Originally published April 4, 2023 on Lymeline.com
Letter to the Editor: “Greatly Troubling” That Old Lyme RTC Has Endorsed ‘Parental Rights’ Agenda for LOL Schools, Something to Remember When Voting in November
In March I received the Old Lyme Republican Town Committee’s (RTC) “request for support” letter. I am an unaffiliated voter, and as such I appreciate understanding what the local political parties are offering in terms of policy. At first, the letter seemed innocuous, opening by noting that among the key values and priorities they would support is “maintaining the excellence of the Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools.” While we all agree that keeping our schools strong is vital for the future of our children, the RTC explicitly noted that they would be “standing up for parents’ rights in the town school system regarding the school’s curricula and student policies.”
It is greatly troubling to me that the Old Lyme RTC has joined in the national narrative being spouted by leaders like Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump and Greg Abbott. In every instance where Republicans have pushed a “parental rights” agenda, what has followed has been book bans, censorship and thought policing. The ill-defined “policy” of letting parents decide what books a school can use, what words teachers can say, and how subjects should be taught, fosters a toxic relationship between educators and parents and encourages the foolish, misguided and sometimes violent clashes we’ve seen playing out at Board of Ed meetings from coast to coast.
Science is science, math is math, literature is literature, and history is history. Let’s leave educating to the educators; it’s a policy that has served our school system well for the last 200 years.
In short, if we want to keep our schools strong, let’s make sure we don’t let them get strong-armed by partisan politicians. I hope that in November we will vote for candidates who understand that restricting information and discouraging freedom of thought undermines one of the primary functions of education: teaching students how to think critically and for themselves.
Sincerely,
Claudia Schmaus,
Old Lyme.
Click here to read this letter on Lymeline.com
In March I received the Old Lyme Republican Town Committee’s (RTC) “request for support” letter. I am an unaffiliated voter, and as such I appreciate understanding what the local political parties are offering in terms of policy. At first, the letter seemed innocuous, opening by noting that among the key values and priorities they would support is “maintaining the excellence of the Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools.” While we all agree that keeping our schools strong is vital for the future of our children, the RTC explicitly noted that they would be “standing up for parents’ rights in the town school system regarding the school’s curricula and student policies.”
It is greatly troubling to me that the Old Lyme RTC has joined in the national narrative being spouted by leaders like Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump and Greg Abbott. In every instance where Republicans have pushed a “parental rights” agenda, what has followed has been book bans, censorship and thought policing. The ill-defined “policy” of letting parents decide what books a school can use, what words teachers can say, and how subjects should be taught, fosters a toxic relationship between educators and parents and encourages the foolish, misguided and sometimes violent clashes we’ve seen playing out at Board of Ed meetings from coast to coast.
Science is science, math is math, literature is literature, and history is history. Let’s leave educating to the educators; it’s a policy that has served our school system well for the last 200 years.
In short, if we want to keep our schools strong, let’s make sure we don’t let them get strong-armed by partisan politicians. I hope that in November we will vote for candidates who understand that restricting information and discouraging freedom of thought undermines one of the primary functions of education: teaching students how to think critically and for themselves.
Sincerely,
Claudia Schmaus,
Old Lyme.
Click here to read this letter on Lymeline.com