Bullying, Parental Rights and School Choice

Response to: "In Efforts to End Bullying, Some See Agenda", New York Times online. By ERIK ECKHOLM. Published: November 6, 2010

This article is interesting not only for its relevance, but more deeply for the general question it raises regarding the purpose of public education and the rights of parents and children who participate in it. To me, it is beyond obvious that in this country, given our values, tolerance for different kinds of people and lifestyles must be nurtured from an early age. If a school is to receive funding as a public institution, it must foster acceptance of "the public".

At the same time, again from the standpoint of a new parent, I can understand the general principle of disagreeing with curricula or values that are proposed within my child's school district or within my child's school. Up to this point, the question of school choice has been a fairly academic one for me. I attended a Catholic school up until eighth-grade, followed by a magnet high school and a private university... followed by a Catholic university and finally a public university. In general my concern as an educational policy professional is not strongly tied to an ideological preference for public education. It is, rather, to promote positive learning experiences for as many children as possible.

I feel as though this issue of bullying homosexual children to the point of taking their own lives is horrifying enough to have made me stop and really think about what I want for my daughter in terms of schooling. Namely, that I will want a school where I can be sure that my child is safe and valued, even loved, as an individual. I will not tolerate hate or narrow-mindedness. Learning should be the focus. And, yes, I do want to be able to have some say over what material my daughter is introduced to. That is what I perhaps find somewhat tricky about the public school system. I guess that's what school there is so much institution between the parents and the school of, so many opinions, so much red tape. I can see the appeal of smaller, more independent schools with more transparent administrative structures. On the other hand, I do believe that there needs to be some form of accountability for all schools, be that through accreditation or some other means.

The jury's still out as to which way we will go with our child. We will likely have a choice. In the meantime, I will be watching to see how different communities respond to the incredible importance of keeping children safe and the delicate dance of teaching tolerance regardless of what individuals or individual families might feel.