Indoctrination. Critical race theory. Diversity, equity and inclusion. Gender ideology. These are all political catch words you have probably heard of recently that have made their way into classrooms, roping in teachers who never really asked for it. Buzzwords like these misconstrue notions about the role of educators and the reality of what being a public school teacher looks like.

 The public education system is a lifeline for many underserved students. Between math, English, science and history classes, school is the place where students interact with their peers and come to learn about themselves in an environment free of their parents’ critique and influence. 

Schools also serve as places where students learn social-emotional skills that they may not learn at home. Social-emotional learning teaches students to be empathetic to each other and provide support to their peers, however they may need it, leading to overall better academic performance.

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However, some organizations have targeted social-emotional learning in education.

One such group is Parents Defending Education, a national grassroots organization aiming to stop harmful “agendas.” The group has gained traction in recent years, claiming that social-emotional learning is a “Trojan Horse…for bringing in the Critical Race Theory ideology, gender identity/sexual orientation [instruction], and social justice education.” 

To me, it feels obvious that teaching kindness and empathy is separate from teaching any kind of political “ideology,” but to some, it isn’t, which makes this situation all the more frustrating. As much as Parents Defending Education wants to convince you that teaching empathy and social emotional learning is harmful or indoctrination, they are yet to substantiate that claim.

Still, the uproar of groups like Parents Defending Education spreading this idea of “indoctrination” can easily make its way into the minds of parents who want the best for their children. Parents turn on the news and see officials such as President Donald Trump, their governor or their senator parroting some similar sentiment of concern about indoctrination. The parents then come to believe there is a real issue, regardless of what their children are actually learning in school.

There is nothing an overworked and underpaid teacher wants less than to deal with parents yelling and saying they are doing a bad job and that they — the parents — are somehow more qualified than the teacher themself. Claiming that social-emotional learning is harming students can lead to teachers being inundated with more tasks than they can handle.

Throwing around acronyms like DEI or CRT or vague phrases like gender ideology is effective because an acronym can be reworked to your advantage. Some conservatives have started saying DEI means “Didn’t earn it.” It becomes a game of word association for parents: “DEI is indoctrinating my child, so it must be bad.”

The reality of the matter is that teachers are often too busy trying to catch students up to their grade level to “indoctrinate” anyone. In fact, the average student in the United States is at least half a grade behind, according to a recent report by the National Center for Education Statistics. 

Moreover, the same people that are against “indoctrination” by social-emotional learning programs tend to support educational programs that are actually indoctrinating.  

For instance, in Oklahoma, which is ranked No. 49 in education among the states, students are mandated to read the Bible in school. This is arguably a violation of separation between Church and state and disrespectful of all students whose religious beliefs don’t align with Christianity. Yet, those who attack teachers for “indoctrination” are not up in arms about this.

Teaching should not be viewed as a political pawn because it is not one. Instead, the profession should be viewed as the vessel that creates the human kindness of tomorrow. This necessary environment is certainly not created through defunding the teaching profession, defunding schools or defunding the Department of Education. Ultimately, what teachers need is support. They need parents who are interested in helping their children succeed. They need better pay. They need access to unionization. 

Education should be a collaborative process, with the teacher and the parent supporting their child’s education. It should not be the sole responsibility of either party, nor should the government be dictating education according to whatever political hot topic is debated at the time.