The State of Education with Melvin Adams

Ep. 30 "Equip Your Child to Face the World, Not Hide From it!" - Panel Discussion (Part 2 of 2)

August 24, 2022 Melvin Adams Episode 30
The State of Education with Melvin Adams
Ep. 30 "Equip Your Child to Face the World, Not Hide From it!" - Panel Discussion (Part 2 of 2)
Show Notes Transcript

As America continues to follow the growing LGBTQ movement, more and more adolescents are jumping on the trend. What are the consequences of pushing transgender ideology on children? The research is still new and tends to be slanted. Now more than ever, it is important for parents to be informed about what is going on at school and how it’s impacting their kids. This week’s episode features the conclusion to our discussion with three panelists, Dr. Kenyon Knapp, Lori Kuykendall, and Thomas Turner, on these topics and more! 

RESOURCES MENTIONED ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

GET CONNECTED WITH NWEF

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nwef.org/
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/NWEF_org
Follow us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/nwef_org/
Subscribe on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtdHayyOqPftVoiGEqxYdsg
To hear more from NWEF, subscribe to our other podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1898310

– WHAT IS THE NOAH WEBSTER EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION? –

Noah Webster Educational Foundation collaborates with individuals and organizations to tell the story of America’s education and culture; discover foundational principles that improve it; and advance practice and policy to change it.

Website: https://www.nwef.org
Reach out:
info@nwef.org

Pride, Pronouns, & Problems Panel Transcript

Part 2

June 2022


[00:00-33:49]


ADAMS: Let’s transition the conversation now because we’re talking about the different roles. The role of parents, the role of teachers, the role of legislators, and lawmakers. All of these tie into policy and processes. 


But now let’s talk a little bit more about transparency. Thomas, you kind of started us in that direction around safety issues and so forth. But transparency is such a huge issue. And when parents are boxed out (the schools don’t really want to include the parents, don’t want to keep them informed, they see the parents as troublemakers). 


That creates trouble already. At the same time, sometimes the opposite effect can happen where parents put very little effort to understand, little effort to communicate, and really even know what’s going on with their child or with their school. 


And so I think we would all agree that there is much more need for transparency. But I would simply throw this out (I’m going to join the panel for about two seconds here). I think transparency begins with more conversation and intentional relationship building. 


It doesn’t matter who starts it. everybody would be a committee of one to start that and do their best to activate that. Let’s talk about that just a little bit. Dr. Knapp? 


KNAPP: I agree with you. If you’re going to have transparency, you have to have trust. And trust is the bedrock of any relationship. And if both sides are demonizing the other and there’s no dialogue, you’re never going to have that transparency. 


You’re going to have people being offensive and a lack of communication will result. So, like you’re saying, definitely building a bridge and building relationships. Like, where I live here, for example, there’s been some school board meetings, where it’s been very confrontational. 


But then I’ve also seen a lot of other parents taking your approach and really building stronger relationships with the teachers and that’s leading to more transparency because you get the scoop when you speak to the teacher at this classroom level—not when you’re speaking to the central office. And so, having that direct relationship is going to get you that like you’re hoping. 


TURNER: Yeah, could I add to that? Sorry, I’m really passionate about this. You hit it right on the nail there. I think really it is going to come down to getting involved. I got appointed to the safety audit committee during COVID in 2020. 


I did not know what I was walking into. And by the end of that year, I was talking to our school board representative who was, at the time, our sole conservative in our city. And I was just talking with her and I was like: “What in the world? Why are they not being forthwith with parents about what this is?” 


And she was like, “That’s what they do.” And I said, “Why do they hide it? Why are we hiding? Because this is how we have mistrust.” When we’re talking about sexual assault—and going back to the Loudon thing and why we had that national discussion—was because at the end of the day, we had someone who reported themselves as trans and used it to assault young women, and the school hid it. 


We had legislation in Richmond that allowed it. And that’s frightening. And that’s why, you know, I’ve been preaching on this committee for the past year and I’ve been outnumbered numerous times by my liberal appointees. 

But we need to promote these citizen-advisory committees in the school system. I don’t know if every county or city has them. But in Suffolk, where I live, we have these citizen committees where we are actually appointed by our school board representative and for the most part, they go unfilled and they’re obviously filled in with bureaucrats from the central office. 


And that’s where we see a lot of the problems because they want to [pretend it’s] rainbows and unicorns and everything’s perfect and hunky-dory, and it’s not. There are actual problems here, where students feel like they have to bring a weapon to school to protect themselves.


