The Ideological Battle for American Schools

How do we occupy shared spaces without a common vision?

Photo by RiverNorthPhotography from Getty Images Signature. Edits by author.

America’s culture wars are intensifying in the nation’s classrooms and board meetings. How long can this public institution withstand the tug-of-war between ideologically opposed groups?

Public school board meetings across the country appear to be the hottest ticket in town with multiple hours needed to accommodate public comment.

Attend one of these meetings and expect to witness angry tirades about COVID-19 policies, critical race theory (CRT), and in which bathrooms or sports transgender students belong.

Schools had already been dealing with an explosion of gun violence in their halls. Now, schools face parents who show up at the school ready to fight, or with actual zip-ties to perform citizen arrests on the principal for masking policies.

Already tense matters have been enflamed by a small number of teachers whose goal is to impose a controversial ideological agenda.

In one case, a teacher was accused of pushing Antifa propaganda, and in the other, a teacher removed the US flag and jokingly encouraged students to pledge allegiance to a rainbow pride flag. Parents were infuriated.