A reason to be concerned about our school curriculum going forward in Beaufort County? | Eastern NC Now

Among candidates appearing before the Beaufort County Republican Executive Committee were two ex-teachers who are nominees for the school board.  The brief statement of one, seemingly supported by the other, gives reason for concern about how they will handle curriculum on the school board.

Jennifer Cornelius, running unopposed in District 8, stated she would not get involved in politics on the school board "because it is about the children".   How many times from Jim Hunt forward have we heard Democrat politicians spout those words "for the children" or "about the children"?   

Even after being there as a teacher, does Mrs. Cornelius not comprehend all the political bias already in our schools and particularly the curriculum?  It comes from lots of sources, the leftwing teachers unions, liberal textbook companies, and a politically appointed heavily liberal state board of education.  Some states like Florida and Texas have worked particularly hard to get the leftward bias out of their curriculum.

After Covid, when home based instruction showed parents what was being taught to their children, there has been a mass movement of parents across the country to get leftwing politics out of the curriculum.  Here in Beaufort County, when a committee of teachers proposed a social studies curriculum full of leftwing political bias, there was a standing room only crowd at the school board meeting objecting to it.

Even so, since then the school board has adopted curricula tainted with leftwing politics.  The Bridges math curriculum is laced with DEI.  It is also Bill Gates' Common Core Math, which is controversial among parents for dumbing down students.  The new science curriculum at the high school level openly indoctrinates on the highly politicized CO2 climate theory.  Fortunately, on the latter the school board has at least provided supplemental materials so students can hear both sides.

School board members are supposed to represent parents and citizens.  Concern by parents about the politics already embedded in our educational system is shown in the polling.  When a major French polling firm did an international poll, looking at 20 countries on all continents asking parents their greatest concerns about their schools, American parents put "political and ideological bias in the classroom" as their top concern, the only country in the world to do so.  Here in North Carolina a Civitas poll found that 71% of North Carolina parents are concerned about "political indoctrination in the classroom".

So, although we can be proud of Charles Hickman in District 2 on the school board, and at least satisfied with Terry Williams in District 4, do we have to hold out nose for the two ex-teachers in Districts 6 and 8?  We need school board members who are part of the solution, not part of the problem.  Someone who says they want to stay away from politics is not going to do anything to counter the leftwing politics already embedded in our schools.  We have an ongoing problem that needs to be fixed.