American schools are all shook up, writes Matthew Ladner on ReimaginED. In his Elvis-themed column, the role of the manipulative Col. Tom Parker is played by American Federation of Teachers head Randi Weingarten. She claims others are “destroying public education,” he writes, while ignoring her own responsibility for eroding confidence in the system.
Weingarten lobbied the CDC to set strict guidelines that kept schools closed, writes Ladner. That backfired on teachers' unions.
“Zoom school” provided a window for parents into curriculum, and many did not like what they saw.
Weingarten . . . described parental concerns as “contrived” and claimed that her organization stood ready to defend teachers teaching “real history.”
The rival National Education Association approved a resolution to implement Critical Race Theory in K-12 curriculum, notes Ladner. That alienated more parents.
He's a school choice advocate. If parents can decide what they want their children taught, there's no need to fight over curriculum, he writes.
The United States is a pluralistic society and ought to have a pluralistic school system to reflect that reality. The process of having a one-size-fits-all system regarding controversial issues such as student health and curriculum not only is bad for families; it will continue to represent a source of unending cultural conflict.
Public school enrollment dropped by 1.2 million students since the start of the pandemic, Ladner concludes. These boots are made for walking, as Nancy Sinatra (not Elvis) sang.
American teachers' union schools are reaping what they have sown. Neal McCluskey at the Cato Institute has made this point repeatedly and convincingly, to the consternation of another friend, Robert Pondiscio at the American Enterprise Institute: in this case I agree with Neal, and advocate qualified choice of student curriculum, largely to assist families in accessing the Baccalaureate Student Examination curricula we offer via One World Education Centre.