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“It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know where your kids are?” Such was the state­ ment closing out news programs between the early 1960s through the 1980s. But, I’d like to suggest a more current question no one in major media outlets is asking: “It’s the 2022-2023 school year. Do you know what your kids are learning?”

We in Stanly County are deluded if we believe our public school students are immune or exempt from current educational trends. Though most educators carry out their responsibilities diligently, they do not control the varying curricula. Those come from the Department of Public Instruction and NC State Board of Education. Timelines, objectives, yearly goals, etc., are all parts of the job description educators accept upon employment.

My concerns are directed more toward students. With societal influences and ideologies infiltrating curricula, parents can no longer be passive about the public school learning environment.

But, be ready, parents. If you’re too vocal with your concerns, you’ll likely be labelled like parents in Virginia. They have b1een called “domestic terrorists.” Others bore the label of “extremists.”
Is your involvement in your children’s education worth the name calling?

Think about this: some of the new educational trends include lessons on transgenderism and fluidity. Elements of critical race theory can be hidden in lessons under other subject names. And there’s the pressure toward pronoun neutrality and the ever-popular inclusivity.

My career was in public education over a span of 35 years, but I’ve never seen the radical changes take place in schools as they are currently.

I am so very concerned for the students, your children. They are impressionable, curious and trusting and deserve a quality education without the social and political ideologies influencing their instruction.

Be aware. Research. Do your homework on behalf of our most precious re­source and God’s gift to us.

Kaye H. Poole
Oakboro