US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona revealed his true colors when he stated in a sit-down with the Associated Press that he couldn’t respect parents who act “like they know what’s right for kids.” And the same is true in reverse for parents all across the nation – we cannot respect a man who disavows parental rights and undermines the critical role parents play in their child’s upbringing. There is no one more suited to raise a child than their parents.
Cardona spoke about the civility that used to be present in discussions with varying viewpoints: “We could disagree. We could have healthy conversations around what’s best for kids. […] I respect differences of opinion. I don’t have too much respect for people that are misbehaving in public and then acting as if they know what’s right for kids.”
The “misbehaving in public” Cardona refers to is a man who was dragged out of a school board meeting by law enforcement for protesting policies that allowed a “boy in a skirt” to rape his daughter in a girls bathroom and face no repercussions, thanks to the school’s transgender bathroom policy. How could we possibly expect a father to not be outraged by that? The very fact that the Loudoun County school board continues to allow girls to be victimized by these policies shows that they, most of all, do not know what’s best for our children.
But in terms of civility, perhaps Cardona is reminiscent of a time before parents had to defend their children in an education system that allows their daughters to be assaulted in bathrooms by boys playing dress-up, or fight for the right to know if their child is “transitioning” their gender at school, or demand that their elementary-aged children are not exposed to graphic LGBT propaganda. Perhaps Cardona is remembering a time before parents had to fight tooth and nail to maintain their critical role in their child’s life, before the government was actively stripping away what it means to be a parental guardian.
But this mindset isn’t new – it’s the same one championed by President Biden when he declared “there’s no such thing as someone else’s child,” and “our nation’s children are all our children.” This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Children benefit when parental rights are upheld at the state level. Arizona is a perfect example of that with their “Education Choice” bill. This new policy allows parents to choose the education path that’s right for their child – whether that is public school, private school, or homeschooling. The state will deposit money into an education savings account for parents – regardless of their income – to act as a voucher to fund the child’s education. This program is the first of its kind, but it has already proved very popular, and other Republican-led states are catching on.
Dangerous things happen when the government assumes that parents don’t know what’s best for their kids, and major opportunities open up – like Arizona’s Education Choice program – when the government recognizes that they do. At the end of the day, schools are not charged with raising our children – they are only charged with educating them. Parents deserve to have a say in their child’s education, because no one – not teachers, not the government, not other parents – know their child better than them.
