Parents Must Stay Involved as Students Return to School
A California mother discovered her daughter's AP class curriculum featured Islamic perspectives but excluded Jewish-American viewpoints, prompting her to advocate for parental involvement in monitoring school materials.
Writing in New York Post, Shirin Yadegar recounts how her daughter returned from her first day of high school disturbed by what she encountered in her AP Language class. The assignment required students to watch videos representing different perspectives and experiences, which Yadegar describes as a valuable educational goal.
Among the materials shown were a young woman wearing a keffiyeh discussing Islam as a religion of peace, and another woman recounting her escape from Iran. However, as the student reviewed the various perspectives presented, she noticed a glaring omission: no representation of the Jewish-American experience.
Speaking Up Brings Results
Yadegar advised her daughter to approach the teacher directly, not with accusations but with a simple question about why her own perspective was absent from the curriculum. The teacher responded positively and revealed that the material came from school administration, not from the AP program itself.
When asked whether she would raise the concern with administrators, the teacher agreed and is now working to ensure Jewish-American perspectives are included in the assignment. Yadegar argues this exchange, though seemingly minor, exemplifies exactly what parental engagement in education should look like.
Academic Performance Crisis in California
The columnist points to alarming statistics from California’s most recent state assessments. Only 48.8 percent of students met or exceeded standards in English, while mathematics performance stood at a dismal 37.3 percent. Even more troubling, these figures represented an improvement over previous years.
In a state home to Silicon Valley, Stanford University, and the California Institute of Technology, fewer than four out of ten public school students are meeting the state’s mathematics standard. Yadegar argues this demonstrates that schools must focus relentlessly on core academic foundations: reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, and critical thinking.
Teaching How to Think, Not What to Think
Parents must ask what exactly children are being taught, Yadegar contends. Schools should teach children how to analyze information and form their own conclusions, not impose particular viewpoints. Students should encounter difficult ideas and learn about both America’s achievements and failures, from slavery and civil rights to the Constitution, from capitalism to socialism.
The key is teaching facts and methods of examining evidence, questioning assumptions, and hearing competing perspectives rather than promoting any political agenda.
Parental Participation Required
Yadegar calls on parents to become active participants in their children’s education by reading syllabi, examining assigned books, asking children about classroom discussions, attending school board meetings, and knowing who makes curricular decisions. When something appears problematic, parents should ask questions and contact the appropriate authorities.
Home lessons remain equally important, she argues. Children should learn to make their beds, arrive on time, complete homework, maintain eye contact, use polite language, put phones away during conversations, and respect teachers. When children face discipline at school, parents should not automatically assume the teacher is wrong.
Accountability Over Protection
As a mother of four, Yadegar acknowledges the protective instinct parents feel. However, she warns that constantly shielding children from consequences of their choices fails to prepare them for adulthood. Accountability, not protection, builds character.
California’s schools cannot teach these lessons alone, nor can parents succeed in isolation. Success requires partnership: teachers must be respected, parents must be heard, administrators must be accountable, and children must understand that adults expect something from them.
Yadegar concludes that while California must improve beyond 37 percent mathematics proficiency, the true measure of success will be raising a generation educated enough to think independently, disciplined enough to work without expecting handouts, and decent enough to respect others.
With information from New York Post
