There are certain things about Kindergarten that I can still remember...The thrill of spelling my first word—C-A-N. The enjoyment of listening as my teacher read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom aloud to the
class. Learning to read the date each morning (the year was 1997). Snack time — always graham crackers and a carton of milk. Twenty-six years have passed since then, but much has stayed the same. I still love words and writing; reading remains one of my choicest hobbies; I’m still fascinated by time and its passage; and snacks are still my favorite part of the day. But much has changed since 1997. Deford Elementary School, where I attended kindergarten through the third grade, once so clean and tidy, is now shamefully derelict and defaced. Thanks to gluten and dairy intolerances, graham crackers and milk are out. And I now have a kindergartener of my own. There are other changes, though, too; deeper changes that have led me to conclude that the public school experience that I had is no longer available to my children, due in large part to the pushing of social agendas. For example, when I was in school I remember seeing posters about the importance of being “color blind” and attending assemblies where we were taught that it was character, not color, that counted. Today, however, the dogma of America as a systemically racist nation is being championed, with religious zeal, in some public schools. Though many voices deny that Critical Race Theory is being taught in the classroom, some educators and administrators, like Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District, have no problem admitting its propagation. “Our curriculum is deeply using Critical Race Theory, especially in social studies, but you’ll find it in English, language arts, and the other disciplines,” Vitti said during a November 2021 school board meeting. “We’re very intentional about creating a curriculum, infusing materials and embedding Critical Race Theory within our curriculum.” Dr. Pamela Pugh concurs. In a speech to the Michigan Senate, Pugh said, “I go further to call on this body and your colleagues to embrace Critical Race Theory as a framework for you to better understand educational inequality and structural racism so as to find solutions that lead to justice for all who live, work, learn and play in Michigan.” If Pugh were merely a professor sequestered away somewhere in a U of M office building, we might not need to be concerned. But she’s currently the president of the State Board of Education, so concern is warranted. On top of this are the changes that have taken place, societally, which influence the school environment. Chief among these changes is the denunciation of any individuals or groups that do not meet the increasingly outrageous demands of the LGBTQ+ movement. I recently spoke to the principal of a public school in the Lansing area, who explained that she had to wrestle with how to respond to a student who demanded she be referred to using masculine pronouns, something to which not even the girl’s parents acquiesced to. “My assistant principal and I often talk about the day when we will have to quit, simply because we cannot morally do this job anymore,” she said. I have heard similar sentiments expressed by long-time public school teachers, who lament the downward spiral they have witnessed in the schools where they worked for decades. I do not claim to have the answer to this dilemma. But I do have a few suggestions. First, at the very least, communities must fight for as much local control of the public school system as possible. This means cultivating a good relationship between parents and the school board, particularly when it comes to choosing curriculum. School board accountability is key. Second, home life must be strengthened. For years, teachers have been sounding the alarm that parents often expect teachers to be the sole educators of their children. No matter which option we parents choose to educate our children, we must remember that we, not paid educators, are the ultimate teachers. We will have to push back against much of the messaging our children receive from the culture, whether in public school or elsewhere. Third, parents may need to look for alternatives to public school. For some, like my wife and me, homeschool is the best option. For others, rigorous online programs, Christian schools, or private academies might be in order. It is my hope that public schools across the country will reject the push to make them centers of the social agenda and get back to their initial mandate: true education. In other words, a lot less Critical Race Theory and a lot more Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
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AuthorTy Perry is a writer based in metro-Detroit. Archives
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