On a recent airing of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” 1619 Project architect Nikole Hannah-Jones said, “I don’t really understand this idea that parents should decide what’s being taught.”
This is the same woman whose signature Pulitzer-winning 1619 Project has been criticized by many historians for its inaccuracies and distortions. The National Association of Scholars has signed a letter to the Pulitzer Prize board calling for it to revoke the prize it gave her.
The gist of Jones’ message, to me, is that parents should just blindly trust what their child is taught in school. Trust is a two-way street. It involves faith and a shared level of expectation from both parties.
As evidence of the recent elections in Virginia and the spike in children being home-schooled, the trust between teachers and parents is quickly eroding.
In an ideal world, an open educational community with public discourse develops its expertise and satisfies society’s desires for its children’s education. Under those circumstances, it is wise to defer to the professionals.
But when those professionals deviate from the community’s wishes and deliver a product or service that isn’t welcomed or harmful, then it is appropriate to do whatever is needed to reset the educational goals of the professionals through the democratic process. The latter is being played out in many areas across the country.
We can start to change the direction of the wind by raising expectations and standards in our schools.
Kevin Landry, Lewiston
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