As the culture war wages over what’s being taught in classrooms, a new study from the Pew Research Center showed where parental battle lines are drawn. Democratic- and Republican-affiliated parents differ wildly in their views on what should be taught in K-12 schools regarding gender and race. They also differ on how much influence they believe parents have on curricula.
For example, regarding the subject of gender, 31% of parents said children should be taught gender is determined by biological sex, 31% said they should be taught it isn’t, and 37% said children shouldn’t learn about this in school. That means only about a third of parents are in favor of teaching children about the concept of “gender identity” versus approximately two-thirds who are not.
WHEN DID BIOLOGY GET SO COMPLICATED?
One challenge is that absent two or three distinct lesson plans, it won’t be possible to please everyone. Realistically speaking, few educators have the time or resources necessary to do so. Moreover, considering the leftist perspective that has captured much of the educational system, I imagine even fewer would be willing to. In my view, these discussions should be left to parents, not educators.
Parents are just as divided about what children should learn about slavery — and presumably whether they should be taught critical race theory and the idea that America is systemically racist. Almost half of parents, 49%, want their children to be taught that the legacy of slavery still affects black people today, while a similar percentage, 42%, think children should be taught that slavery is a part of American history but doesn’t affect black people today.
Regarding differences along party lines pertaining to how much influence parents have on the curriculum, Republican parents were roughly twice as likely as Democratic parents to believe that parents don’t have enough influence on what public schools are teaching. Republican parents were also more likely than Democratic parents to say that school boards have “too much influence.”
Dissent has been brewing behind the viral clips we’ve seen on social media, in which parents at school board meetings are petitioning against events including drag queen story hour and activist-supported, sexually inappropriate books in school libraries. Considering that 82% of voters, particularly among independents and Democrats, report being willing to vote outside of their party over educational issues, more parents will surely have voted on this basis on Tuesday.
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Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist, the host of The Dr. Debra Soh Podcast, and the author of The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society.
