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I don’t normally comment on this sort of thing (I don’t have kids, am not precisely “normal” (whatever that is) and dislike speaking publicly on sensitive topic

I don’t normally comment on this sort of thing (I don’t have kids, am not precisely “normal” (whatever that is) and dislike speaking publicly on sensitive topics, anonymous or otherwise), but this touched a nerve for some reason, so I’ll throw a couple of things out there for you to consider: 1. Parents are not the only ones who push their own desires and beliefs. Thought experiment: how many members of the group that decides the curriculum vote Republican or Independent? Scuttlebutt (unverified by me) is that most folks in US schools and on US school boards are Democrats. Regardless of one’s opinion on political matters, that (if true) would suggest a certain uniformity of thought, and the likely presence of a conscious or unconscious agenda that would then get passed on, deliberately or otherwise, in the resulting curriculum. And that’s before we get to the general tendency of many groups (regardless of type) to naturally attract like-minded souls in the first place. I only used political affiliation as a visible indicator of the phenomenon (assuming that the rumors are true about Democrats and schools, which as I said, I don’t actually know ;), not to promote one or another party, and not to imply that it’s anywhere close to the only factor. 2. IMHO, schools, public or private, do not fix social issues, and in a certain subset of children, may actually create them. I say that as someone who was never homeschooled, and yet has significant issues socializing (though I’ve learned to hide that fact in public over the years, and have a good career). Your thoughts on friendship resonate with me to a degree, and school did not help it one iota. Probably made it worse, actually. I won’t go into my personal opinion on “the right answer,” because it’s irrelevant in the end. I have no kids, and thus no skin in the game, nor do I actually know “the right answer.” Just some food for thought.

emodendroket 3y ago
> 1. Parents are not the only ones who push their own desires and beliefs. Thought experiment: how many members of the group that decides the curriculum vote Republican or Independent? Scuttlebutt (unverified by me) is that most folks in US schools and on US school boards are Democrats. Regardless of one’s opinion on political matters, that (if true) would suggest a certain uniformity of thought, and the likely presence of a conscious or unconscious agenda that would then get passed on, deliberately or otherwise, in the resulting curriculum. Have you taken a look at the news anytime in the past year? "Republicans don't have any influence on school curriculums" is a wild departure from easily observable reality, so much so that I think it kind of renders this comment beneath serious consideration.
- floating-io 3y ago
  Did you totally miss the part where I clearly indicated that I’ve not bothered to research and find out if it’s true? Hanging around schools to observe it firsthand would be pretty damned creepy at my age since I don’t work in education and don’t have kids. Nor do I pay much attention to the board elections for the same reason. The fact that those running for board positions typically have their political affiliation next their name on the ballot, though, should tell you something. Whether it be Republican or Democrat is entirely irrelevant to the point I was making. The fact is that almost all school boards likely do lean one way or another. They have agendas beyond education, either consciously or unconsciously. Those agendas will make their way into the curriculum, however subtly or overtly. Those agendas will be political, religious, and/or just plain personal. Whether you agree with whatever agenda they have does not change that simple fact. That agenda is being taught to impressionable children. Whether that’s good or not depends on who those people are, and what your own opinion of that agenda is, and whether your child is enrolled in a school using the resulting curriculum. But there IS an agenda that they’re pushing, just as much as any homeschooling parent pushes their own. And that is the ONLY point I was actually making. There was no need to try to shame my political views or knowledge —- which you aren’t even aware of, because I never reveal such online since people are so damned irrational on such topics, and that irritates me.
  - emodendroket 3y ago
    > Did you totally miss the part where I clearly indicated that I’ve not bothered to research and find out if it’s true? Oh. Then why do you think you have anything worth saying on a topic you freely admit complete ignorance of?
  - meetingthrower 3y ago
    Another wrong thing - virtually ALL school board elections have no political party affiliation. There is currently a crazy movement by the right to institute that, but for the most part it is not true.
- anon291 3y ago
  As anyone who's been part of any bureaucracy knows, stated policy is often different than implemented practice. A lot of the issue with saying things like 'Republicans exercise control over school curriculums, thus the GOP is in charge of schools' misses the point that, regardless of the curriculum, the overwhelming majority of teachers vote democrat, which means -- again regardless of the curriculum --they will inject subtle bias.

emodendroket 3y ago

> 1. Parents are not the only ones who push their own desires and beliefs. Thought experiment: how many members of the group that decides the curriculum vote Republican or Independent? Scuttlebutt (unverified by me) is that most folks in US schools and on US school boards are Democrats. Regardless of one’s opinion on political matters, that (if true) would suggest a certain uniformity of thought, and the likely presence of a conscious or unconscious agenda that would then get passed on, deliberately or otherwise, in the resulting curriculum. Have you taken a look at the news anytime in the past year? "Republicans don't have any influence on school curriculums" is a wild departure from easily observable reality, so much so that I think it kind of renders this comment beneath serious consideration.

floating-io 3y ago
Did you totally miss the part where I clearly indicated that I’ve not bothered to research and find out if it’s true? Hanging around schools to observe it firsthand would be pretty damned creepy at my age since I don’t work in education and don’t have kids. Nor do I pay much attention to the board elections for the same reason. The fact that those running for board positions typically have their political affiliation next their name on the ballot, though, should tell you something. Whether it be Republican or Democrat is entirely irrelevant to the point I was making. The fact is that almost all school boards likely do lean one way or another. They have agendas beyond education, either consciously or unconsciously. Those agendas will make their way into the curriculum, however subtly or overtly. Those agendas will be political, religious, and/or just plain personal. Whether you agree with whatever agenda they have does not change that simple fact. That agenda is being taught to impressionable children. Whether that’s good or not depends on who those people are, and what your own opinion of that agenda is, and whether your child is enrolled in a school using the resulting curriculum. But there IS an agenda that they’re pushing, just as much as any homeschooling parent pushes their own. And that is the ONLY point I was actually making. There was no need to try to shame my political views or knowledge —- which you aren’t even aware of, because I never reveal such online since people are so damned irrational on such topics, and that irritates me.
- emodendroket 3y ago
  > Did you totally miss the part where I clearly indicated that I’ve not bothered to research and find out if it’s true? Oh. Then why do you think you have anything worth saying on a topic you freely admit complete ignorance of?
- meetingthrower 3y ago
  Another wrong thing - virtually ALL school board elections have no political party affiliation. There is currently a crazy movement by the right to institute that, but for the most part it is not true.
anon291 3y ago
As anyone who's been part of any bureaucracy knows, stated policy is often different than implemented practice. A lot of the issue with saying things like 'Republicans exercise control over school curriculums, thus the GOP is in charge of schools' misses the point that, regardless of the curriculum, the overwhelming majority of teachers vote democrat, which means -- again regardless of the curriculum --they will inject subtle bias.