‘The Parent Revolution’
School choice advoate Corey DeAngelis talks about his new book and more
I am talking to school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis. He has a new book called ‘The Parent Revolution’.
Watch my interview below:
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In an exclusive interview, Dr. Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children and visiting fellow at Stanford University, shared insights about his new book, "The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools." Known as the "school choice evangelist," Dr. DeAngelis has become a prominent voice advocating for parents' rights in their children's education.
A Book Sparking National Debate
Dr. DeAngelis's book has generated significant attention and controversy even before its official release. "The Parent Revolution" addresses the growing discontent among parents regarding the current state of the education system. The backlash from certain groups, including a call for a book-burning party by a teachers union board member in Milwaukee, underscores the book's contentious nature.
"The backlash only confirms the book's relevance," said Dr. DeAngelis. "It exposes the radical ideologies being pushed in schools and the double standards of those who criticize conservatives for book bans while calling to burn my book."
The Rise of the Parent Revolution
According to Dr. DeAngelis, a "parent revolution" has been brewing over the past few years, particularly after the pandemic exposed numerous issues within the education system. Remote learning highlighted a curriculum that many parents felt was misaligned with their values, prompting increased involvement and pushback at school board meetings.
"Parents are demanding a say in their children's education," Dr. DeAngelis explained. "They want to control the minds of their own children, not have schools indoctrinate them with ideologies they don't agree with."
State-Level Changes and Broader Implications
The movement for school choice has seen significant traction across the United States. Since the backlash began, 26 states have withdrawn from the National School Boards Association. Parents are increasingly opting for homeschooling or charter schools, reflecting their dissatisfaction with public school systems.
"This shift is a direct response to how public schools have handled education and the increasing control over children's minds," Dr. DeAngelis noted. "Politicians who support school choice are winning elections, signaling a shift towards prioritizing parents' rights in education."
Addressing Critics of School Choice
Critics often argue against using public funds for private or religious schools. Dr. DeAngelis counters that education funding should follow the child to the school that best meets their needs, whether public, private, or religious. He emphasized that studies have shown positive outcomes even in public schools due to the competitive pressure to improve.
"Education funding is meant for the students, not for propping up specific institutions," Dr. DeAngelis argued. "The money should follow the child to whichever school best meets their needs."
Engaging and Informing Parents
Dr. DeAngelis encourages parents and the public to get involved and informed about the issues at hand. His book, "The Parent Revolution," offers a comprehensive look at the current educational landscape and actionable steps for parents.
"Parents are waking up and demanding better for their children," Dr. DeAngelis concluded. "This movement will continue to grow as more people become informed and join the conversation."
For those interested in learning more, a link to Dr. DeAngelis's book is available in the comments section of the interview platform.
First and foremost the government needs to get out of the education business. They have screwed it up so badly it has become a hotbed of testing. The Feds for instance starting with George W Bush decided we had to do Reading First. Nowhere in any literature I have ever read does it say having a child sit in a reading class for 120 minutes with no interruptions is a good way to teach reading. How many 6, 7, 8, or 9 year olds do you know who sit 2 hours at a stretch reading? Hard to do since most children's books are only 32 pages. Moving from station to station every 20 minutes doesn't work either. As a teacher can only monitor one station at a time. If and it's a big if, said teacher is lucky enough to have a paraprofessional (teachers aide for laymen) in their classroom two stations can be monitored. The rest are left to students being able to work independently to accomplish tasks. Also expecting a 4-5 year old in kindergarten to be reading is beyond ridiculous. Then add to the stress on children they have to use Accelerated Reading. This is the absolute worst thing out there. They are to choose a book at their reading level from the library. They have to read it and the next time they go to the library, they have to take a test on it. If they pass the test they get a sticker. You have now killed any desire to read. As you are testing every book they should be picking out for enjoyment. The struggling reader only gets left behind because reading is a chore to start with. The child could be dyslexic, could be a special needs child and will never get the coveted sticker. Sometimes they don't even understand the questions being asked on the test and the teacher cannot read the questions. This program is K-8 what the hell! It goes against everything ever writtten and researched on good education practices.
Take Michigan for example since I taught there 28.5 years. Kids by 4th grade hated reading. This is the first time they have been expected to read for information. They don't care about the stickers for Accelerated reading. Most Charter Schools in Michigan are FAILING! Because all they are is a new form of segregation. My granddaughter got into a charter school in Lansing because Lansing Public Schools are sooooo bad. She got in by a lottery drawing. She did kindergarten, first, and second grade in a charter school. She was the kindergarten student who came to school reading. Helps that her grandmother and great grandmother both had Masters degrees in reading. Her parents are both avid readers. By the time she started third grade in Holt public schools, she was reading at a 4th grade level. She picked out her own books from Lansing Public Library. She came to me one day with a book on young Martin Luther King. She had learned about Dr. King in school and had picked out a library book to learn more about him. Her problem was there was a word she didn't know. It was distinction. So, I covered all but the first three letters with my thumb. I explained we were going to figure it out in parts. What does "dis" sound like. She sounded each letter and put them together. We then move on to "tinc" she asked if the c had an s sound or a k sound. I told her k. Then we put the "dis" in front of it and she sounded it out. I told her the "tion" said shun because she wouldn't have had that in school yet. So, she put it together and came up with the correct pronounciation for the word. I told her what it meant and she went back to reading. Next thing I know she came to me and asked is this word segregation and she had all the right sounds. Using the method I just taught her. I explained what it was and she looked at me and said, "That is wrong, Granny." I agreed. She went back and finished her book.
