Trust, But Verify: A Parent's Guide to Today's Schools

President Ronald Reagan famously quoted a Russian proverb during a press appearance with Mikhail Gorbachev. It was “Doveryai no proveryai,” in English, “Trust, but verify.”

Gorbachev retorted, “You repeat that at every meeting!” Which caused laughter and applause to erupt from those in attendance.

“I like it,” said Reagan.

Even as (some) good-willed teachers still approach their jobs to inspire and educate with a genuine desire for academic excellence, partnering with parents to raise a new generation of smart, able, and ambitious American citizens, others work alongside them with different goals.

This week, we want to challenge you to dig a little and learn what you can about your kids’ schools. How do these institutions stack up in each subject?

You can and should rightly judge the quality of what your tax dollars are buying. Most importantly, you are the only true advocate who can be trusted to prioritize your children’s safety and educational future. Every other motive and curriculum must be examined – and verified.

Parents have a right to know what is being taught in their children's schools. Let's explore several key subjects and educational issues that can help you assess the quality and direction of your child's education.

History Class

History education has experienced a noticeable decline in recent years, and in many ways, this trend has been developing for more than a decade. National assessment data show that student performance in U.S. history has fallen since 2014, raising concerns about how well young Americans understand the people, events, and principles that shaped our nation.

As you evaluate this area, pay particular attention to American History. A strong understanding of our nation's past helps students develop critical thinking skills, civic awareness, and an appreciation for the freedoms and responsibilities of citizenship. When students lack historical knowledge, they may be less prepared to understand current events and participate effectively in civic life.

Ensuring that students receive a comprehensive and accurate foundation in American history should remain a priority for educators, parents, and policymakers alike. By strengthening history instruction, we can help the next generation better understand where we have been, the challenges we have faced, and the opportunities that lie ahead.

A solid teaching of history should involve the good, the bad, and the ugly along with a clear understanding of life in various eras of the world’s timeline. If a teacher can’t do more than look at events through a 21st-century lens, they are deficient.

Math Class

You’d think this exacting, calculation-driven subject would be free of controversy. The headline of Scientific American’s article, “Modern Mathematics Confronts Its White, Patriarchal Past,” surprised many readers. That is why many parents were surprised when conversations about race, identity, and equity began showing up in discussions about mathematics education.

It was all about the “systematic oppression” in mathematics. Some of those profiled in the piece started a “Black in Math Week” on Twitter (now X), and another freedom-fighter created “Trans Math Day.”

When 2020 rolled around, and concepts of common sense blew sky high, it was determined that math was racist. Yes, racist.

The Department of Education created A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction kit in Oregon. Other schools pushed back on the idea that a correct answer was correct when viewed through a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s as nuts as it sounds.

For you, a more tangible way forward is to consider the math scores for your child’s school. How is their math ranking (based on test results)? How do students perform against grade-level standards? These are questions you can pose to school administrators. If a school spends its educational capital on making sure math isn’t racist, you’ll probably notice that the scores aren’t very impressive.

Science Class

Here’s another important subject that shouldn’t be terribly controversial. That said, it’s had its own challenges. The theory of evolution has been taught as the ultimate truth for decades. Of course, that accepted foundational “truth” that everything evolved haphazardly from a single cell is riddled with inconsistencies in the fossil record. Little effort is made to explain the intricacies of the human eye or DNA that suggest another deep flaw in the belief that chaos leads to order. Still, schools hold to it with white-knuckled passion.

Science class has a more modern challenge, though: the climate. Is it changing? Yes. Is it caused by your Chevy Trailblazer? Probably not. Still, it’s held by some educators with gospel fervor. Global warming, now replaced by the more all-purpose tag “climate change,” has been all the rage in leftist worldview even way before the little Swedish girl cried out, “How dare you!” Before her, former VP Al Gore started his own grift in this arena with the debunked “facts” in the film An Inconvenient Truth. What has actually played out through the years has proved even more “inconvenient” since the film’s predictions of more than 20 years ago fell apart – including the one that foresaw Florida sinking into the sea.

If your child’s teacher is bound and determined to preach manmade climate change as an unquestionable scientific fact, you may think twice about that instructor and maybe that school. A great teacher would teach that theory against actual science about weather and climate and report facts over theory. I would welcome the active discussion of all sides in class and happily give extra credit for an even-handed approach.

Physical Education and Sports

If you have young girls who go to PE or who are involved with athletics, you’ll be interested in where your school stands on President Trump’s call for schools to keep biological males out of girls’ interscholastic sports. Girls have endured forced exposure to male anatomy in locker rooms by those claiming special status as female despite visual evidence to the contrary.

