All of this just begs the question: who should be in charge of the material students learn in school? Should parents be allowed to influence the school's decisions?
While in their own home a parent's word is law, anytime that parent sends their child out under another adult's supervision, they surrender a bit of the total control that they have over their child's media intake. It may be something as small as a child seeing a newspaper headline that their parent would have kept from them, or as large as another adult allowing the child to watch and R-rated movie. In any event, this child has now gained a little bit more knowlege of the world outside their parent's bubble, whether for better or worse.
Similarly, whenever a parent sends their child off to enjoy that public education, they are trusting the school system to make good choices for their child in terms of what they may view. Personally, I believe that the school systems around here have exceedingly good judgement.
Generally, when a parent has too large a role in their child's life, it stunts that child's growth as an individual, making him/her dependent and self-insufficient. This is not healthy, and a good parent's main concern should be the good health of their child. Thus, the only time a parent should intervene with a school's selected media is when they feel as if their child's health is legitametely in danger. Otherwise, stand back and let the system do its job.
I think that, in order to be as well-informed and open-minded as possible, a child should be exposed to more than simply what his/her parents believe. It is wonderful to hear multiple perspectives, especially when it comes to literature, history, and political issues. However, school is the place where kids learn the most, and it is extremely important to their future. And I think that parents should, while not controlling their children, have some say in what they learn. After all, they take care of, love, and support their children. Because they are responsible for their kids, they should be given a voice in what they learn. I'm not saying they should control everything the teachers teach or every book the kids read - they shouldn't do that - but their opinions should be heard by the school administration. Also, many parents have worldly experiences, so their advice can be meaningful in many cases.
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