grades and school's academic standards?

Yes, but exactly as much (or little) as any other parents. I think a key lie we need to cut through here is that just because you follow a recognised religion, you should be treated as a special case. It is interesting that in both of your examples, it seems perfectly likely that some non-religious parents might object too (and indeed, some religious parents not).

All parents should be taking an active interest in their children’s education but there are limits to how much general curriculum and teaching can and should be altered or tailored to personal preferences of individual parents. I also think there are practical limits to things like allowing individual children to be removed from controversial classes (such as sex-education) and risks of those children being bullied and further socially excluded among their friends.

 

[Samantha Rinne]

Parents should be involved in a child's life. Too many are double working parents or elitist types that let the Hispanic nanny raise the child (The Nanny Diaries is a real phenomenon). The schooling system on the other hand is all too willing to mold a child into whatever they want. Teaching children proper values is key to having a well-adjusted and ethical person.

Taxpayer and responsible person? Or BLM protestor? One of these I don't consider a well-adjusted adult.

And no, I don't feel raising children in a religious life is brainwashing. I grew up in a Christian home.

Besides, as far as indoctrination goes, the public schools have very little sway with the hearts and minds of America's youth. We used to snicker and laugh at those "don't do drugs" lectures we would periodically get. The schools aren't indoctrinating anyone, but even if they were, it's obvious that they'd be pretty bad at it. A lot of schools are chaotic and undisciplined. A lot of schools are underperforming and can't even teach the bare minimum. I've heard a lot of talk about how U.S. schools are so much worse than schools in most other industrialized nations.

If kids are being indoctrinated, then it's not from the schools. The schools only have them 30 hours out of the week, with three months off in the summer.

Yes, they are disorganized, but this is because the state is actively preventing anything useful from being taught. Want to teach Civil War history in a balanced way? Too bad, we need to teach to the SOL test, and you need to teach according to this government program and that program (much of which are one-sided history and science). All so we get our funding. As a result, the child only has time to learn that the South in the Civil War was horrible horrible racists and not that Lee actually had mixed feelings of slavery (not anti-slave but not pro-slave either, he was kinda stuck as he was an army man who expected discipline and was stuck with such ppl) or that in some cases freed slaves went back to their masters asking for work, or that the South also had other reasons than slavery to leave the North. They don't learn that there are criticisms to global warming, particularly that it's a smokescreen for social justice. They don't learn that global warming and global cooling are actually cycles, and while it is possible to pollute the Earth, it's more difficult to predict than the UN says. They only have time to learn about climate change for the SOL. Teaching to the test produces one-sided learning because it hamstrings teaching and either forces them to rush (reducing learning) or only teach a narrow view based on last year's test.

Or this!

 

[Shad]

If religious parents don't like what the public schools are teaching their children, they should get school vouchers for private schooling of their liking.

A lot of people are against vouchers in general so this is not an option for all. It is not even an option for students in failing public schools with no religious conflict.