Or, in the case that we’re discussing now, they’re not sure why their friend who was a guy—they saw him as a guy—is now saying, “Hey, I’m actually a female.” And they’re confused because their parents may have taught them one thing and their parents may have taught them another thing. 


And I’m not here debating whether one way is right or wrong, I’m just saying that because we’re not having a dialogue within our school system on a regular basis, for the most part, and through the parents being more involved (and that’s why I promote the system committees) we’re seeing a lot of acrimony and drama—heightened by the Left, more so than the Right. 


Most of us on the Right are pretty caring and loving, I want to make that clear. They are actually looking at this the right way. They’re like, “We just want you to understand where we’re coming from.” And our friends are militant and angry because it pushes a broader political agenda and it gets them in the news, it gets them into MSNBCs and the CNNs all wrapped up in it. 


And so I think we really do need to have parents—not just PTA meetings, but if you have any citizen advisory boards, get on them. Seriously. Get on them. Get engaged in all of them. Because that’s where you have the ability to see what they’re actually teaching in the classroom and how they’re doing it. 


ADAMS: Since we’re talking about transparency and issues related to that, let’s take this question. Many of the things we’ve discussed today touch on the topic of parental engagement. And so, let’s really zero in on the parents. So how can parents stay better engaged with their children in school? 


KUYKENDALL: I’d love to jump in on this one. To carry over from our last question a little bit, there’s an African proverb that says, “When the elephants fight, the grass loses.” and I think we’ve had a lot of fighting between parents and schools. 


We’ve lost sight of the partnership. We’re all trying to raise these children and I would love to especially put that responsibility back on parents to proactively reach out to schools that need to reach back out and build the trust as we’ve already spoken.


But as far as you and your child, it kinda goes back to the old-fashioned, sitting around the dinner table every night. Are we doing the work of connection with our children every day? Even if it’s not sitting around the table at 6 o’clock every day with a lovely three-course meal. 


But are you gathering around with your children? Do you know them? Have you stayed connected? That emotional attachment and trust that comes from transparent engagement. It’s deep and it takes time and energy that parents don’t always have—particularly with multiple children and multiple activities and responsibilities and all their work and … 


I understand. Parenting is very hard, it is not a job for sissies, I like to say. But it's a game we have to stay in, it’s a battle we have to keep fighting for our children, for their health and safety. I mean, look around at the indicator, look around at the data.


Kids are struggling with physical, mental, emotional, relational, and I would add spiritual, health. So, parents, we’ve got to be there. We are there 24/7 even though they're at school for a good number of their days through their childhood years. So let’s do what we can to rebuild that partnership and let’s make sure we’re protecting our children relationally. 


I had a group of moms, that I sometimes call mad moms that are charged up and ready to voice their opinions to the schools and I love their energy and passion. And yet sometimes I think they’ve missed their home time because they’re out fighting the schools. 


So home-time has to stay first and those relationships with your children are the ones you’ve been entrusted with. And then let’s reach out to schools and rebuild that trust. Be there with support rather than continual challenges as is sometimes the case. 


ADAMS: Anybody else want to weigh in on that? 


TURNER: Sure. Obviously, I don’t have kids but I’m an uncle. I have 11 nephews and nieces and I have two great-nephews. And when we talk about the role of parents, it’s actually in Virginia’s law that parents are the foundation of a child’s education—it’s actually in our code. 


And if you go back through history (and I love the name Noah Webster) education was at home. I mean, if you look at American history, it began at home. You know, the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic as you hear time and time again. That was at home. 


One of the first books I read, you know, was the Bible. That’s what my parents taught me. I was blessed that I had parents that I could discuss any issue and every issue. We could talk about whatever. And as I got older, as I began to have that development [indecipherable 10:43] I was able to debate and discuss policy issues and formulate my views and ultimately why I became a republican in the conservative movement. 


It was because of discussions and reading and other things. And also because my parents also decided not to let me go to public school and they let me go to private school. Because they wanted my education to be the best and they felt that that was the best. 


I think parents, and I agree with Lori, do have to take that first step. But we also have to remember that, on our side, we can’t make every teacher who’s a part of the teacher’s union … a lot of teachers are fighting that fight like every day. We actually have to be their advocates. 


Because they can’t say certain things or they’re going to lose their job and then we’re going to have a Leftist teacher getting in there. And they're going to be prone to God-knows-what. So we actually have to become their advocates and their partner and build a relationship with them so they can feel comfortable telling us the truth and that we can be empowered in our communities to hold those school boards accountable. 


