Wokeism is in Attendance in Public School Classrooms Nationwide

In the early 1990s the term politically correct gained momentum when progressive changes to school curriculum were being hotly debated. The reasons behind a politically correct approach to education had the best of intentions -  to rid our classrooms of racism, sexism, and hatred. 

For those parents who would rather work to effect change within the public school system, there are few options available.  Some parents are removing their children from sex-ed and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) classes that discuss gender non-conforming initiatives, while others are taking a stand at school board meetings or filing a  FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) which requires disclosure of public records including communication between teachers and administrators, and curriculum details upon request. Despite parental protest, school districts continue to maintain a Woke curriculum, which in turn continues to push parents to opt out of public school and to find educational alternatives for their children.

What has become clear for an increasing number of parents, is that the time for ambivalence and inaction is over.  Though Parent Empowerment can go a long way in holding the public school system accountable to parents and not just regulating bodies, this can take years. In the short term,  public school numbers continue to plummet as a surging number of parents opt out of public schools to find better learning environments for their children in the private school or homeschooling system.

According to an August 2022 NYPost article about children returning to the classroom post-Covid, the story argues that “Woke ideology places such a strong emphasis on personal identity that it sees everything through the lens of race, gender, and sexual orientation. This ideology makes it possible to call others privileged without knowing anything about them. Hence, we hear terms such as “white privilege” or “cisgender privilege.”  The Washington Times begs the question about the appropriateness of public school classrooms ”where children as young as 5 (are being) taught about transgender ideology, sexual orientation, and the role of white colonizers in marginalizing LGBTQ people.

In a Newsweek article Jason Rantz, a radio show host out of Seattle says parents are fighting back under the threat of Woke curricula, by pulling their children out of left-wing public schools and sending them to private schools or setting up home-schooling. U.S. Census statistics suggest this exodus from public schools is the highest in over a decade. Rantz says “to most parents, focusing on basic academic skills instead of confusing children with nonsensical claims that there are 300 genders that you can choose, depending on your mood, is common sense.” 

Paul Rossi, who teaches mathematics at the posh Grace Church High School in New York City, said in an article in FEE Stories, “As a teacher, my first obligation is to my students. But right now, my school is asking me to embrace ‘antiracism’ training and pedagogy that I believe is deeply harmful to them and to any person who seeks to nurture the virtues of curiosity, empathy and understanding. ‘Antiracist’ training sounds righteous, but it is the opposite of truth in advertising," Rossi concludes. "It requires teachers like myself to treat students differently on the basis of race.”

A Washington Post article reports that” the government projects that K-12 public school enrollment …will drop further to about 46 million students by fall 2030, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, reversing decades of growth.”

Unfortunately, it began replacing old prejudices with new ones, including corrective language and curtailment of speech. In 2020 “politically correct” according to the Washington Post, was “replaced with the much more evocative “Woke,” for the simple reason that the latter term incorporates a far broader range of implications that are more effective at creating frustration that can be directed at the desired target”.