Parent teacher conferences come up in third grade and her dad goes. His first question to the teacher is why do you dislike my daughter? Does she disrupt class? Is she not doing her work? Is it a personalitly thing? The teacher says she doesn't dislike her. In fact, she wished she had an entire class like her. She's an outstanding young lady. Dad goes away happy. Spring conferences roll around Dad goes in again. The teacher says she is so proud of his daughter. She is reading at a fourth grade level and is expected to excel in the next year. Dad says so her reading has gone backward the is year. The teacher says what do you mean. Dad says she was reading at a mid-fourth grade level when she entered your class. Teacher responds she will have to look into that. They wanted her to read books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She was not interested in them, and wouldn't read them. So, she was not complying with the Accelerated Reading program. She wanted to choose her own books. Ones she was interested in. No one was reading the portion of the test where it asked the student if they enjoyed the book. She put NO. She took the books they gave her, but read the ones she wanted from the public library. When the fourth grade teacher looked at her scores from second and third grade she read those comments. She let my granddaughter read the books she wanted to read. Her scores soared. The third grade teacher made her feel punished for not reading the books she was not interested in. Way to kill desire and make a star student feel like you hate them.
Then the Feds stepped in in 2010-11 school year and said all school in the US are going to teach Core Curriculum and teachers can only use the words given in the teacher's manuals. If a child doesn't understand, the teacher cannot use other language to explain it a different way. They all have to reguritate the same words. That is NOT teaching. That is being a robot. Core curriculum went back to 1967-68 to teach what was then called Modern Math...I know I had it. Parents don't understand it and it has no real world application. By the time my next sibling got to junior high, three years after me, it was already gone. There is no reason to make subjects more difficult than they have to be. We have lost sight of the basic skills. Get a copy of the curriculum being taught in your child's school district. Look at the requirements. Can you figure out the basic ones your child has to know for their grade? My guess is you can't. Michigan's curriculum is sooooo bad it's laughable. Used to be a teacher could tell you the basic things your child had to know to pass that grade level and move on. Not anymore. The curriculum is so convoluted most teachers couldn't teach it all in one year with a gun to their head. I taught special needs. For 14 years I team taught. We worked on basic skills in reading, writing, and math with my students. If they mastered those, we knew they were ready for the next grade level. Many of my students I had multiple years and by 4th grade most were able to test out of special education. We taught them all the things they needed to be successful in grades 5-8 just by making sure they had the basics. When I transferred to middle school for the last six years I taught, some of my students who'd had me in elementary tested out of special education and even those who would not test out, made great strides. I fully believe you need to start at the end of kindergarten and give every child an individual education plan. It goes with them to the next year. The next teacher follows the plan. Those students who excel need to be challenged not sitting in class waiting for those who struggle to catch up. There is way too much testing going on. The MEAP is no longer a valid test in Michigan. It has moved so far from what it was meant to be, it's no longer recognizable. It needs to go back to being given in 4th, 7th and 9th grades only. You look at the 4th graders to see where they are. You look at them in 7th grade to see what they are missing and change your curriculum to pick up that slack. You look at those same students again in 9th grade to see what they missed between 7th and 9th and again adjust your curriculum accordingly. To compare this years 3rd graders to last years is apples to oranges, there is no correlation. Making a special needs student who is at a first grade level take a third grade test is setting them up for failure. I had an 8th grade student who came in one day just fuming. He wanted to know why the newspaper said special needs students brought down the scores in the 8th grade testing. I told him to ignore the newspaper. They were reading the test scores wrong, which they were. I went into the newspaper after reading their disgusting article and told them you cannot single out special needs students like this. For one thing they are struggling students, however given the proper instruction, they can succeed. Then you make them take a test they cannot complete successfully because it's stacked against them. Finally, they are pointed to in the newspaper as the sole reason test scores are down this year. You are comparing them to students from last year and that's not how this works. So, as the voice of the community you single them out for ridicule, how is that fair? I turned around and walked out after canceling my subscription.
Do you know up until WW II, there were no taxes to support public education? Yet, we had it. And it thrived. Amazing. Teachers were paid the bare minimum. They taught multiple grades in one classroom and students succeeded or they failed. But now we pay school taxes and more students are failing. Because the government who had no say in public education who are elected officials who know absolutely nothing about how to educate a child are making the decisions. Really? So, it they had a bad time in school but are now successful, they take it out on education.