Social and emotional learning is the latest trend at your child’s school. SEL sounds beneficial, but that’s a disguise. In truth, it indoctrinates kids with extremist ideas many parents don’t condone.
On Nov. 22, the Hartford Courant reported that West Hartford, Connecticut, elementary school parents are in an uproar. They’re complaining that teachers are putting words such as “nonbinary” on the chalkboard and telling kids, including kindergarteners, they can live life as a gender different from what they were assigned at birth. Parents were told by school authorities that they can’t opt their children out.
Most Americans think parents should have the final say on what children are taught. From Treasure Valley, Idaho, to Greenwich, Connecticut, school board candidates made SEL an issue in elections earlier this month.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita encouraged parents to speak up and cautioned that SEL programs shift “the role of teachers from educators to therapists.”
Fighting SEL is an uphill battle because it’s not only favored by the left-leaning educational bureaucracy; it’s also big business. “The SEL ecosystem today is flush with dollars,” reports Tyton Partners, SEL industry consultants.
Billions in federal COVID-relief money for schools is being used to buy SEL programs and fund SEL instructors. Advocates and companies that produce the materials lobby Congress and the federal Department of Education to ensure legislative language precisely match what they’re selling.
Nationwide, sales of SEL materials shot up 45% in a year and a half to $765 million in 2021, reports Education Week.
But parental opposition is also surging. Attorney General Merrick Garland asked the FBI to look into parents protesting issues like SEL at school board meetings. His son-in-law is a co-founder of Panorama Education, a company raking in millions selling SEL materials to school districts. Conflict of interest?
And what about the billions of dollars the Democrats’ Build Back Better legislation allocates to child care and pre-K? Will that money pay to indoctrinate even younger minds? Likely, “yes.” At least a dozen states, including New York, have already adopted SEL standards for preschool.
As for elementary schools, gender dysphoric kids make up less than 1% of the school population. Protect them, of course, from bullying and discrimination. They need to feel safe. But don’t brainwash the rest with one-sided, repeated lessons about gender issues.
West Hartford is reported to hammer away grade after grade, starting with a kindergarten-level book about a teddy bear who knows in his heart he is a girl teddy, not a boy teddy. Then, a book about Aiden, who knows the sex he was assigned at birth, is “wrong.” Then, a book about choosing pronouns. And another is about a girl named Jazz who changes her gender identity. Are kids reading that many books about the U.S. Constitution?
One Arkansas father objected that his fifth grader’s teacher showed a video of a transgender activist’s speech. Then, the teacher, wearing a “Protect Trans Lives” T-shirt, invited the class to a pride celebration: “I’ll be at Pride from 1-6! I hope to see you there!”
SEL was originally sold as training children to control their emotions, manage their time, and make good personal decisions. Teachers have always tried to instill these life skills. They’re the same American values Benjamin Franklin proselytized in his autobiography 200 years ago.
But recently, SEL purveyors, including the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, have openly revised their goals. CASEL advocates for “transformative SEL” to promote “justice-oriented civic engagement.” Translation: Make your kids into activists.
A South Bend, Indiana, the school district adopted SEL two years ago to curb substance abuse and bullying. Now, parents, recognizing the radical messaging, are demanding more oversight.
Who’s in charge of what your child learns? Parents need to take control. It’s not an easy fight against the combined forces of educational profiteers and left-wing activists. But the stakes are too high to accept defeat.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey.
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Wake-up people before it’s too late!
Appalling, this is against, America and against all we have been taught and believe. They are trying to take God out of our lives and that is the biggest sin of all. Maybe more homeschooling and Christian Schools need to be involved and not so expensive giving our children a chance at a life that will disappear leaving our children and future in the hands of evil. I pray God steps in and Jesus comes back soon before our children and families are destroyed.
Maybe conservative parents need to form an educational co-op and pull all their kids out of public schools,can’t teach a radical agenda if they don’t have any kids to teach it to
I thank God Almighty everyday that my kids are grown and don’t have the horrible memories of such dirt-bag teachings. On the other side they have their children and they have to deal with such filth being taught to their children.
Parents also have to be careful because they took all that money for children from the government for the COVID relief. I didn’t know it and neither did parents, but that had a hidden agenda in it, and it was heavily on the CRT agenda. It also was completely against private schools and homeschooling. The smart parent was wise to not accept the tax credit or to space it out as one of my sons’ did. He really checked into it and watched as Congress discussed it.
Let the fed dollars follow the child. Best interest of the child should be everyone’s goal including sorry teachers. (Although that does not appear to be the case) parents need to understand they are in a war. A war of propaganda. And they are at war with probably the biggest/strongest and damn sure the most well funded union in the country. Most of these folks believe that the Marxist deal they spew! Our children are our legacy and our future. This is not a war that can be lost.
If I had school-age children now, I would place in a Catholic school. I know they would get a good education there!
chidren’s education is the future dump sel make it a BRIGHT future
Christian schools or home school. Some time ago a gentleman, Larry Burkette had a daily radio show on a Christian station. He was a Christian “financial” advisor…not selling anything but encouraging parents to home school. Those who’re working day after day for the big house, the newest cars, all the expensive trimmings…his advice? Sell the big house, the newest cars…buy a smaller home, get a good used car, put your children, the next generation, first!…Our family of five lived in a small 3 bedroom house, one bath…one car garage. We didn’t feel like we lived in poverty. We never wanted for anything we needed. There are Christian organizations that can help with materials for teaching in all grades…
Bottom line: what’s more important? Your child’s future…his or her truth about our nation and how it came together? Being able to understand fiction from reality? Truth?
I can’t help but wonder with the speed our destruction is ramping up…if we’re the last free Americans…
More garbage to disrupt this country. Parents need to march in a school and destroy all books and papers on stuff like that. Yes ,thats what it’s gonnantake to straighten out this communistic take over. Kyle L.
Vote to have education taxes follow the child not to public education.
People better wake up, SEL and Marxist indoctrination is alive and thriving all throughout education right now!
The democrats,liberal left,marxist all anti american organizations care NOTHING what Real Citizens want or will accept.
These useless self serving failures think only they are in control and the remedy is to REMOVE them from local, state and national offices!
The unions are being paid by democrats with YOUR tax dollars to destroy OUR Country and the institutions and history as well.
These are EVIL people who MUST be thrown out and eliminated from ANY office and our government positions.
They are snakes who lie in wait to kill freedom,justice and America!
Parents had best wake up and realize the goal is to undermine the role of parents in raising their children with a Government ideology of central control from the cradle to the grave!