Michigan Democratic Party deletes post questioning parents' role in schools

[brooklynite]

Source: Detroit News

The Michigan Democratic Party has deleted a weekend Facebook post that questioned the role parents have in deciding what is taught in public schools and drew criticism from conservative and school choice groups.

The Democratic Party post, which appeared to be a screenshot, indicated the purpose of public education was to teach students "what society needs them to know."

A Saturday Facebook post from the Michigan Democratic Party questioning the role parents play in students' curriculum was taken down after drawing criticism from Republican and school choice groups.
And parents who want more input on what their kids are learning, the post said, "have the option to choose to send their kids to a hand-selected private school at their own expense."

"The client of the public school is not the parent, but the entire community, the public," according to the post.

Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/17/michigan-democratic-party-deletes-post-questioning-parents-role-public-education/6553763001/

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After Terry McAuliffe's stumble, how could they be so dense?

[Walleye]

1. Those of us who have no children pay the taxes to educate other people's kids

Shouldn’t we have some input on the curriculum?

[former9thward]

6. You do if you vote in the local school board elections.

[questionseverything]

2. How to lose elections 101

🤔

[VarryOn]

7. Exactly. Even if I believed this stuff, I'd still know better...

Than to post such hysteria-producing content. It was needlessly provocative. This is an automatic Republican ad next cycle.

[Claustrum]

10. Well, in a way, every state democratic party and whoever running will need to learn and prepare

an adequate response. So I guess it's good to get some "practice" in right now as it's not as big a problem to make a mistake right now.

I am sure in a few months, we will see CRT, South American immigrant group at border, inflation in the headline daily as the mid term fight heats up.

[Slammer]

12. How to lose elections 101 is exactly right

And the shame is that it could have been fixed so easily

"The client of the public school is not the parent, but the entire community, the public,"

vs

"The client of the public school is not the parents alone, but the entire community, the public,"


I could argue that second statement on a firm foundation.

My cousin's family home-schooled their six kids. HIs wife did the teaching and was vocal to me about how her kids didn't need to know any advanced math or any science beyond the bare minimum her state required. And was also vocal that her kids didn't need to be prepared for college because they weren't going to college.

I was afraid to ask her what her position was on teaching history since I'd already offended her by asking her about little she was teaching her kids about math and science.

Frankly, you can't run a school system by catering to what a parent thinks because a parent could think just about anything imaginable.

You can't even run it based solely on parents alone because I'm sure there's places where the parents are Amish, or Muslim, or Trumpists, and could all agree with each other on what to teach their kids and come up with some curriculum which wouldn't prepare them for life outside their community.

There's not a state in the union which doesn't have the state setting up some sort of standards for schools based on what is best for the public.

So schools in the modern era have always been a blend of public interests and parent input.

[dsc]

3. I am honestly sick to death of people thinking that teaching is some sort of non professional thing

that just anyone could do. Literally no one would say that members of the general public should be telling doctors, lawyers, accountants, auditors, or engineers how they should be doing their jobs but teachers, who go to school for a minimum of 4 and often 5.5 years in order to learn to do their jobs get told that in point of fact we are just know nothings who can be replaced by any warm body. And, it bears pointing out, that the child free often pay more in taxes (at least as a rate) than those with children so maybe, just maybe, we should at least get an equal say in public affairs.

[MichMan]

8. Should patients have any input into what treatment they receive from their doctors ?

How about someone needing legal representation in a court of law?

No one would likely say patients of doctors and clients of lawyers need to STFU and do what they are told. Unfortunately that is the take away many parents are going to have after seeing statements like these, and the Republicans are going to pounce on it.

Apparently the Michigan Democratic party remembered what happened in Virginia and acted quickly to take it down, but not until it was shared 2500 times. It was a foolish tone deaf statement that is going to be used against them. Whomever was responsible for posting it might want to start working on a new resume.

[dsc]

9. It should be noted they largely want to dictate, not have a say in, but dictate

what not only their child, but all children should get to read and learn. We literally now have parents trying to remove from libraries any and all books written by or about racial minorities, ethnic minorities, and members of the LGBT community. They want to dictate, not have a say in, but dictate what is taught in history, civics, and science classes. And the clients of schools are the entire community not just parents.

On further edit: I routinely tell doctors that as a recovering alcoholic I do not want to be prescribed narcotics. I certainly have that right for myself, I do not have the right to tell them not to prescribe them to anyone, ever. The latter is the kind of control the parents want over schools.

[questionseverything]

13. Are you talking about the group trying to get mocking bird banned?

[Evolve Dammit]

4. Teachers are underpaid and maligned in US. Other countries respect teachers hard work.

[Claustrum]

5. Lets flip the situation and see what people think.

If there is a crazy Trumper teacher who wants to teach your kid that Jan 6 is not a insurrection but that is a fight to take back the country, do you as a parent think you can voice your objection for teaching your kid this?

Simply saying parents should have no say or opinion on what's being taught in school is moronic to say the least. That isn't to say I support the BS CRT thing that the right wing is pushing.

