Who Shapes the Next Generation: Parents or the Progressive State?

The struggle is about who will have the primary responsibility and authority to guide our children into adulthood.  Will it be individual parents or the helicopter parents aligned with the state, which has more than a little to say about things?  To answer that question, we must first answer what sorts of adults do we want the children to become?  

If we want strong, resilient, and independent adults, it is safe to say things are going to have to change.  As noted last week, 77 percent of Gen Zers (born between 1997 and 2012) take a parent to a job interview.  I think it is safe to say this does not meet the test of strong, resilient, and independent.

With all of this, I am happy to report there is a ray of sunshine in our education system.  These kids are not born with rigid, progressive views.  They have been taught these things.  Worst of all, progressives essentially make differing with them a matter of being uninformed or evil, then adding in “it is in poor taste” to differ.  The good news? Teachers not aligned with progressive dogma are organizing and fighting back.

These teachers have formed the Teacher Freedom Alliance (TFA).  To compete with the progressive dogma encouraged by the National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT), TFA is offering liability insurance, curriculum alternatives, and professional development.  In other words, there is finally a group of teachers who are becoming organized to claw back sanity in education.  This provides a path to teachers having an option to opt out of these avowed progressive unions.

Founded in March of this year, they have more than 2500 teachers who are shouting it is time to return the schoolroom to what it was intended to provide—basic skills (reading, writing, and arithmetic), and how to think critically.  This is versus being indoctrinated on what to think, say, and do exactly as the progressive doctrine dictates, which surprisingly matches up with the most cutting-edge progressive dogma on each and every subject, no deviation allowed.

Aaron Withe is both the CEO of the Freedom Foundation and President of TFA.  He is obviously making a difference.  His impact is being felt.  Since 2020, NEA has lost more than 200,000 members.  Turns out that there are plenty of teachers who are not wild about their union dues going to propel Democrats into office. Uh, more than 90 percent of contributions from NEA and AFT went to Democrats, as is the case every election.  Of course, AFT President Randi Weingarten who resigned her position with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) because the DNC was not being sufficiently aggressive in pushing the progressive point of view.  You read that right.  The head of AFT actually held a post at the DNC.  Think TFA members might have a point?

Withe believes by offering resources to teachers (academic in nature) and the benefits of a teachers’ union, without the politics, will allow teachers to return to what they should be doing.  It seems to me these teachers are declaring they do not want a thumb on the scale.  It is not a matter of wanting the conservative thumb on the scale to replace the liberal-progressive thumb that is too much on the scale at present.  

TFA is growing because of its agenda.  Replace the emphasis on ESG, DEI. 1619 Project, etc., with an approach that puts the arguments of both sides on the table, teaching critical thinking, and letting everyone take their chances with what it is that children growing into adults come to decide for themselves.  All the while, let’s put as much responsibility for and authority in deciding things for their children into the hands of individual parents, absent a progressive, dogmatic state joined in hands with helicopter parents.

Common Sense: It will not be easy to prevail in the struggle to advance a new approach to things that will cause a hissy fit among the usual suspects (Democratic politicians, academia, media, and the world of entertainment).  Groups such as the Teacher Freedom Alliance are a ray of sunshine in the struggle.  What do you think?