Because ultimately what’s going on is the central office and the school boards … the school boards have ceded their powers to the central office. The school board, and this is a fundamental mistake that the Left does not want you to know, the school board is the CEO of the education system of the localities, not the superintendent.


We elect the school boards in most counties—or through our city council—but in one form or another, we elect them. And we need to really be putting the fire to them on these issues and to take a stronger approach. So those are just my thoughts. I’ll get off my soapbox, I’m sorry. 


KNAPP: Can I piggyback on this too? 


ADAMS: Sure! 


KNAPP: Well, I’m a dad of five kids: four boys, one girl. And I’m all for transparency, building these relationships with the schools, and so forth. But the bottom line as parents is we need to do what’s best for our kids. And that’s our number one priority. 


A lot of parents feel that in a very visceral, strong way. And that’s a good thing because that’s that responsibility you feel as a parent. And you need to find a school that’s going to train your kids in a way that you agree with. 


Now if it can be a public school where you are, great! Good for you. I’ve had a mixture of public and private and all that with my kids over the years—but mainly private. But if you can’t get it in public, you need to go private and there are lots of different options we have these days. 


You know, one of the silver linings of this whole COVID-19 mess is that we had to switch everything to an online format and there are lots and lots of great private schools now—many of which can be paid for with public funds that kids can get and go to online now. And so homeschooling is not as difficult as it used to be. 


And ironically, one of the fastest growing demographics in homeschooling is African-American families. And it’s great for them because they can get the education they want that fits their values that gives them a high-quality education. Good for them! I’m proud of those parents for taking those assertive steps to get what their kids need 


TURNER: Thank you for saying that. I think that is a very, very true statement. My father, at one point, worked three jobs to send me to private school. It was not easy. And he put me through K-12. It was not easy. It was a huge financial burden on my parents and I’m thankful every day that they did that because it gave me critical thinking skills. So thank you for bringing up that point. 


ADAMS: Well what we do know is that our children are the most valuable thing we have—not only as a family but as a society. They are not only the future, they are our present. And our investment in them, at every level, is worth it. 


So we’ve had some great discussions. Let’s go to Catherine now and let’s hear a few questions from our audience. And so, Catherine, why don’t you join us and share some of those questions?  


CATHERINE: Yeah! Well, we’ve had some wonderful questions come in, quite a variety. I’m going to start with this first one here which says, “First, I would just like to say [that] there are multiple members of LGBTQ, including myself, that do not support gender ideology or sexual orientation ideology being taught to young children. 


Kids need to be able to be kids and forcing them to tackle adult topics at such a young age is, in my opinion, robbing them of their childhood unnecessarily. That being said, are there resources schools can adopt to address how to handle kids who are affected by it without influencing them one way or another? I think addressing the mental health concerns is a step, just not sure how to proceed.” 


ADAMS: Alright, let’s pause there for just a second. Is anybody aware of particular resources? This is something we can certainly address as an organization. We have some podcasts already available, but we can certainly put some things out there. But does anybody on the panel want to speak to that? 


KNAPP: I’ll jump in and maybe others will have ideas once I share. There are a number of things, but you have to bear in mind that when we talk about transsexualism, there is the educational aspect of it in regards to how it’s being taught in schools. There’s the psychological aspect of it, and of course, there’s the medical aspect of it. 


And the medical profession and the psychological profession are completely polarized on this issue. And so depending on who you go to, you’re going to get diametrically opposed feedback about how to handle it and what to do.


So if you went to the Virginia state law that I was referencing earlier and you read what was in their document, the only references that are in there are for organizations such as The Human Rights Campaign. And they only have a one-sided perspective on it. 


There are other organizations that work with people that have gender confusion. There's an organization I recommend called The Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity. That’s one organization, there are many others. 


But any conservative organization out there that you would hear mentioned will be demonized by people who have the other perspective and then vice versa. Because people are completely polarized on this issue. 


ADAMS: Yeah, unfortunately, it’s become political like way too many things. And then people quit thinking. Does anybody else want to answer that? 


KUYKENDALL: A lot of my work stems around state standards for health education and educational standards. And I think as we look at standards at a state level, which translates to the curriculum at local levels, we’ve got to continually elevate classroom approaches—which are broad, community-based approaches [that are] more general in scope than specific individual scenarios that require additional support or resources on an individual basis.


