Great minds don't
think
By Eileen McNamara,
boston.com from the Web, May 1, 2005
I won't make the mistake that David
Parker made. I am not going to sit around and wait for my child to come
home with morally offensive material covertly planted in his backpack by some
public school teacher promoting a political agenda.
I am putting the superintendent of my suburban school system on notice right
here and now that if there is to be any mention in my children's social studies
classes of Governor Mitt Romney's new proposal to reinstate capital punishment
in Massachusetts, I expect to be notified in advance.
I will not have my parental right to instill moral values in my children usurped
by those promoting a politically correct death penalty agenda, no matter how
many scary pictures of Gary Sampson they distribute. Just because some
activist judges across the country have sanctioned state-sponsored murder does
not mean that I have to let their twisted values infect my family.
I am only trying to protect my children.
Parker, the Lexington father jailed for trespassing last week when he refused to
leave the schoolhouse without a promise that his child would not be exposed to
any reference to single-sex parents without prior notice, has blazed a new trail
for activist parents: moms and dads as martyrs in the culture wars.
He certainly made a splash, but then a courtroom arraignment has a better shot
at making the evening news than one of those stale protest rallies denouncing
yet another English teacher's decision to assign ''Catcher in the Rye" to the
freshman class.
I know that Parker has made me feel empowered. Maybe the nation's parent
organizations could pool their resources to buy some of those Kryptonite bicycle
locks from Operation Rescue so that we can chain ourselves to the desks of
principals who fail to yield to our various demands for parental control.
We are only being reasonable. If teachers would stick to reading, writing,
and arithmetic, there would be no need for these unpleasant confrontations.
But, no; teachers insist on letting real life infiltrate classrooms that are
better insulated from such adult concerns. Just because Susie's two
mommies volunteer in the library and supervise class field trips and throw
awesome birthday parties, teachers leap to the ludicrous conclusion that Susie's
classmates might become curious about her family's structure.
Well, isn't it time that we parents made it clear to teachers that fostering
curiosity is not their job? Hasn't MCAS taught them anything? The
school superintendent in my town should know that at the first sign of
intellectual curiosity in my own children, I expect to be notified immediately
so that I can stifle it myself, in accordance with my family's values.
I am not naïve. I know what the social studies teachers will say when I
demand that my son and daughter be shielded from any discussion of capital
punishment. It is on the front page of the newspapers, they will say; it
is a matter of public debate. The death penalty already exists in 38
states and for certain federal offenses; they are just acknowledging reality.
David Parker and I know better; ''informing" is an educational euphemism for
''promoting." Tell a child about same-sex couples and the next thing you
know he thinks love and commitment are not the exclusive preserve of
heterosexuals. Tell him about capital punishment and, bam, he will be
itching to pull the switch on Sampson himself.
Parker and I know that the only thing more dangerous than a public school that
encourages intellectual curiosity is a public school that fosters independent,
critical thinking skills. Why, in the name of family values, would he or I
want that for our children? What assurance would we have, then, that our
children will grow up to believe what we believe, to think as we think, to vote
as we vote?
Let less vigilant parents take that risk. Not David Parker, and not I.
Pass the bike lock.
Eileen McNamara is a Globe columnist. She can be reached
at mcnamara@globe.com.
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