Some of my friends and acquaintances in the public education system believe that my assessments of their colleagues are too pessimistic. Others quietly affirm what I’ve observed. This letter is for those who think I’ve been too critical.
Let me begin with my own memories of school. I went through K–12 primarily in the 1970s and recall many good and decent teachers. One who stands out was Virginia (Ginny) Rhodes, who taught anatomy and physiology. Before addressing the theory of evolution, she shared with us that she was a Christian who did not believe in evolution, and that she affirmed the biblical doctrine of creation. Her honesty and courage made a deep impression on me, even though I wasn’t a biblical Christian at the time. As Charles Spurgeon once said, “Atheism is a strange thing. Even the devil never fell into that vice, for the devils believe and tremble” (James 2:19).
There were other teachers whose decency and sincerity I appreciated—Patricia, whose joyful spirit and family values shone through her love of outdoor cooking; Steve, a young history teacher who led the Fellowship of Christian Athletes; and Don, who introduced students to chess and was active in charitable community outreach. These teachers, and others like them, reflected what was then a largely Christian moral consensus in public education. Whether all of them were regenerate Christians, I do not know. But they were what we might call “based”—grounded in reality, common sense, and moral clarity.
That word—based—is key to my concerns about today’s education system. A based person recognizes natural law, the created order, and the reality that truth exists apart from subjective experience. As in ice rescue operations, the rescuer must remain anchored to the shore to pull someone out safely. Lose that anchor, and both perish. Likewise, teachers must remain tethered to objective truth to instruct children rightly.
Christ warned, “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14). Today’s education system is plagued by blind guides. The woke, claiming to be enlightened, are spiritually blind and ideologically captive to false worldviews. The consequences are real—confused children, eroded parental rights, and a society losing touch with reality.
This ideological blindness has permeated both government schools and even some pulpits. If your minister wears a “diversity stole” and promotes LGBT ideology, he is not representing Christ—he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). Mainline Protestant denominations like the United Methodist Church (UMC), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), Episcopal Church (TEC), United Church of Christ (UCC), Mennonite Church USA (MC-USA), and the Church of the Brethren (COB) have largely abandoned biblical orthodoxy in favor of the secular religion of wokeness.
This same religion increasingly influences teacher colleges, education departments, and professional associations. Neo-Marxist theories such as critical theory, intersectionality, and gender ideology have become deeply embedded within many Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs now present in public education. These ideas are not neutral. They reshape American history, human identity, morality, and social relationships through the lens of ideological activism.
Consider several troubling developments.
Recent national polling reveals a sharp divide between parents and educators on issues related to gender identity and ideological activism in schools. According to a Pew Research Center survey published in 2024, about half of public K–12 teachers said students should not be taught that gender can differ from biological sex assigned at birth, while roughly one-third supported teaching that gender identity may differ from biological sex. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, this demonstrates that gender ideology has become a major and controversial feature of modern education.
At the same time, battles over parental notification policies have intensified nationwide. Some school districts have adopted policies allowing school personnel to socially transition students at school—using different names or pronouns—without automatically informing parents. In response, several states have moved to require parental notification, while teachers’ unions and activist organizations have frequently opposed such measures.
The National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) remain among the most politically active labor organizations in America, directing the overwhelming majority of their political contributions toward Democrat candidates and progressive causes. Their policy priorities frequently include support for DEI initiatives, opposition to many school-choice programs, and advocacy for LGBT-related educational policies.
Unfortunately, many well-meaning teachers are caught within this environment. Some quietly disagree with the ideological drift but fear professional consequences if they speak openly. Others have embraced the worldview entirely and increasingly view traditional Christian morality and parental authority as obstacles to social progress. They assume an air of superiority, describing themselves as “progressive” while dismissing concerned parents as ignorant, backwards, or dangerous.
This mindset eerily echoes the assimilationist policies of the late nineteenth century, when Native American parents were sidelined in favor of government “experts” who supposedly knew better. Today’s version of that paternalism is enforced not by missionaries, but by bureaucrats, administrators, consultants, and ideological activists.
The consequences are serious:
Children are encouraged to question foundational truths about human identity.
Parents are sometimes marginalized in deeply personal decisions affecting their own children.
Faith-based moral perspectives are frequently ridiculed or silenced.
Education increasingly shifts away from the pursuit of objective truth toward ideological activism and social conditioning.
