Why Should Parents Be Engaged in the Education of their Children?

            Families, communities, and nations are strengthened when parents participate in the education process for their children. Glenn Youngkin, the incoming Governor of Virginia, won the election because he championed parental involvement. The new governor was sworn into office last Saturday.

Brad Wilcox is the director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and a senior fellow of the Institute for Family Studies. He led a discussion on “Family Matters” about Youngkin’s “come-from-behind victory” and the role played by “empowered parents” in his victory. He was joined in the discussion by Ian Rowe (cofounder of Vertex Partnership Academies), Max Eden (research fellow at AEI), and Kim Richey (Distinguished Education Fellow at Parents Defending Education). You can hear the discussion at this site. In an article introducing the discussion, Wilcox wrote the following: 

Concerns about lockdowns, the intersectional turn in Virginia’s schools, the status of gifted and talented programs, and school safety were all key elements in being able to wrest the executive mansion from the incumbent party.

The nation saw this play out in the center of Virginia, as parents in one local school were bewildered and disturbed by a new curriculum that encouraged their children to view themselves through the prisms of race, gender, sexuality and class, as well as injected phrases like “white privilege” and “non-Christian folx” into the classroom.

Parents were additionally turbocharged with Democratic challenger Terry McAuliffe said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” Youngkin’s popularity surged among voters who said education was their biggest issue. The rest is history.

            The question that Wilcox wants to answer through the discussion is “what should Gov. Youngkin and Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears do to make good on their mandate from parents?” The discussion is interesting and discusses what is best for children and teens. Governor Youngkin restored the voice of parents in the schools of Virginia. By involving parents in the education of their children, government can strengthen families, communities, and nations.