It’s Time to Boldly Insist Schools Prioritize Academic Focus
Part 3: A Conversation About Gender Identity in K-12 Education
This post is part of a three-part series examining the role of K-12 education in addressing gender identity issues.
Part 1: Why Are We Trusting a Broken System to Handle Gender Identity?
Part 2: Teachers Are Unprepared for Gender Identity—and It’s Dangerous
In Part 1, we asked: Why Are We Trusting a Broken System with the complexities of guiding students through gender identity? We discussed the system’s failure to meet basic academic goals and why parents should be concerned about the consequences of this failure.
In Part 2, we explored how Teachers Are Unprepared for Gender Identity—and It’s Dangerous, emphasizing that while most teachers are doing their very best, they are neither trained nor equipped to handle such sensitive conversations effectively.
Below, we return to the core issue: the primary purpose of schools is academic education. Let’s discuss why staying focused on educational success is critical for our children’s futures and how asking schools to take on more than this essential mission dilutes their effectiveness.
The Restaurant Analogy
Imagine going to a restaurant where the service is slow and the food is consistently subpar. In the middle of this chaos, you notice that the waitress has an adorable haircut and impulsively ask her to cut your hair right there at the table.
Absurd, right? The waitress is already overwhelmed trying to do her actual job—serving food. And, to no fault of her own, she’s failing, resulting in frustrated and belligerent customers and lower tips.
Now, imagine the manager notices the mayhem and, rather than bring in additional and more qualified help or secure vendors offering superior quality ingredients, decides to add a la carte hair services to the menu.
This is precisely what we’re doing to our teachers. They’re already responsible for managing overcrowded classrooms, closing academic gaps, and handling behavioral challenges. Asking them to take on new roles only compounds the original problem. And it’s a distraction from their primary job: delivering academic instruction.
The Core Mission of Education
The primary purpose of public K-12 education has always been to equip students with essential academic skills, preparing them for the next stage of life—whether college, career, or civic participation.
National Level: According to the U.S. Department of Education, public schools exist to promote student achievement and prepare students for college, careers, and life. This mission focuses on literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, and academic disciplines such as history, science, and social studies—skills necessary for lifelong learning and active citizenship.1
State Level: Here in Texas, TEA’s mission is “to improve the outcomes for all public school students…by providing leadership, guidance, and support to school systems” through strengthening foundational skills in reading and math, equipping high school students for both college and career paths, and enhancing the performance of underachieving schools.2
District Level: The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the largest school district in the United States, with over 1.1 million students and more than 1,800 schools. Its mission is to “ensure that each student graduates on a pathway to a rewarding career and long-term economic security, equipped to be a positive force for change.”3
Literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, and mastery of academic subjects like history, science, and social studies are at the heart of these missions. Federal programs like the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)—which requires that all students in America be taught to high academic standards to ensure their success in college and careers—emphasize these fundamental subjects because they are the bedrock upon which a student’s future is built.4
Yet, we increasingly ask schools to take on more responsibilities, diluting their focus.
In today’s competitive world, where students are falling behind in reading, writing, and math, diverting time and resources away from academics puts students at a long-term disadvantage.
These core competencies are critical for students’ futures. Until we get that right, everything else should come second.
What About Emotional Well-Being
Some argue that students grappling with personal identity struggles aren’t able to focus on academics until their emotional needs are met. Whether this is valid or not isn’t the issue. The issue is whether teachers and the current education system are in the business of exploring, fostering, and guiding our kids in matters of gender identity. And the answer is no.
It’s not the assignment.
Still disagree? Let me ask you this: Would you show up to your child’s well-check appointment and expect your pediatrician to engage in 20 minutes of math tutoring with your kid?
The need for tutoring is irrelevant.
Just as a doctor’s time should be dedicated to medical care, a teacher’s time should be devoted to academic instruction.