Donald Hansen sent me here because he occupies the space between us and because he knows we'll disagree. And we do. Sort of. So here's the question. Does the State have moral authority over children or do parents? You're presenting an argument that pre-supposes the State (and you as a teacher) occupy a benevolent and benign position and that parents 'ownership' is wrong. That's fine, provided you accept that pluralistic states have the capacity to go wrong.

Let's just presume for a second that the State starts to wobble. It begins to teach something you disagree with.... something classically 1930s like 'jews rule the world'. In a liberal society you have the capacity to remove your child from the class and educate them yourselves - or you can simply insist, as everyone else will, that pluralism works and children should be encouraged to share ideas and concepts with each other.

You've presupposed that a democratic and pluralistic society can't go wrong. It can. They have. Education goes with it, Lysenko etc. Schools, are an extension of the Government, the Government isn't immune to the influences of niche interest groups and as such schools should be viewed with the same level of suspicion. So whilst I don't think it's entirely healthy to pull your children out of school because you privately believe people with matching genitals can't share a bed - I will argue vehemently for the right to do so. Because at some point in the future, that right may be the only thing keeping children safe from an autocratic regime.

You can see this discussion with James Finn for more on trans-inclusivity vs pluralism. I say discussion - because it wasn't. Any attempt to question his mandated tolerance was viewed as bigotry and shouted down. The irony of this was totally lost on him. As always Mr Wise, big fan of your writing.... never pleased with your conclusions. ;o)

https://medium.com/lucid-nightmare/whack-a-woke-james-finn-special-86d6cb79aa11