They're Public Schools

Recently, I was asked to moderate one of the public forums regarding the use of TeenScreen in KUSD. About two dozen people showed up that night, most of them against the use of that instrument. Personally, I thought all the fuss raised by TeenScreen was overblown. After all, if the parents refused or the student refused, the student would be excused from participating. Consequently, I was surprised to learn that TeenScreen would be dropped from KUSD's suicide prevention plan.
I think it's a fairly safe assumption that most parents were willing to let their children take the survey. Otherwise, those public forums would have been packed with angry, concerned citizens. Why, then, did the District decide to abandon part of its plan? I believe that we have entered an era in which the minority insists it has a right to impose its agenda on the majority.
Before I take that point further, let me say that, in part, I agree with the people who oppose Teen- Screen. When a social problem such as the “cluster” suicides occurs, why does it automatically become the responsibility of the public schools to find a remedy? Over the years society decided that teaching kids how to drive would become the responsibility of the schools. Then, the schools were given the task of teaching students about health and sexuality. Now the schools find themselves strapped with so many societal agendas that they have become deficient in doing what they're supposed to do.
Last fall I addressed a class of secondary education English majors at UW-Parkside. Before answering their questions, I posed one to them: As a teacher, what is your primary responsibility? They offered answers like “to ensure the safety and well-being of my students” and “to provide a stimulating learning environment,” all part of a teacher's responsibility to be sure. None of them came up with the correct answer. A teacher's primary responsibility is to teach the curriculum. Our education students have been so inundated with “methods,” “techniques,” and “philosophies,” that they have put subject matter on the back burner.
But, back to my main point. There's a reason why they're called “public” schools. They're open to everyone. Now, some parents may not agree with everything in the curriculum, but the schools have bent over backwards to accommodate the wishes of those parents. If you don't want your child to study Dante's Inferno, fine, but you don't have the right to dictate that none of the other students should read it. You don't want your daughter to read The Catcher in the Rye? That's all right, but don't march into the library and demand the book be removed from the shelves. It's a public school, remember? Public schools tend to the learning needs of the public, in general, and should not be overly swayed by the wishes of any individual.
Many parents believe that their tax bill gives them the right to impose their wishes on the schools. To those people I say your taxes cover the education of your children. Let the other parents who pay taxes worry about their own kids.
Many of my friends in the education community believe that the schools are the logical place to address social issues. The students are easily accessed through the schools, and my friends assert that if the schools don't solve society's problems, no one else will. To an extent, I agree. If public health or safety issues are at stake, then the schools should be involved to a degree. There is a danger, however, of abusing that accessibility. Just because something is convenient does not make it expedient. As for society's problems, society is comprised of many more elements than schools. Unfortunately, every child does not come from a stable home. Every child does not have parents who will take responsibility for the social, moral, and ethical education of their children. These are the children whom we label “at risk.” We can best lessen their risk by sending them out into the world with as much academic knowledge as they can absorb. Some people think the schools' primary mission is to make kids “feel good about themselves.” I agree. Make as many as you can smart and industrious and I guarantee they'll feel good about themselves.