School. A place and thing that invokes thoughts of dread, safety, monotony, and structure for many in the United States. No matter what thoughts creep in your head about the word school, we all know that the purpose of attending school is to learn. The question is whether the act of learning is taking place. Why does this question matter? Our children are sent to school, they get grades, and are promoted, of course learning is happening. We take it for granted that our children are learning but it’s time for families to ask “what and how” they are learning.

My experience as a teacher has lead me to write about the answer to the question of “what and how” our children are learning. I have a love/hate relationship with what I do. I love teaching my content, history, and passing that on to my students. I’m frustrated with the endless struggles with apathetic students and families, the ever changing purpose of education, the expectation of counseling the social and emotional well being of your students, and the integration of social issues in the classroom. This is what is going on in your child’s classroom. The school has become a catch all, halfway house for America’s youth.

Defining the purpose of education seems simple enough, the process of teaching children the skills they need to be productive and moral citizens. The truth of the matter is it is in fact difficult to find an exact answer in a simple google search. I came across an article by Arthur Caines, an education policy writer and Washington Post contributor, that discussed the purpose of 21st century education and it hit home with the kind of classroom culture it promoted. According to Caines, the purpose of education in the 21st century is to “prepare young people for life, work and citizenship.” Sounds nice but he lost me when promoting policies that reinforce his stated purpose. Caines philosophy is that content should have “personal and social relevance for students so that they are intellectually and emotionally engaged in their own learning.” Intellectually and emotionally engaged? Should they not learn if they are not intrigued by it? Does this way of thinking get young people prepped for life or the workforce? No, it does not. There will be thousands of instances in life that will not intellectually or emotionally engage them. Students are being set up to only take seriously what peaks their interest. Teachers are encouraged to support this type of philosophy and perform for their students. Everything must be tied to students interests, value in adult life (which they have no way of knowing this at 17), and relevance. Gone is a time when education was a asset to be worked for and celebrated. Education has now been cheaply packaged with quick anecdotes and superficial pleasure.

The mental health of young people in the United States is alarming. According to the United Health Foundation, in 2018, suicide was the leading cause of death for those 10-24 years old and more kids think about, act and survive suicide attempts than those that die by suicide. It may seem to make sense to implement policies regarding social and emotional health into the classroom in order to help our children but this is a band aid that won’t even stay on. Lessons on mental health allow students to learn more about mental health issues and that their friends may suffer from them but it is helping the student that is suffering? Teachers are not formally trained in providing these lessons or helping these students. Teachers are required to watch 20 minute videos on what ever platform or curriculum they have to use and that’s it. Kids are in real pain and teachers are expected to be their mental health professional with a training from a video. Teachers should not be required to take on this role and nor should they feel obligated too. Social lessons cover everything from bullying to online behavior and it seems more like the teacher is now the parent more than anything. Teachers are supposed to support the learning that goes on at home when it comes to moral values and behaviors but the “home” is broken. Parents are both working, divorced, or dysfunctional and this spills over into the classroom. If it’s not going on at home then it is difficult to make it happen at school. Now, I am not saying to not call out bullying or remind kids to behave when online but I am saying that the school is not the place to “raise” someone else’s kids. If the school system is going to “raise” children then who decides what the moral values and expectations should be? Our society has got to fix the family unit in order to heal our children. Teachers are not the first line of defense to the social and emotional well being of students, we should be the last line.

Indoctrination may seem radical to describe the American classroom but it is all to proper a description. Content standards for classrooms, especially for social sciences, have been integrating social issues under the guise of representation. The phrasing of standards and clarifying objectives can be used by liberal teachers to justify their messages of moral superiority on a variety of issues that fall under the purview of said standard. In the NC Civic Literacy Standards, standard 1: history, objective 6 states, “exemplify ways individuals have demonstrated resistance and resilience to inequities, injustice, and discrimination within the American system of government over time.” Standard 1: behavioral science, objective 4, “explain how individual values and societal norms contribute to institutional discrimination and the marginalization of minority groups living under the American system of government.” Standard 1: history, objective 5, “explain how the experiences and achievements of minorities and marginalized peoples have contributed to the protection of individual rights and “equality and justice for all” over time.” These are just a few examples of guidelines that teachers are supposed to use in the high school classroom for the North Carolina course of Civic Literacy. Teachers could easily use their own bias to influence students in a negative way with standards that easily allow for LGBTQ, BLM, and racist ideology. There is no oversite of the individual classroom other than the parent or guardian when it comes to teachers pushing their interpretations of standards. Many teachers, like individuals in society, believe there are not two sides to a variety of issues or argument and call those who believe differently bigots or ignorant. Emotion becomes tangled with knowledge and confused with intelligence versus opinions. Thomas Sowell discusses knowledge and opinions in his book, Inside American Education. He quotes an education scholar concluding, “having opinions without knowledge is not much value; not knowing the difference between them is a positive indicator of ignorance.” Sowell goes on to say, ” In short, it is not merely that Johnny can’t read, or even that Johnny can’t think. Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is, because thinking is so often confused with feeling in many public schools.” Our children are sitting ducks, vulnerable to the idealistic individuals taking it upon themselves to “save” or “awaken” our children to their version the issue.

The educational system is not teaching our children how to think critically but what to think. The purpose of education depends upon who you talk to. Foundational skills are not seen as important as quick, relevant lessons that teach kids nothing more than to pay attention when it makes you laugh, happy, or feel good. Reading levels, ACT, and SAT scores showcase the learning gap ever widening between school and college or the workforce. Families need to take back their homes and children from society and show their children what values are. We can begin by eating at the table, putting our phones away while our children are in the room, and making time for family days or vacations that do not involve 24/7 commercialism. Children are easily influenced if the home hasn’t built a strong foundation of identity. Families have to start taking responsibility for their kids and stop letting other people raise them. The how and what your children are learning may be the reason you do not understand them anymore.