Nothing draws the ire of parents more than government usurping their role in raising their kids. Lately, New Jersey has become the leader in passing legislation that mercilessly tramples the rights of parents. One stunning example is A 4454, which mandates that sexual orientation and gender identity be taught to children as young as kindergarten. That bill passed along party lines in January of 2021, with every Republican member voting “No.”
Now, the chickens are coming home to roost with this latest “addition” to the curriculum having been implemented for the 2022/2023 school year beginning last Fall. A recent education panel at the NJGOP Summit showed this to be a critical issue among parents, board of education members and educators.
As one would expect, many parents are furious at the prospect of having their young children sexualized in schools paid for with their tax dollars. In many municipalities in New Jersey, school taxes make up two-thirds to three quarters of the local property tax bill. As such, taxpayers have a right to demand that school funding goes toward an academic education, not an indoctrination.
Simply put, this bill is unnecessary, damaging and moving us further and further away from what our educational system is intended to do which is, to prepare children for advanced education and ensure that knowledge, as well as skill sets are passed onto students to guide them towards college or a trade, giving them the best hope for success in life. Instead, the legislature continues pushing schools to be de facto parents and legislating the direction of moral compasses.
From a pedagogical standpoint, teachers are getting overwhelmed with the increasing weight of non-academic material they are required to present – all the while having their performances judged on scoring systems. This divergence from academics has contributed to the United States falling behind countries such as Finland, New Zealand, and Japan among others in overall academic proficiency. When are teachers supposed to actually teach the 3 R’s during the day? When are students supposed to learn and increase their knowledge giving them better opportunities for a successful future when their school days encircle everything but academics? Students are already losing electives to compensate for requirements Trenton is constantly putting on them like the NJSLA (NJ Student Learning Assessments). Adding more non-academic material to an already heavy course load will invariably affect students in a negative way.
Many constituents have reached out to me, appalled that children in kindergarten will have to process being taught about gender identity, sexual orientation, and other concepts that even many adults struggle to understand. They do not believe it is the role of a school, nor anyone outside of their homes to do so. In fact, there is no reason this should be “taught” in schools at any level. These are topics that always have been and should remain the domain of parents and their children, not the educational system we depend on for our nation’s future.
It is time that we divest our school of political agendas and indoctrination and return to the sole mission of educating students with academics. It is clear that the world is becoming increasingly complex and competitive. The demands of such cutting-edge academic disciplines as STEM education, robotics, advanced computer programming, research medicine and on, mandate a student population with skills and knowledge unlike anything the world has ever seen. We owe it to our children to deliver those opportunities in education, while allowing them the beauty of a childhood unencumbered with confusing, distracting and damaging political agendas. Let kids be kids, allow parents to parent and get government indoctrination out of our education system.
