[On yesterday’s podcast, Greg talked about a statement he wrote to be read at a local school board meeting at which a proposed sex ed curriculum was to be discussed. He encouraged Christians to speak up at events like these and offered some advice on what to say and how to say it (in particular, that we ought to use their own rationale and values—such as diversity and multiculturalism—to make our appeal). Below is Greg’s statement.]
We are a diverse community, and the school board values diversity. That means there are diverse understandings about controversial issues like human sexuality.
Traditionally, parents have been the ones to carefully inform their children about these issues at a time and in a way appropriate for their age, and within the protected environment of the family. The government—represented here by the school board—has not traditionally been allowed to interfere with educating issues so critical to family and so appropriate to private parental nurturing of their children. To do so would be to have individual family beliefs and values overridden by whatever group happened to be in power at the time.
No one set of personal values should be allowed to dictate the beliefs of our children in a public education system that includes such diverse groups as Muslims, and Christians, and Orthodox Jews, and Buddhists, and humanists, and atheists, and so many others.
Public values shared by all, on the other hand—values like honesty, kindness, truth seeking, integrity, respect, etc.—should be encouraged by all, including the schools, since they are agreed upon by all and are not controversial.
However, contentious and divisive personal views should not be forced upon our children. This is indoctrination and replaces the parent’s rightful role.
When government takes over the responsibility of informing our children’s private and personal moral values instead of the parents and individual families doing so, it is a step towards oppression and a significant and serious violation of the diversity and multicultural respect the school board stands for.
If any group in power gets to force their personal values on our kids, then when a different group gets power, they will be able to force their personal values on that group’s kids. Neither is consistent with diversity, tolerance, or appropriate American liberty.
Please, I respectfully implore you: Leave that job to the parents of the children that belong to them…and not to the state.
Thank you.
[You can hear the rest of Greg’s advice for speaking up at your own public school board meetings here.]