Parental Interference Threatens Education

American parent involvement in their children’s education has reached an all-time high.

Instead of trusting the teachers and administrators of each school to successfully teach and provide modern arguments, the parents look for ways to know exactly what is going on and how each educator is teaching it. If it isn’t to their satisfaction, they try to change it. These “parental rights” issues and have become an issue in recent years.

Though this is not, at first glance, a difficulty, it becomes more of a problem as conservative parents try to shut down progressive ideas. Instead of letting professional educators teach what the curriculum offers, over concerned adults try to step in.

While sometimes this can be justifiable, there are situations in which close-minded offensiveness is barely blanketed by the “concern for their child.”

According to Teaching Texas, a mother tried to stop the school from teaching about slavery because, “it would make the white kids uncomfortable and ashamed of their heritage.”

In order to learn from history and not repeat the same mistakes, everyone should know the not-so-glamorous truths of their country. By covering this up, parents ensure a path on which their child will be oblivious and possibly hurtful to others by their lack of knowledge.

Teachers are hired for their qualifications and ability to teach. If unqualified adults who think they know better attempt to interfere with the professionals, unreliable information may begin to circulate. If this “propaganda” spreads, fact may turn into opinion and reality will blur together with fantasy. As education is essential to building society and is a strong base for most everything, including the well-being of America and its global standing, there is no room for a shaky foundation when it comes to forwarding the country.

Though on a small scale, parental interference should be no issue, if someone is particularly outspoken and leading schools’ curricula are changed because one wealthy father can’t comprehend the Women’s Suffrage Movement, the lack of teaching on these subjects will spread.

If this happens, key parts of history will be lost and there will be no previous experiences to reference when they are needed in relation to current problems. Also, parents need to learn to let their kids grow up. They will not be able to control every aspect of their children’s lives forever, and manipulating early situations for their own benefit under the guise of concern will not serve any greater purpose.