Some hope that recent political pushback against Critical Race Theory, DEI programs, and gender ideology has dealt a fatal blow to the woke revolution. I am less optimistic. The problem is deeply rooted. Federal agencies, teacher unions, accreditation organizations, and education colleges remain heavily influenced by progressive ideology.
That is why I no longer view public education as a neutral institution. Increasingly, it functions as an instrument of cultural formation shaped by secular assumptions hostile to Christianity, parental authority, and objective truth itself. When government controls the schools, it exerts enormous influence over the future moral and intellectual direction of society.
What is the solution? School choice.
Taxpayer dollars should follow the student, not the system. If parents wish to send their children to private, classical, charter, or parochial schools aligned with their convictions and values, they should have the freedom to do so without being financially punished for that decision. This is not about defunding education. It is about funding freedom.
Parents—not government institutions—bear the primary responsibility for the moral and spiritual formation of their children. School choice restores parental authority and gives families the opportunity to pursue educational environments grounded in truth, discipline, academic excellence, and moral clarity.
Let us give parents the tools to resist ideological indoctrination and to raise children who know right from wrong, truth from lies, and God from government.
S.D.G.,
Robert Sparkman
RELATED CONTENT
Author Joe Rigney, Fellow of Theology at New Saint Andrews College, discusses his recent book titled The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits with Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary of Louisville, Kentucky.
Joe’s book is available on Amazon.
Toxic empathy as described in his book impacts the public school systems and many other arenas of life. Well-meaning teachers tend to be subject to their emotions rather than reason when viewing matters related to wokeness and gender ideology.
Toxic empathy of teachers leads to great harm as woke teachers validate the delusions of their students in regards to gender ideology and perceived racial and sexual injustices. Using the ice rescuer analogy, the woke educator led by their deceptive and misinformed emotions jumps into the freezing water with the victim and perishes alongside them.
Allie Beth Stuckey, an insightful Christian commentator, authored a book on toxic empathy as well. It is titled Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion.
Allie Beth Stuckey’s book is available on Amazon.
She discusses toxic empathy and its dangers in this episode.
Voddie Baucham is one of the most articulate individuals in the Christian church when it comes to wokeness and education.
He and his wife have several children and have educated them through home schooling.
Ultimately, I do not believe public education is the best situation for the Christian child. He is known in Christian circles for this quote: ‘We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.’
This is a letter to the editor I submitted to the local newspaper. It is related to this post.
Concerning the Related Content section, I encourage everyone to evaluate the content carefully.
If I have listed the content, I think it is worthwhile viewing to educate yourself on the topic, but it may contain coarse language or some opinions I don’t agree with.
Feel free to offer your comments below. Respectful comments without expletives and personal attacks will be posted and I will respond to them.
Comments are closed after sixty days due to spamming issues from internet bots.
You can always send me an email at rob@christiannewsjunkie.com if you want to comment on something afterwards, though.
If you have evidence that I am wrong about a material statement of fact, provide the evidence and I will gladly review it and make revisions if merited. Obviously, there are some assertions that are matters of opinion that I will not change, but I always strive to be truthful.
I will continue to add videos and other items to the Related Content section as opportunities present themselves.
I recommend these Youtube channels and commentators for good content on politics and news from a Christian and/or conservative worldview: Albert Mohler, Allie Beth Stuckey, Bill O’Reilly, CBN News, Hugh Hewitt, John Anderson Media (Australia), Nick Freitas, Ruthless Podcast (language warning), Scott Jennings, The Hot Zone with Chuck Holton, Vince Dao, and Verdict with Ted Cruz.
Albert Mohler’s channel on Youtube has a daily episode called The Briefing with Albert Mohler that I highly recommend. Allie Beth Stuckey’s channel is top-notch, too.
For livestreaming of political protests and riots by conservative commentators, check out Nate Friedman, Cam Higby, James Klug, and Nick Shirley. I don’t agree with the perspectives of all these commentators and the language of protesters is often obscene. Most news outlets will not cover these illegal assemblies, though, because it doesn’t promote their narrative.
Depictions of Jesus Christ are used in some illustrations. I realize that some including conservative Presbyterians consider this to be idolatry. I respectfully disagree with their position on this matter as the commandment forbids worshiping such depictions, and I do not worship these illustrations.