Edit: I think the last paragraph gets at the heart of the problem. It isn't that parents shouldn't say or opine on what should be taught. But the teacher and the school should have a final say as to what society or what's normal to teach your kid. The parent do have the right to speak up but it's the teacher/school to decide if that opinion is valid or not. In the CRT case, of course it's not reasonable as explained a million times that it isn't taught in school.

[PatrickforB]

11. I think this is a good post. Just state the truth without apology.

It seems to me that when we fall all over ourselves saying everything but what boldly needs to be said, we do ourselves much more harm than good. If this is the way the Democratic party feels, then SAY THAT. I certainly agree with it. Maybe could have been said a bit differently, but I get really sick of speaking in code, you know?

Maybe if we tell it like it is, people will respect us and vote for us because we actually stand for something.

I am active as a Democrat in my own state, and when Mark Udall was defeated by Cory Gardner for US Senate, I called up the state Democratic party office (and sent an accompanying email) chewing them out. Why? Because Udall, who is actually a really good guy, and was a good Senator, came across as being such a milquetoast he didn't seem to stand for much of anything. So he lost miserably.

I know that most of you who read this post will disagree, and I'm sorry. I really am. But we have to engage more vigorously. For example, Biden's speech on January 6 was great in the department of vigorous engagement, and it gave others in the party permission to state their opinions plainly and strongly.

We must remember that we here tend to be policy wonks, but most voters read at around the 7th grade level and generally don't think about elections until the week of. But if we're in there telling it like it is, then I'd bet we get more votes because people will know what we stand for. We need to fight tooth and nail all the time, not be politically correct during campaigns. We need ads like what the Lincoln Project did where we POUND on voting rights over and over and over and over. Dwell on the issues. Ask hard, pointed stuff, like, "Can you name one thing the Republican party has done in the last few decades that used your tax money to materially benefit you and your family?" And when they come back with 'tax cut in 2017,' we counter with the fact that it frittered away $3 trillion and gave away money from our treasury to billionaires, and go to the money we also wasted on the forever wars. Then ask, "Where is our healthcare? What is the GOP plan? Just die quickly without making trouble."

I just get sick of it. I think that is why Donald Trump got so many votes - he spoke up and wasn't afraid of controversy. Yeah, he is the devil incarnate - a corrupt traitorous slug who needs to spend the rest of his miserable life in a federal prison cell. Absolutely. But he ran a hell of a campaign against Clinton. When she called his followers a 'basketfull of deplorables,' we all should have doubled down on that and utterly pounded on it, deplorable policy position after deplorable policy position. Line by line.

My point is not to refight that campaign, though. Not at all. It was what it was. My point is we need to be willing to boldly state what our positions are, and get ugly about what a hatchet job the GOP has been, and is, doing on this Republic.

[YP_Yooper]

17. It still comes down to this problem

"but most voters read at around the 7th grade level and generally don't think about elections until the week of."

So the airwaves in the last week get drenched in things like the OP, and repubs get the vote out, with no such drive on our side.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you, but offering last moment social issue fuel to Repub turnout is not a great idea.

[jcmaine72]

14. Good! What idiot posted that to FB in the first place?

Sorry, but telling parents that their input vis-à-vis the education of their children (or anything regarding their children for that matter) is decidedly unwelcome is horrendously shitty PR at a grassroots level, and a great way to lose elections.

Why was the Michigan Democratic Party even commenting on this topic in the first place? It plays right into the hands of the reTHugs. It almost reeks of an act of sabotage. Is this FB page official? Is it genuinely being updated and maintained by actual representatives of the Democratic Party in Michigan, or is it just some individual calling themselves the "Michigan Democratic Party"?

[MissMillie]

15. Well, we've been dumbing-down the school for decades

It's no wonder that today's parents aren't smart enough to realize how they are cheating their kids out of an education.

[ck4829]

16. Since teachers are now apparently the antichrist and shouldn't teach ANYTHING without the

unanimous approval of parents, maybe they should just get out of the way and go on a general strike. Let's let the glorious all-knowing parents who are alumni of Facebook University or "I did my Own Research" Tech take the reigns for a bit.

[Omaha Steve]

18. Kick

[Igel]

19. Schools are a public service.

They are provided by a part of government. They are funded by taxpayers.

In a "true" democracy, the demos gets to say what the government does. The demos is not hostage to technocrat overlords. That's pretty fundamental to "rule by the people" in a "true" democracy. If it's government, it's "rule by the people." Which is to say--"if it's rule by the people, it's rule by the people."

To argue that in a democracy there are parts of government that propertly dictate to the demos and the demos can STFU, it's stopped being rule by the demos, and is instead rue by the demos.

Personally, it's a conversation. We're in a republic, where representatives are elected not to just channel the latest opinion poll but to exercise ratiocination and judgment. So all things are negotiable--if you are required to teach false X you just don't have time for it--but some things are more important. You require X as an elected rep, that's nice--fall on your sword if it's important, knowing that as your body is carried off-stage a new person comes on stage and reverses your decision.