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Somebody needs to do their homework

With Facebook, blithely blocking all news for Canadians rather than sharing a tiny slice of its profits which it surely making at least some off the back of the interest said news generates, maybe I should do my public opining on the news here on a blog where the news isn't blocked. 

Re "The parental rights Trojan Horse"

By: Shannon D.M. Moore, Kevin Lopuck, Colleen Dawson, Katie Hurst, Ellen Bees, Emily Livingston, Scott Durling and Melanie Janzen

It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic and dangerous. 

The PCs are promising to expand parental rights -- in ways that exist already.

"Much of what was proposed is redundant and unfounded. The curriculum documents are all readily available online. In addition, media release forms are widely used in schools across the province and schools typically inform parents about guest speakers. Similarly, the idea that schools need to better inform parents is peculiar, as parents can email or phone teachers, read school newsletters, check out school social media, consult report cards, go to parent teacher conferences, speak to trustees, and attend school board meetings."

What it seems to come down to is parents failing to do THEIR homework. Parents who would rather force schools to pander to their narrow ideology rather than do the hard work of communicating with their children about why they hold the values they do. (Maybe that's the problem -- they don't even know enough to explain). 

Indeed, the irony continues, as the article observes with parents objecting to teachers "pushing their values" on students -- unaware THEY are now pushing their values on all the students in the class whose parents may not share a narrow ideology. 

"When we focus on parents who want to opt their children out of curriculum, or limit what everyone learns based on their personal values, we are privileging a small group of parents. Moreover, these moves to control what is happening in schools are often motivated by small groups who are not parents in the division and/or are well-funded outside groups."

If it isn't bad enough that fear and anger are driving this conversation, it is also failing to truly consider the people it is supposed to be about. 

"What is left out of this discussion is the rights of students."

"Students are not parental property, they have their own rights enshrined The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child."

This emphasis on *parental rights* is a distraction from the needs of children. 

"We could be discussing the persistent underfunding of public education. We could be pursuing supports for students experiencing poverty, including, but not limited to, universal nutrition programs. We could be advocating for more counselling resources for students. We could be investing in existing school infrastructure, which in many cases is unsafe and in drastic need of repairs. We could be working to reduce class sizes. And we could be committing to ensuring safe and inclusive spaces, while denouncing movements that aim to ban books and erase LGBTTQ+ people from the classroom."

"All of these actions support children, parents, families, teachers, and ultimately communities."

So, if these parents are really concerned about the welfare of children, not merely their own interests, maybe it's time THEY do some homework to find out what is actually being taught in the classroom and why. 

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2023/08/21/the-parental-rights-trojan-horse

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