As a mom, don’t hesitate to ask directly if the school allows biological males in the girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. If your daughter plans to join the girls’ basketball or volleyball team, consider whether she will be forced to compete against males from other schools. If a school isn’t clear and committed to these simple issues, they aren’t looking out for girls and won’t protect yours.

Sex Education

How did we get to the place where schools are tasked with giving our kids “the talk?”

Today's sex education programs often extend well beyond the fundamentals taught in past decades. Depending on the curriculum and grade level, students may be exposed to lessons on gender identity, sexual orientation, and other sensitive topics that many parents feel should be reviewed carefully and discussed within the family.

Added to that, somewhere along the line, educators audaciously began asking children to explore gender. It’s been well-documented that children are encouraged to consider their options. They can stay with their original biological gender (which they often refer to as “assigned” sex) or embrace the more exciting and celebrated choice of changing gender. In some districts, these concepts are introduced as early as kindergarten. If that weren’t enough, some teachers will hide gender transitions from parents. Some schools even mandate this open deception.

Though these practices have come under much-needed scrutiny, they aren’t necessarily stopping. Instead, those bent on sexualizing children are learning new ways to hide their deceptive practices that victimize students and exclude parents.

Some school districts will even facilitate a minor going for an abortion without telling the parents. Unreal and yet, far too real.

When you research this in your school, ask pointed questions about what’s happening in the classroom regarding sexuality and gender. Ask if you can opt your child out of lessons on these topics. If there is any hesitation – take it as a serious red flag.

Library Lunacy

The sheer number of books for kids ranging from preschool to high school that tackle the topics of LGBTQ, gender, and graphic sexuality has grown exponentially. As parents have pushed back, demanding that pornographic content be removed from public school libraries and classrooms, they have been called Nazis. Though some small battles have been won, creators of this content have ramped up production almost faster than vigilant parents can keep up.

Hundreds of books are now available depicting rape, incest, homosexuality, and other deviant sexual activity. Some share startling images, while others play out the scenes in graphic and erotic language. One has to question educators and school board members who defend providing these resources for impressionable kids and teens. However, they are out there and still in significant numbers.

Pornography addiction is on the rise in America, and now kids are getting hooked before they know what’s happening to them. It’s a powerful and debilitating addiction that can decimate their future relationships and families.

What kids live through now is a far cry from our school experiences. Don’t be fooled by even your own fond memories. Things have changed, and some of these nefarious influences could negatively impact your kids, even in irreversible ways.

Though this blog isn’t long enough to deep dive into all the alternatives, here’s a list you may want to consider for your beloved kiddos:

School Choice – over 35 states currently offer some school choice. Some are better than others. Ideally, it would allow tax funds to follow your child to a private school or homeschool option. A quick internet search on the topic for your state should give you a greater understanding of what’s available to your child.

Private Schools – These can be faith-based or represent a college preparatory or specialty academic focus. They are usually the priciest option; however, before you consider it impossible, find out what’s available to you if your state offers school choice vouchers.

Charter Schools – This is a free public school option, and some charter schools offer a more traditional educational experience. Still, all your questions about your local public school should be posed to any of these alternative options.

Homeschool – This method of education has become a wildly popular option in America over the last few years. The number of kids educated at home is approaching four million. Pulling your kids out and reimagining school for your family is a big decision. Still, there have never been more resources available to make it work. And there’s never been someone more committed to your child’s education and well-being than you!

Too many schools have gone off the rails – especially regarding woke ideologies and LGBTQ. It’s become a harsh environment for our littles, making me think of the stark contrast of a beautiful story from The Hiding Place.

As a small girl, Corrie Ten Boom was traveling with her father and innocently asked him to explain what a term she’d heard, “sex sin,” meant. Instead of answering, he asked her to carry their large suitcase for the trip. She couldn’t carry it. It was far too much to even lift.

Her father wisely used that object lesson to share that some things are too heavy for little ones – like the suitcase or the question she’d asked. Instead, he told her that, like the unmanageable bag, he would shoulder the difficult things too heavy for her until she was older and ready to hold such weighty concepts. It was a loving and gentle way to protect his daughter from things that need not be known by someone so young.

If all of America’s educators approached children with the same care for their young hearts and minds and truth in what and how they teach, our schools would be stronger, our students better prepared, and parents more confident in their children’s education.

Podcast Note: Defending Freedom: From the Classroom to the Courthouse

Freedom starts with knowing your rights. Debbie Kraulidis talks with Ryan Walters about freeing teachers from union control and giving them a voice outside the political agendas of teachers’ unions. Then Sheriff Richard Mack explains what it means to be a constitutional sheriff and how citizens can stand up when government overreach threatens their God-given liberties. Discover how moms can support teachers and how every citizen can become better equipped to defend freedom in their own community.

Stay Informed, Connected, & Involved!

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