Parent eruptions at local school board meetings over the past couple of years are based in real and dramatic differences of opinion about what should be taught in America’s public schools, according to new data from Pew Research. For example,…
Americans may be pessimistic about public education in general, but parents remain largely pleased with their kids’ schools
American parents remain as satisfied as ever with the quality of their children’s education despite the hardships of COVID-related school closings, virtual learning and a national campaign to discredit public education, recent research shows. Even a federal study documenting drops…
Two views of parenting, and how school lunches and school libraries are alike
One of the underlying factors in today’s battles over public education is two polar opposite views of parenting. Parents who want to ban books from school libraries and tell classroom teachers what parts of American history to teach and how…
A school administrator reflects on rebuilding relationships between schools and homes
What do the following human interactions have in common? A simple disagreement between two individuals, an intellectual property lawsuit, road rage, marital strife, military conflict. In some context, each is typically an outgrowth of misunderstanding. Some may argue that the…
You can(’t) go home again
A trip home to be with family in the face of an illness gave an interesting lens to the dynamics of return. Then on the heels of that, the memorial service of a formative ministry figure called the writer also…
No one else is coming, so do something
Dear church, Today I write to you from three places in my soul: parent, prophet and pastor. Like many Texas parents, I had a momentary flash of panic last Tuesday. I opened my news app on the way to pick…
On another classroom full of murdered children
Tuesday afternoon, May 24: My focus was the Republican primaries in my home state of Georgia. Donald Trump, in his continued efforts to protest the lost 2020 election and make sure he can never lose another one, had put up…
Baptist therapist has a prescription for our anxious pursuit of the good life
The American way of life may be good for business, but it wreaks havoc on the mental and emotional well-being of individuals and society, psychotherapist and former Baptist youth pastor Eric Minton believes. The diagnosis stems from his observation of…
When a child comes out, every family’s journey is different, professor says
Healthy parental responses to a child coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender cannot be reduced to a one-size-fits-all formula, said one of the nation’s leading Christian counselors and scholars focused on sexual identity. “There is no one family…