Dear Friends,
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a wide and, likely, lasting effect on children. The months of isolation from friends, the lack of in-person education, the general tenor of fear, all of these and more have had a serious and quite negative impact on the good of our children.
The news of the last several weeks has raised some concerns regarding the role of parents in the education of their children. The Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, who comes from Connecticut, at a recent Senate committee hearing, stopped short of saying that parents should be in charge of their children’s education as the primary stakeholders. Cardona stated that educators also have a role in the process, which is true, but the question remains to what extent. As I noted in my comments several weeks ago, praising the increasing interest that parents, both here in Milford as well as across the country, have shown in what is being taught to their children in public schools, this is a positive development. However, the Department of Justice may think otherwise. A recent memorandum from Merrick Garland, the current Attorney General, directs the FBI to investigate “violent threats against school officials and teachers.” While in no way can anyone condone violence, this memo has been widely perceived to aimed at intimidating parents who speak out forcefully at local school board meetings against the “woke” agenda of the times which include CRT (“Critical Race Theory”, which in many ways is inimical to Catholic teaching) as well as transgenderism and matters pertaining to sexual identity and morality which really are the right and responsibility of parents vis a vis their children. When it comes to speaking out against an educational agenda that is contrary to what they feel is best for their children, it is the parents’ right and duty to do so.
I say this not to immerse myself into political matters. The teaching of the Church regarding the role of parents in the education of their children is quite clear. The Second Vatican Council in 1965 issued Gravissimum Educationis, the “Declaration on Christian Education.” This important Church document says the following regarding parents and their duty concerning the education of their children: “As it is the parents who have given life to their children, on them lies the gravest obligation of educating their family. They must therefore be recognized as being primarily and principally responsible for their education. The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute.”
In more recent times, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has spoken on this topic. In an address at his General Audience of May 20, 2015, the Pope said, “If family education regains its prominence, many things will change for the better. It’s time for fathers and mothers to return from their exile—they have exiled themselves from educating their children—and slowly reassume their educative role.” In that same audience, the Pope harshly criticized “intellectual critics” who have silenced parents in order to defend younger generations from real or imagined harm, and he lamented how schools are often more influential than families in shaping the thinking and values of children. Furthermore, the Pope went on to say that, “in our days the educational partnership is in crisis. It’s broken. On the one part, there are tensions and distrust between parents and educators; on the other hand, there are more and more ‘experts’ who pretend to occupy the role of parents, who are relegated to second place.”
These words of Pope Francis, spoken six years ago, are quite prescient. They, along with the teaching of Vatican II, deserve to be taken to heart and acted upon. Parents must involve themselves with what their children are being taught. It is their solemn duty and obligation to do so. Pay attention to what your children are studying in school, and if there are concerns, make them known to the administration of your child’s school and to the Board of Education. Our children deserve nothing less. Have a good week!