See A Map Of All The Places Parents Are Battling To Save Their Kids
This interactive map shows all the places parents are battling to save their kids around the nation.
The battles are many. The battles are plenty. While it used to generally be the youth battling the establishment, today we find plenty of adults taking on the cause. Across the nation, we see parents battling the establishment – in this case, public education and the teachers’ unions that run said education – in a growing fight to save their children.
What has always made America great, and what has brought many from other nations to our shores, is the fact that we are a diverse people. While we may not be in full agreement with lifestyles, ideology, religion, and such, we are in agreement with the freedoms our nation provides. COVID pandemic aside, America has always been seen as the bastion of hope for millions. So, it begs the question many are asking – just what in the heck happened to our public education system? Where did it go off the rails and why are parents battling for the soul of their children?
True, we may be a tad dramatic in our claim that parents are battling for the soul of their children, but with all that has happened and all that has been exposed surrounding our public-school education systems since the advent of the COVID pandemic, can you blame us? Time and time again we have seen mass failure throughout school districts and our children continue to pay the price. Finally, though, battling parents are speaking up and speaking out.
In fact, taking a look at the map below, you can see just how littered the country is with incidents concerning public education and the ongoing parent battles. If the map appears overwhelming, well, it should. The number of public education incidents across the nation has gone up significantly since COVID shut down schools. They increased as remote teaching took over. Student learning took a precipitous drop. When public schools attempted to reopen, teachers’ unions stepped in to throw as many roadblocks as possible to stop it.
We thank the Cato Center for Educational Freedom (CEF) for the most informative map. It is broken down by state and by the incident. ID’d by color, the map shows a variety of incidents where parents are battling that include curriculum, reading materials, moral values, religion, race/ethnicity, gender equity, sexuality, human origins, and freedom of expression. The CEF map is an interactive one and can be found here. The site constantly adds incidents as they are reported.
Parents at odds with the education system is not a new concept. Parents have spoken out against what they feel have been certain injustices from time to time. What is new about parents battling the education system now is just how loud and how effective their voices are becoming. Major issues parents are railing on about include gender identity and critical race theory, two topics that have taken over the nation.
So loud have parents’ voices become, legislators are starting to listen. Parents are now battling for more school choices. They feel their local public schools are doing more harm than good for their children, so parents now want to be able to take their public-school tax funds with them to a source of education that works best for the kids. The source of education they seek can be private schools, tutoring, and even homeschooling, which has become quite popular during the pandemic.
Legislators are falling in line with parents battling public education. Numerous school choice bills have been passed or moved forward in legislation in an attempt to give parents more power. Legislators are listening to parents’ complaints about the divisive critical race theory being taught in schools. They are listening to parents’ issues with how public education is handling/teaching gender identity. Parents are battling for more transparency.
As the above map concludes, there are many fires to put out. The difference now is that parents are ready to take the fight to the source. It used to be David vs Goliath when parents took on the powerful teachers’ unions, but that no longer seems to be the case. Parents are battling for the souls of their children and as they are proving, they are well equipped to fight.
