Social and emotional learning is the latest trend at your child’s school. SEL sounds beneficial, but that’s a disguise. In truth, it indoctrinates kids with extremist ideas many parents don’t condone.
On Nov. 22, the Hartford Courant reported that West Hartford, Connecticut, elementary school parents are in an uproar. They’re complaining that teachers are putting words such as “nonbinary” on the chalkboard and telling kids, including kindergarteners, they can live life as a gender different from what they were assigned at birth. Parents were told by school authorities that they can’t opt their children out.
Most Americans think parents should have the final say on what children are taught. From Treasure Valley, Idaho, to Greenwich, Connecticut, school board candidates made SEL an issue in elections earlier this month.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita encouraged parents to speak up and cautioned that SEL programs shift “the role of teachers from educators to therapists.”
Fighting SEL is an uphill battle because it’s not only favored by the left-leaning educational bureaucracy; it’s also big business. “The SEL ecosystem today is flush with dollars,” reports Tyton Partners, SEL industry consultants.
Billions in federal COVID-relief money for schools is being used to buy SEL programs and fund SEL instructors. Advocates and companies that produce the materials lobby Congress and the federal Department of Education to ensure legislative language precisely matches what they’re selling.
Nationwide, sales of SEL materials shot up 45% in a year and a half to $765 million in 2021, reports Education Week.
But parental opposition is also surging. Attorney General Merrick Garland asked the FBI to look into parents protesting issues like SEL at school board meetings. His son-in-law is a co-founder of Panorama Education, a company raking in millions selling SEL materials to school districts. Conflict of interest?
And what about the billions of dollars the Democrats’ Build Back Better legislation allocates to child care and pre-K? Will that money pay to indoctrinate even younger minds? Likely, “yes.” At least a dozen states, including New York, have already adopted SEL standards for preschool.
As for elementary schools, gender dysphoric kids make up less than 1% of the school population. Protect them, of course, from bullying and discrimination. They need to feel safe. But don’t brainwash the rest with one-sided, repeated lessons about gender issues.
West Hartford is reported to hammer away grade after grade, starting with a kindergarten-level book about a teddy bear who knows in his heart he is a girl teddy, not a boy teddy. Then, a book about Aiden, who knows the sex he was assigned at birth is “wrong.” Then, a book about choosing pronouns. And another about a girl named Jazz who changes her gender identity. Are kids reading that many books about the U.S. Constitution?
One Arkansas father objected that his fifth grader’s teacher showed a video of a transgender activist’s speech. Then, the teacher, wearing a “Protect Trans Lives” T shirt, invited the class to a pride celebration: “I’ll be at Pride from 1-6! I hope to see you there!”
SEL was originally sold as training children to control their emotions, manage their time and make good personal decisions. Teachers have always tried to instill these life skills. They’re the same American values Benjamin Franklin proselytized in his autobiography 200 years ago.
But recently, SEL purveyors, including the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, have openly revised their goals. CASEL advocates for “transformative SEL” to promote “justice-oriented civic engagement.” Translation: Make your kids into activists.
A South Bend, Indiana, school district adopted SEL two years ago to curb substance abuse and bullying. Now, parents, recognizing the radical messaging, are demanding more oversight.
Who’s in charge of what your child learns? Parents need to take control. It’s not an easy fight against the combined forces of educational profiteers and left-wing activists. But the stakes are too high to accept defeat.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and author of “The Next Pandemic,” available at Amazon.com. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
I fifrst noticed this phenomenonyears ago when broadcasters ended news stories with a tag indicating what the listener should think about the story, today they outright tell us what our opinion should be. Now this has moved to the classroom where liberal ideolgical opinions are embedded in the instruction to mask the real purpose of indoctrination into the socialistic philosophies without the student recognizing it or the parents aware of it until the CRT scandal broke it wide open. Is it any wonder that parents “shouldn’t be in charge their children’s education”! It’s to replace the family with the state, much as they did with black families and the reat Society, and we know how that turned out!
HOWS about we start focusing on basic stuff, like MATH AND SPELLING… STOP shoving this woke insanity in our kids throats.
when i was in grammar school our teacher brought up th subjectof th NAACP. she did it insince we ere of mixed races and nationalities it was good hat all could have opinions not be told what we had to think a way to introduce what dr.king was about. given the chance to give their thought and debate it to make everyone aware and form their own opinions. no one was offended or upset. in fact parents welcomed it. we were not indoctrinated to tink because we were a certain race or nationality we were bad of good we were tole all were good and we were allowed to have our differences. i admired that person her namme was mrs. cables and taught in ny public schools she as black but that does not matter. i am caucasian and had friends from all races and heritage still do!
Betsy McCaughey, Great commentary on the communist indoctrination of our kids, confusing the kids as to what gender they are and teaching kids to hate the greatest country in the world!
“Parents were told by school authorities that they can’t opt their children out.” BS
Enough parents get together across the land and make their voices heard—things will change. It requires only a mass effort and a rock solid stand of unity.
THEY DO NOT HAVE THE POWER NOR THE CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY TO DICTATE TO YOU HOW TO RAISE YOUR CHILDREN AND WHAT THEY CAN AND CANNOT BE SUBJECTED TO IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Pity there is no way, every parent out there, can just CEASE PAYING STATE TAXES of all sorts.. MAYBE ONCE all these schools get their funding choked to death, they will wise the hell up and STOP TELLING parents “You have no choice when it comes to your kids”..
I’ve said that years ago…. each community with this problem should gather most of the parents along with anyone who pays school taxes..hire a lawyer… place all the taxes in an escrow account and bring suit.
SINCE anyone who owns property, pays propety taxes, which GO TO those schools, then EVERYONE Who owns, not just parents, need to look into CHOKING OFF their funds like this.
last i looked my children are mine not a government owned identity or puppet
“Social And Emotional Indoctrination In Schools”
The treachery of the traitorous, socialist Democrat Party know no bounds.
The Democrat Party have been secretly brainwashing and teaching our children their Lies and propaganda for decades.
To fully advance the Demonic, Lying Socialist Democrat Party’s destructive agendas are; dividing our citizens with hate and promote; rioting, burning, looting, open borders, gun control, radical feminism, abortion-on-demand, the LGBTQ lifestyle, unfettered sexual identity, transgender “gay marriage” and the like, the pagan Liberal left Democrats must do away with our Constitution, GOD, common sense, morality, Christian values and free religious exercise altogether.
Under the guise of “anti-discrimination.”
When values, morality, honesty and decency are thrown away this is what results. Just look at the politicians and how they were raised. No values, morality, honesty or decency and this ladies and gentlemen is the new and “improved” America. Compliments of all parents who have liberal politicians as sons and daughters. Surely they must be proud!!!
THE parents are probably as soulless as their demon-spawn kin are..