Parents Overwhelmingly Agree on “Controversial” (read “Commonsense”) Issues
By Mitch Siegler, Founder

Everyone knows that activists thrive on controversy.

To garner support for their cause, they seize upon issues likely to inflame public opinion, highlight divisions, and spark impassioned debate. These issues are carefully chosen to engage segments of the population that either already agree with the activists’ position or are ignorant of the position and can be swayed.

But what happens when activists hold extreme positions that don’t enjoy broad support? How do they mobilize broad coalitions against existing, settled consensus?

The answer is simple: if there is no controversy, activists will create one, and K-12 education is a prime example.

Ideologues in K-12 schools paint their crusades for “justice” and “equity” (often under the banner of “liberated” ethnic studies or “critical race theory” – with their ideas about “systems of power” and “oppressor/oppressed” binaries) as a righting of wrongs that “the people” have been crying out for. They often employ language that evokes a sense of broad popularity, embedding the idea that the radical changes they propose are the unheard consensus that has been suppressed by right-wing elites.

Yet THINC’s latest nationwide survey of nearly 2,250 parents, in conjunction with a leading global polling firm, shows that the real consensus overwhelmingly opposes radical agendas and supports ideas that many of us would call “commonsense”. As it turns out, large majorities of American parents support classrooms that are apolitical, colorblind, and transparent.

Some key insights:

• 91% of parents say it is important for children to be taught mutual respect and cooperation, including the ability to hear and engage with viewpoints they disagree with
• 90% believe it is important to teach civics
• 89% say school curricula should be publicly available, so parents know what their children are being taught
• 85% believe individual attributes such as effort, character, and perseverance have more influence on life outcomes than immutable traits like skin color and ethnicity
• 82% believe schools should teach the value of a colorblind society in which individuals are judged by character rather than race or ethnicity
• 74% say racism can come from anyone, regardless of identity or power
• 58% think it is inappropriate for teachers to share their personal political views in the classroom
• 55% say they are concerned about their child’s curriculum

Activists love to dismiss the parents who show up at school board meetings to protest the politicization of K-12 education as “right-wing extremists.” But as our data show, these parents represent the vast majority of parents, and the activists are the real extremists.

That’s what makes THINC’s advocacy work so important. Unlike the activists, we’re not arguing for radical reimagining of K-12 education; we’re arguing for reasonable principles supported by supermajorities of American parents.

So, the next time you hear that “liberated” ethnic studies is the long-overdue expression of suppressed truth, keep this data in mind. No matter how loudly they shout, the activists are hawking fringe ideas that most parents oppose.

With your support, we can keep standing up for the common-sense majority.