A Philadelphia teacher wondered on Twitter how educators will cope with “conservative parents” listening in on virtual classes.
Matthew Kay, who teaches English at the Science Leadership Academy, a Philadelphia public school, tweeted over the weekend he is concerned about the “damage” that “helicopter parents” might cause if they overhear lessons on topics such as gender and sexuality, the Daily Wire reported.
“So, this fall, virtual class discussion will have many potential spectators — parents, siblings, etc. — in the same room. We’ll never be quite sure who is overhearing the discourse. What does this do for our equity/inclusion work?” Kay tweeted. “How much have students depended on the (somewhat) secure barriers of our physical classrooms to encourage vulnerability? How many of us have installed some version of ‘what happens here stays here’ to help this?”
Kay then described how “conservative parents” are his chief concern when teachers are engaging “in the messy work of destabilizing a kid’s racism or homophobia or transphobia.”
“While conversation about race are in my wheelhouse, and remain a concern in this no-walls environment — I am most intrigued by the damage that ‘helicopter/snowplow’ parents can do in the host conversations about gender/sexuality,” he tweeted. “And while ‘conservative’ parents are my chief concern — I know that the damage can come from the left too. If we are engaged in the messy work of destabilizing a kid’s racism or homophobia or transphobia — how much do we want their classmates’ parents piling on?”
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh posted screenshots of the tweets on Sunday after Kay’s Twitter account was set to stricter privacy settings.
“Public school teachers are afraid that you might be able to hear them brainwashing your kids,” Walsh tweeted.
Public school teachers are afraid that you might be able to hear them brainwashing your kids pic.twitter.com/jDtig5lAR4
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) August 9, 2020
“Some of the responses are worse than the original tweet. Here’s a teacher referring to parents as ‘outsiders.’ This is terrifying stuff,” Walsh added of teachers replying to Kay’s tweets, including a screenshot of one teacher who said she’s concerned about parents listening in on classes.
Some of the responses are worse than the original tweet. Here’s a teacher referring to parents as “outsiders.” This is terrifying stuff. pic.twitter.com/Alz0j8bpCi
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) August 10, 2020
Schools across the country are grappling with how to proceed with classes for the new school year. In Philadelphia, students will begin learning through online classes before transitioning to a hybrid learning method of online and in-person classes.
“Our schools will start the school year with all students learning remotely for the first marking period which ends November 17th. Students will then transition to the hybrid learning model, which is a mix of in-person and digital learning, as long as guidance from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and other indicators support that it is safe to do so,” the School District of Philadelphia announced in a statement last month.
