A Philadelphia public school teacher is curious about how educators will cope with “conservative parents” listening in on virtual classes, according to a thread captured on Twitter.
Kay said “conservative parents” are his chief concern when teachers are engaging “in the messy work of destabilizing a kid’s racism or homophobia or transphobia.”
According to a report by the Daily Wire, Matthew Kay, who teaches English at the Science Leadership Academy said on the social media platform that he is concerned about the “damage” that “helicopter parents” might cause if they overhear lessons on topics such as gender and sexuality.
“So, this fall, virtual class discussion will have many potential spectators — parents, siblings, etc. — in the same room. We’ll never be quite sure who is overhearing the discourse. What does this do for our equity/inclusion work?” Kay tweeted. “How much have students depended on the (somewhat) secure barriers of our physical classrooms to encourage vulnerability? How many of us have installed some version of ‘what happens here stays here’ to help this?”
While Kay acknowledged that “damage can come from the left too,” he noted that “conservative parents” are his chief concern when teachers are engaging “in the messy work of destabilizing a kid’s racism or homophobia or transphobia.”
“While conversations about race are in my wheelhouse, and remain a concern in this no-walls environment — I am most intrigued by the damage that ‘helicopter/snowplow’ parents can do in the host conversations about gender/sexuality,” he tweeted. “And while ‘conservative’ parents are my chief concern — I know that the damage can come from the left too. If we are engaged in the messy work of destabilizing a kid’s racism or homophobia or transphobia — how much do we want their classmates’ parents piling on?”
Since the thread, Kay’s account has since been switched to private.
Read the rest at: Conservative Parents
