The newest civil war being fought in California? Here is a hint: Your kids are casualties
America’s new civil war isn’t rich versus poor, urban versus rural or native versus immigrant. It’s much messier than any of those and more dangerous to society. It’s parent versus school.
When I graduated from college more than 30 years ago, I wrote a book about my experience as a Mexican American kid who went from the Central Valley to Harvard. Before long, I was asked at Rotary Clubs to share the secret. “Simple,” I said. “Three things have to work in concert with one another: student, parent and school.”
Today, two of these things are at each other’s throat.
Ground zero in the conflict seems to be the state of Virginia, where the tug-of-war between parents and schools emerged as one of the top issues in this week’s high-profile gubernatorial race.
In a revealing gaffe, Democrat Terry McAuliffe declared in a Sept. 28 debate: “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
His Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, seized on the line and bludgeoned McAuliffe with it. The Democrat doubled down, arguing that schools should maintain their autonomy and that parents with a beef should take it to the school board.
Meanwhile, school board meetings — which serve as a proxy for schools — have become battlefields of their own. Angry parents show up to debate, berate and intimidate board members.
Predictably, the civil war has spread to the Golden State. It’s difficult to remember a time when the relationship between schools and parents has been more tense or more strained than it is now.
The Los Angeles Unified School District and the San Diego Unified School District (the two largest districts in California) are being sued by parent groups over their student COVID-19 vaccination mandates. Plaintiffs allege that unvaccinated children face discrimination and that their right to a public education is at risk.
On Oct. 20, Rami Zwebti, a student at Buchanan High School in Clovis, was booed and jeered by a roomful of adults. The audience became enraged when the young man, who said he was immunocompromised, advocated what is for some people the unthinkable: wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
On Oct. 26, Marlys Davidson, the president of the Los Alamitos Unified School District Board of Education, cursed at a parent who had come to a meeting to express opposition to masking requirements and vaccine mandates. When Lauren Roupoli concluded her remarks, Davidson mumbled under her breath but loud enough to be picked up by her mic: “f--- you.” The audience went silent, and Davidson has since apologized in a statement in which she acknowledged that the public “must be heard with respect.”
Both sides are in the wrong, and they should both serve time in detention.
Teachers and schools have long called for greater parental involvement in their children’s education. One could argue this is what that looks like.
Parents groups and outside agitators should keep in mind that school board members are public servants but not public property. Express yourself with decorum and respect.
We need a ceasefire. The relationship between parents and school is too important for us to allow it to disintegrate any further. After all, the folks who are suffering the most are the same people that both sides claim to care most about: the students.