Lorretta Sikoski: Parents are gatekeepers who should interject in education process

To The Daily Sun,

In rebuttal to Leonard Witt’s letter about the Parental Bill of Rights legislation:

The Parental Bill of Rights may have gotten more attention than it deserved, but less attention than what our children and their parents deserve. Children become one of the two biggest priorities in adults' lives as parents and they want what they believe is best for their children. Parents don’t care if the polling by UNH says that this issue is not the top concern of those in New Hampshire. Everyone, parents and society at large, should be concerned about what our children are being taught because these are the future citizens, workers and leaders of our great country.

There was a time when schools taught ABCs, math and proper history. Parents taught morals, values and spirituality. Today, many teachers are oversharing and promoting their socio-political views and lifestyles with our children. (Notice the reference to our children, not theirs.) Parents need to know what is going on and must be the gatekeeper for their children’s mental, physical and spiritual needs. The teachers and administrators work for the public via tax dollars, therefore, for the parents. What goes on in the classroom and at school should be totally transparent without question.

Kids saying, "If you tell my dad he will kill me" is not a reason to keep things from parents. We all said that as kids. School administrators should be trained to recognize this sort of manipulation and utilize resources that are available when things like this are true.

Teachers and school administrators need to held accountable, but should not be prosecuted and sent to jail. The threat of probation of their credentials and loss of credentials if they persist in their over reach should be a valid deterrent.

Lorretta Sikoski

Gilford