So, from an education perspective when we talk about, say, vaccinations, we’re not going to come into a classroom and say, “Everybody should be vaccinated.” We’re going to say, “Vaccinations are a personal decision between you and your parents and your doctor.”


So we’re pushing the child back to the personal, individual support network that they have. And I think that’s where we’ve navigated so far at this point with the confusion around gender identity and sexual orientation. It’s taking an inclusivity approach, which absolutely upholds respect for every child and speaks in that term. 


And when we’re talking about sex education, we’re talking about risk-avoidance for every child. That kind of language is important, I think, in our discussion this evening. We’ve also continually focused on school-aged children, which is very different and should be separated from adult approaches. 


We could differentiate on politics and morals and religion and all kinds of things at an adult level. We’ve got to uphold classroom children. I’m going to speak to clarify and objectivity and take the high road and some level of general principles that they can apply to their lives in these sensitive areas. And let’s stay in objectivity in every academic area as well. I think we can do it. 


ADAMS: I agree. Alright, next question. 


CATHERINE: The next question is actually a group of a few cluster questions together, but this persona asks: “Who is conducting research in the area of concern and with whom are they affiliated? What times of research have been conducted and what are current research findings?” 


KNAPP: I’ll jump in. I think we need to be given a little bit of context on this topic. The phrase “transsexualism” was coined by Harry Espentureman in 1948. And it was largely not popular, say, up until the last 20 years or so and it’s becoming more and more popular. 


A study done by the CDC in the last 5 years from 2017 to 2022 (which, UCLA published this month) said that the number of transexual kids has doubled in the last five years. So the ability to research this is really only becoming possible in any kind of sizable population in the last five years. 


Prior to that, there were very small numbers of people. And if you look into the publications on this topic, a lot of it would be categorized as “advocacy research” meaning that people openly admit their preconceived perspectives and biases on the topic. 


And of course, this has been debated in the mental health field in regards to the diagnostic and statistical manual for decades—trying to add it or what category should be or not. And as much as we try to say that’s scientific, it’s been politicized. And it’s very much a lobbied organization in regards to what’s included and what’s not. So getting unbiased research on this topic… good luck. 


KUYKENDALL: I was going to echo the same thought. You know, some of the research that’s beginning to come out is actually from European countries who sort of endeavored into the treatment of the puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and surgeries and such. 


That research is happening more abroad than it is here. And it is also new. I try to teach young people and parents to appreciate, also in terms of experimentation, we don’t know. If you watch a few years back we had the same kind of approach with vaping—vaping was new, and we didn’t have research on it, but now we do. 


Things are changing. I think this is such a quickly evolving field of objective, scientific research. In the education world, “evidence-based” is a big keyword—is it evidence-based? And you know, I’m not a P.h.D scientist by any means, but I do have enough handle on research to know that evidence-based means has there been a randomized, controlled trial and a scientific-based experiment?


And all of those things that really show true evidence. Not just for impact on the short term but the long term as well. We’ve got to hold a higher level of research and be really careful when you’re reading headlines, you could easily translate a headline to mean something very different than what was actually published. 


And there’s just so much of that advocacy work that anybody whose words get out in front tends to have a one-up on the sciences coming behind. So this is a great need in research and I think we will continue to see it coming forward [and] it’s an area we should have great caution in. 


KNAPP: I think it’s worth noting in the CDC study, that one of the things they noted was the rates they found of transsexualism as an identified characteristic among youth was 5 times as high in New York as it was in Wyoming. And so when you talk about advocacy and you consider social differences between New York City versus Wyoming, I think you see the influence of advocacy and sensationalism in youth—as compared to biological causes. Because you don’t get a 500% difference like that if it really is biological. 


ADAMS: I saw that study, and it was quite interesting. Excellent. 


CATHERINE: [undecipherable 25:07-25:10] submitted this question. As the research department over here… we have released an article that includes lots of links to research that may be a place you want to explore. 


Alright, moving on to the next question. I’m going to combine a couple because they were all on the same theme, but people what to know, “What can parents do to stop what they may view as indoctrination, especially in regards to using the first amendment right to freedom of religion?” 


ADAMS: Okay. Thomas, you want to start that one? 


TURNER: Yeah, I think this really boils down to getting involved. What I think I said in my final remarks is getting involved in your school process, whatever that may be. Whether it be like what I’m doing on the citizen’s committee panel where I’m fighting the good fight with three liberals. 


