Former Gov: "Parents Should not be Telling Schools What to Teach"

Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D)---now running for Governor again-- caused a firestorm on social media Tuesday evening in his debate with Republican Glenn Youngkin, who is also running for Governor, when he said: "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach." 

And as he elaborated, he gave the country a very clear look at where not only he, but his fellow so-called "progressives" are coming from regarding public education---and your children.

As you can imagine, as most parents heard this, they reacted to the stark realities of so-called "progressivism."

Be informed, not misled.

About parental authority.

This also gave parents across the nation pause, because McAuliffe is not only a former governor running again for governor, but he is a long-time leader in the Democrat Party.

His opponent, Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin, former CEO of private equity firm The Carlyle Group, reacted by saying he believes that local school districts "should include parents in decisions regarding the educational content taught to their children." 

On the debate stage, Youngkin challenged McAuliffe on who should have the last word on a child's education.

McAuliffe was very clear in his vision of how parents should not fit into the process of public education.

In defense of a bill he vetoed while governor, he said: "I stopped the bill because I didn't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach."

"I'm not going to let parents come into school and actually take books out and make their own decisions," he said.

Youngkin, of course, believes differently. He said, "I believe parents should be in charge of their kids' education."

Back in 2016, the Washington Post reported that then Gov. McAuliffe vetoed a bill known as the "Beloved" that would have allowed parents to block their children's exposure to sexually explicit books in schools.

The legislation would have required teachers to inform parents of any "sexually explicit material" being presented in the classroom and give them the option to have their child opt-out of the lesson.

Youngkin called out then-Governor McAuliffe on the veto at the time, but Tuesday evening during the debate he noted that parents were in an uproar just last week over Fairfax County High School allegedly presenting "sexually explicit" material in the library without parental consent. 

The school district removed the books "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe and "Lawn Boy" by Jonathan Evison from the high school library Friday, according to WTOP Talk Radio news.

Kobabe's book contains illustrations of oral sex and masturbation and Evision's allegedly shows graphic descriptions of a man having sex with children,

Last Thursday evening the board held a meeting during which parents challenged school administrators regarding their children's accessibility to these kinds of books.

In 2016 when this issue was before the public, Anna Scholl, executive director of Progress Virginia, a progressive advocacy group, declared: "Thank goodness this ridiculous crusade against great works of literature is finally over."

That issue stemmed from a Fairfax County, Virginia mother, Laura Murphy, who said she was horrified to discover that one of her sons was reading "Beloved" in his Advanced Placement English class. 

This current issue has also stemmed from concerned parents---and has now captured national attention.

Stacy Langton, a parent in the Fairfax County school system, raised the issue at the Thursday evening board meeting when she began asking questions---then began reading explicit passages from one of the books. As she quoted the explicit passages in the book, one of the school board members interrupted her and chastised her for using explicit language.

Langton said the fact that the school board members felt compelled to interrupt her illustrates her point about the book's inappropriate nature.

She is "very, very angry."

Asra Nomani, who attended Thursday's meeting and serves as vice-president of a newly formed group called Parents Defending Education, said the high-handed response from the school board to Langton's concerns reflects the divide between activist school board members and parents.

She says, "It's very unfair to demonize and marginalize parents because they have serious concerns."

Will these actions by concerned parents have any positive effect? 

Some of the books mentioned have been pulled from the school library.

But school board member Karl Frisch's statement made it very, very clear following Thursday's meeting that he and others have an agenda and they will not be restrained easily.

He said, "Nothing will disrupt our Board's commitment to LGBTQIA+ students, families, and staff. Nothing."

When asked if his statement was directed at concerned mother Stacy Langton, he replied, "No comment."

This issue is not isolated.

Sean Parnell, a Republican candidate for US Senate in Pennsylvania, tweeted in response to McAuliffe's comment: "For a moment McAuliffe showed what he really believes & it should frighten every parent. The reality is, all radical leftists think this way. They believe they know what's best for you & your children. They want total government control over every aspect of your life."

For a moment McAuliffe showed you what he really believes & it should frighten every parent.

The reality is, all radical leftists think this way. They believe they know what’s best for you & your children.

They want total government control over every aspect of your life. https://t.co/UsKUS1SpM1

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) September 29, 2021

Indeed they do.

But Frisch's emboldened declaration should give pause to every parent in the nation with kids or grandkids in public schools.

These kinds of issues are not isolated.

Neither is the resolve declared by Frisch.

Pray for the children as they are deposited in the "classroom" every weekday.

Pray that parents will prayerfully consider removing their children from what has become an indoctrination cell under the guise of "education."

Public education has so deteriorated that McAuliffe, himself, did not send his kids to a public school.

Parents--prayerfully consider running for the school board in your community.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.