By: Michael Rivera, Candidate for Loudoun County School Board – Leesburg District

The public education system should seek to educate our children. It should teach children math, science, history, social studies, health education, vocations, etc. Elementary, middle, and high school education form the academic building blocks for young adults to go into and become productive members of society. High school graduation is not necessarily the end point of one’s education but at the very least, an individual graduating should have a good understanding of the topics they were taught and be able to go out into the job market, obtain employment, and live life. I think that if the public school system does its job well, students will be inspired to continue education and go onto college or trade school or undertake apprenticeships.

I think the public education system should have clear boundaries when it comes to getting into the personal lives of children and families and it should NEVER usurp any rights from parents to raise their children according to their family moral or religious beliefs. At no point in time should a teacher lead themselves to believe that they are “co-parenting” or that they know better than parents regarding what is best for a child.

When I attended public school the student-teacher relationship was very formal and had clear boundaries. I referred to my teachers as “sir” and “ma’am” and knew that I was in school to learn. I never had personal conversations with teachers about their families, spouses, social lives, or what they did on the weekends – that was not appropriate. Teachers were to be respected and obeyed. It was unfathomable to think that a student would ever yell at a teacher or dare to engage in a physical altercation. I say all this because it is obvious that the public education system has strayed far from it roots.

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