Or maybe you’ve considered running for the school board. I think that’s where the big change needs to be. If you want to change the direction of education policy, run for the school board. Because that’s the biggest need. Now, I know this isn’t a political organization, so Melvin, forgive me. 


But I think that would be the best way because conscience is the most sacred of all property. It is a fundamental part of our nation’s history and if you feel like that’s being violated then the only way that you can change that is by getting into the space and fighting back. 


I in no way to impose—some may disagree with me being gay—that they in no way have to agree with me. I don’t want that. All I ask for is respect. And I think that should be the main thing that’s taught in schools. Not like, “You must agree with x, y, and z.”


I think parents really have to get more engaged politically if they want to shape the discussion or have a seat at the table to ensure that it’s not just going slant left or slant right, or what-have-you, depending on where you live. 


We’re seeing that in San Diego. I mean, they recalled school boards—they’re recalling the school boards. In California, need I remind you California, if it can be done there, it can be done anywhere? 


ADAMS: Let me throw in behind you here [that] we are not a political organization, we are an educational organization but part of our aspect of educating people is to have the tools to bring about change where you are. And one of those things that are most impactful to bring about change is to actually be able to get in a position where you can bring change. 


And as Thomas said, one of the most significant places you can do that in education is on your local school board. So for that reason, back in September, we launched an online school board training and hundreds of folks have taken that training across the country. 


And people can access that on our website nwef.org so we welcome people to check it out whether you run for or whether you just want to study some things to help you understand that process more fully and how you as a citizen, as a parent, as an educator, as a community leader can understand how that all works and how you can get involved to engage with the board that is there. 


So I think that is definitely valuable and I think, Thomas, that’s a point well taken and it doesn’t have to be political. Does anyone else want to answer that question? 


KUYKENDALL: I believe the question started out—I think, correct me if I’m wrong—about a phrase about how can parents protect their children from the ideology. And I’ll go that direction a little bit. 


I think about the U.S. treasury, and how it trains its staff to recognize counterfeit money. They teach them not about all the millions of possibilities for counterfeit, they train them on what real, authentic currency is—every little nook and cranny of authentic currency so that they can recognize counterfeit. 


Let’s translate that to parents and passing their values to their children. When our children know so well what is authentic and right and good and true for our family, we’ve so filled them up with that that why can identify counterfeit messages and lies that contradict their family’s values, they will be better prepared than to navigate through the many lies, pressure, and misinformation in the culture as well. 


So I’m going to go back around the dinner table, or whatever that looks like in your home—the relational piece and then the instructional piece of passing your values on to your children so that they know what is true and good and right in your home and better be able to … [it’s like] bundling them up in a warm coat to let them out into the world. 


We can’t keep them in all the time where they’re warm and safe with us, we’ve got to move them from isolation to insolation out into the world knowing what’s not true and what would be counterfeit to your family. I think we can do that. 


ADAMS: Excellent. Kenyon, is there anything you want to add to that? 


KNAPP: Well yeah. The question about what should parents do to stop indoctrination—I always think you can do two things, you can create change through position and persuasion. You can try to persuade people of what’s wrong with the current message and all that. Or you can do exactly what Thomas said, try to get on the school board or some other position in the school. Try to be a principal or a teacher position.


But I have a practical side that says we’re talking in big picture theories here. That may or may not work. Let’s just be honest. And if it doesn’t work, your job as a parent is to do what’s best for your child and protect them, and to have them hear what’s true and right. So if you can’t stop the indoctrination where you are, you need to get an education for your child somewhere else.


ADAMS: Excellent, excellent. Let me just wrap up a few things then. So Noah Webster—and Catherine mentioned this briefly—has put together a blog post containing lots of research as well as compiled lists of research to help you study this topic more in-depth. 


These resources include content from a variety of voices and include those of child advocate, Blaire White and transgender health advocate, Scott Newgent. So I think you’ll find that very interesting if this topic is of importance to you. I think you’ll find that post very helpful to you. 


You can find links to these resources on our Facebook page. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll take a few moments to like and follow us. I also encourage you to check out our website nwef.org if you’re interested in staying up with what we’re doing. You can sign up right there on the home page for our monthly newsletter. That way, you’ll kinda keep current and know what we’re working on and upcoming events and so forth. 


So thank you for tuning in tonight and a huge thank you to our panelists for giving their time to be with us tonight, and for sharing their thoughts on this important discussion. You’ve all done very well, thank you so very much. And I hope all of you have a good night.