Who should have more oversight of what is being taught to students: teachers or parents? That鈥檚 the basis of the debate that has erupted over an influx of new bills and other state-level actions aiming to censor what鈥檚 being taught in the classroom. The most recent proposal is Indiana , which would require teachers to publish their lesson plans a year in advance.
Expanding 鈥減arents鈥� rights鈥� in the classroom became a touchstone of Republican Glenn Youngkin鈥檚 campaign during the tense Virginia gubernatorial election with Democrat Terry McAuliffe. In an election debate with Youngkin last September, McAuliffe said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.鈥�
The huge backlash to McAuliffe鈥檚 remarks demonstrated the growing impact that parents can have on high-stakes elections.
The Indiana bill joins a number of proposals in at least 10 states that would require administrators to list every book, reading, and activity that teachers use in their lessons.
Teachers expressed their outrage on Twitter over individuals with no classroom experience making decisions about their classroom practice.
鈥楴o Idea How Teachers Work鈥�
Curricula Is Already Made Available
Many teachers pointed out that this is not new鈥攎ost classroom curricula are already public. 鈥淭eachers do hand out syllabi, libraries do have open access to the catalogs. This is assuming that there is an adverse relationship when there isn鈥檛 one,鈥� said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association鈥檚 Office for Intellectual Freedom, in an 91制片厂视频 Week article by Sarah Schwartz and Eesha Pendharkar.
Leaves No Room for Personalized Instruction
Teachers鈥� careers are built on the ability to adapt and respond to student needs over the course of a semester. Many feel stifled at the notion of having to build out each lesson a year in advance and worry about the impact this would have on individualized instruction.
Will More Teachers Leave?
It鈥檚 no secret that the United States is experiencing nationwide staffing shortages in schools. Adding this additional barrier to teaching could hinder a district鈥檚 ability to attract and retain educators at a time when they are so desperately needed.
