It's not book banning. It's common sense.
It's not Hitleresque. It's moral discernment.
If there is one thing that troubles me as a Christian, as a parent, as a responsible citizen, and as a teacher, it is the unhinged assault on parental rights and moral prerogative that has become so prevalent in pop culture these days. That anyone, no less adults who hold a position of influence in our culture, would seek to subvert, shame, or otherwise sabotage the efforts of a mom or dad expressing reservations or concerns over the ideas, concepts, and philosophies confronting their kids is a disastrous commentary on modern society's state of affairs.
A teacher of over twenty years, I'm often told that people like Nicki Neily, an activist fighting for parental rights, and for limiting governmental influence in our lives, is supposedly my enemy. I've heard that she's "warring against the professionalism and judgment" of teachers like me.
Sorry, but I don't buy it. Simply put, there's nothing but wisdom here:
To be clear, this isn't purely an issue of left and right, liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican for me. Or for any of us.
After a speaking engagement about 3 years ago, I had a conversation with a middle-aged woman who expressed how she and her husband were struggling with how they should handle a situation that had come up at the public school their kids attended. As a public school teacher, I felt I knew exactly where the conversation was about to go.
- They didn't like the ungodly curriculum (molecules to man evolution) their kids were learning.
- They were frustrated with the school's ambivalence towards the fad of transgenderism and all the ugly violations of their kids' privacy that entailed.
- They were worried about the unequally yoked friendships and relationships their kids were forging or being pulled into.
I was prepared to launch into my standard responses for any or all those dilemmas. But as it turned out, none of those were the issue. Instead, it was the Bible study that their kids had joined right before school that met 3 days a week under the supervision and instruction of one of the school's outspoken Christian staff members. The look on my face must have said what I was thinking because she chuckled and responded with, "Let me explain."
Initially they were thrilled that someone teaching at the school was so boldly expressing their faith and using their position of influence to point young people towards the truth. They encouraged their kids to attend, and even began carpooling with other parents to help swell the numbers of the group. They were ecstatic that spiritual topics discussed at the study typically emerged in nightly conversations with their kids - sometimes more often than other standard teenage school drama did.
The problem emerged when two of their kids came home one day and said that the lesson that morning had involved spiritual gifts and specifically speaking in "tongues." The teacher, a charismatic Christian, had taught his understanding of the Scripture, and impressed upon the students that tongues was a spiritual gift given to believers who were full of the Holy Spirit. It was something to aspire to, something to reach for, and something to validate their Christianity. "When the Holy Spirit fills you enough to speak in tongues," he had said, "then you know that He is truly present in your life."
That is not what the parents believed, not what they had taught their kids to believe, but nearly half of the kids in the Bible study shared the teacher's perspective. It presented an uncomfortable split in the group, with many of the young people spontaneously beginning to "speak in tongues" at each morning session. The parents pulled their kids from the group, but had felt shamed for doing so. It was that last part that stood out at me. They were shamed for carefully guarding the spiritual upbringing of their own children. They were shamed for caring enough of the spiritual development of their offspring that they thought it wise to adhere to what they understood was correct doctrine.
Did they overreact? Were there better ways to handle the disagreement? Perhaps, or perhaps not. But shame them for their spiritual oversight and guidance?
For the first few years after I started teaching, I coached the boys and girls tennis teams at my school. When life started to get in the way, I handed those responsibilities off to another young teacher. She was a very gifted athlete herself, and did tremendous things with girls program during her time there. But she also thought the more modest attire of our team prevented their athleticism. So she changed it - shorter skirts with tights underneath.
I had a few calls from concerned parents asking if I'd talk to the coach about it. I encouraged them to do that themselves, but promised that I would at least express their reservations. The coach was accommodating, allowing some of the girls to wear the longer skirts from previous years. As you can imagine, the two parents who made their girls wear the longer skirts - who, by the way, were not religious in any way - were shamed for their "prudishness." I hated it.
As a Christian, I'm convinced that the Bible offers the wisest path for us to take relative to any issue, and parenting is no exception. The book of Proverbs, specifically, provides a vast array of insight when it comes to appropriate discipline, showing grace, offering counsel, and caring for the spiritual growth of your children.
That's why even as a public schoolteacher, I am compelled to believe, and remain fully convinced, that when it comes to the development of curriculum, the oversight of age-appropriate reading content, sex education, and a host of other issues that impact the maturation, character, and integrity of the next generation, a wiser course of action for our society is for politicians and other disinterested adults to pipe down, stop shaming, and instead submit to the preferences and wisdom of parents.
