American Students Get A in Activism While Test Scores Tank
Consider school permission slips.
I remember these field trip forms sort of wrinkled or bent after being crushed amid the jumble of my child’s backpack.
Without your signature on that form, there is no way your kid is going to the art museum, the planetarium, or the zoo. It has to be signed, emergency contacts listed, and sometimes even the name of the family doctor.
For your child, it is a ticket to a day away from the classroom on a potentially wonderful adventure with classmates – for the school, it’s a CYA necessity they hope will limit their liability. Standards are loosened somewhat in high school, but, historically, administrators still took care to protect students during school hours.
The recent news reports of students pouring out of their classrooms in various cities to protest ICE and law enforcement, with no parental permission necessary, suggest that standards have shifted dramatically.
So, what happened to the school’s healthy fear of parental outrage, litigation, and especially, the desire to keep kids safe?
Purposeful Disregard of School Safety
How would you feel if you discovered that your young teen had spent the school day downtown in your city, screaming about things they don’t understand, driven by peer pressure and the thrill of escaping the school day?
I see you, mama. Me too!
Added to that is the stigma undoubtedly suffered by anyone who dares to hold a different view. What about a child whose parent works for Immigration Enforcement or the police department? If you think you can trust some pink and blue-haired teacher to advocate or protect your child with conservative views, you know better. And if said teacher hasn’t taught all sides of this issue, giving reasonable credence to each perspective, then students could become indoctrinated into a tunnel-visioned leftist point of view.
Also consider the reason why these hapless students are unable to grasp the concepts on both sides of legal law enforcement and the immigration issues. Could it be because the teacher I mentioned has not taught critical thinking regarding the news, politics, the law, and probably not much else?
How do you feel about your child dodging traffic at an ICE protest while you’re at work, as you mistakenly trust that your 15-year-old is in the safety of her school…preparing for her future, learning?
Reading, Writing, and Responsibility
It’s no secret that American public education is struggling. U.S. students tested in early 2024 showed that basic proficiency is at a historic low. In that report, Seniors, soon to graduate, had only 22% proficiency in math, with a dismal 35% making the mark in reading. Our kids can’t do math – or read. It’s a big issue right now that directly affects millions of future adults.
That’s what makes the idea of prioritizing activism all the more puzzling.
Young adults may graduate unable to get into college or to build a promising career – but, it seems they’ll know how to wave a sign and scream about concepts they probably don’t even grasp.
Then there’s responsibility.
For me, if I choose to spend a day or a week protesting, it costs me vacation time. Because I’m a grown adult who has a job and shoulders the responsibility both of my position and, with my husband, the family we support. The very idea that students should skip school, sanctioned or not, without consequence, is just another way to teach the next generation that everything must bow to their whims.
Their future employers will not feel the same.
Raising Up Mobs
What you’ll hear in defense of the youthful protest efforts is that students also have a right to make their voices heard. As Americans, they are also due free speech rights.
The problem is that students often can’t explain the concepts surrounding civic responsibility and can’t even use rationale to defend the position they hope to champion. They are largely uneducated on the merits of both sides. For many, it’s simply a chance to get out of class and hit the streets.
The case could be made that classroom time could help students develop their own points of view and defend them in assignments, papers, and free, thoughtful discussions. How about extra credit for doing a one-page report outlining both sides of an issue?
Cari Bartholemew, Moms for America Utah State Director, explained the shift in education and that it’s been underway for a long time. “Children in American schools are no longer being educated primarily for citizenship in a constitutional republic. They are increasingly being shaped into ideological activists – intentionally, systematically, and from multiple directions at once. This is not new. Parents, teachers, and researchers have been warning about it for years. What is new is the amount of documentation – and the number of adults insisting this is harmless or even good.”
This destructive trend isn’t organic. Harvard University offers a class called “Queering Education” for Graduate Students. Other colleges train teachers in various forms of activism focused on hot topics such as climate change, LGBTQ issues (of course), and racism in America (CRT).
“I think this is purely…activism over academics,” former White House Press Secretary Kaleigh McEnany explained recently on Outnumbered. “We should not be surprised because America’s children are always sacrificed on the altar of whatever political point the Left is trying to make. We saw this very clearly during COVID. The data was clear: in-person learning is fine for young kids who are barely affected by COVID-19, and yet they kept children home as they tried to make a political point. We should not be surprised, however, because this is not an aberration, saying ‘hey, academic scores come second to protesting ICE.’ This is the modus operandi of the Left.” 1
Rather than teaching students to engage in thoughtful, healthy debate in the classroom, to really learn and understand the issues from various vantage points, they seem to consider walkouts, signs, and chants about things students often don’t understand as educational. Teachers and institutions are working on their plan to train impressionable teens to embrace activism as a lifestyle. They are raising up mobs.
Weekday Warriors
Check me on this, but I think it’s pretty convenient that most students claiming passion to protest ICE and the nation’s deportation policy seem mostly invested in doing it during school hours.
Schools vigorously claim they are in no way promoting or condoning these walkouts. I’m a little skeptical. They also said CRT wasn’t in the classroom and claimed partnership with parents, even as some educators secretly socially transitioned children. Yes, we’re still a bit salty about the credibility lost, as many breaches of our trust have been discovered over the last few years.
If you have an adolescent activist – chime in on the comments if your teen rises early on a Saturday morning to get out there and protest, or if they’ll give up Friday night out or gaming with friends in favor of “making their voice heard.”
For most, it’s a fun way to get out of class. Not something to sacrifice precious weekend hours for.
Before going on, despite my strong views, I will readily admit that there are students who are indeed, sincerely passionate about this issue. Whether they grasp all the ins and outs of it, they are true believers. They may have heard about a family they know who faced deportation, and it’s understandably hard to process for them. We can imagine there are difficult feelings and hurt that some may have felt as these needed actions have gone forward.
That said, it’s unlikely the case for a solid majority of young student “activists.”
Are We Silencing Students?
Not at all.
Mamas, we all love our kids and want them to grow up wise, strong, patriotic, and able to stand their ground when needed. Most of us invite deep discussions of issues regarding life, the news of the day, and pretty much any issue that crosses our path. We want our kids to know how to think – how to make wise decisions as they get older, especially once they reach adulthood.
Schools need to focus on the basics of education. They need to prepare young people to become prosperous, industrious, responsible, and accountable adults. Playing activist as a form of education may doom some of them to a painful and destructive future – when life gets real.
This would be a different conversation if these students showed understanding and true self-motivation in these matters, rather than the artificial, get-out-of-school, possibly activist-teacher-driven, and chaotic actions we see right now.
We can’t help but see what’s happening to America’s students, and as moms, we must speak up while there is still time to rescue this generation.
Podcast Note: This week, we sat down with Texas Land Commissioner Dr. Dawn Buckingham to discuss border security and America’s need for energy and rare‑mineral independence. She’s been a driving force in pushing these challenges into the spotlight and advancing efforts to make Texas – and the country – safer and more prosperous.
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