And what’s in the phrase “parent involvement”?

Here’s an argument I find even more convoluted than the feminist flap last month over young childless bloggers so earnestly trying to help stay-at-homeschool moms by calling us unpaid domestic labor –

Blogger mom Judith Warner of “Domestic Disturbances” (subscriber-only) sees that parent involvement in kids’ schooling and other activities is variable based on work schedules and demographics. It seems kids of all demographics wish their moms and/or dads could be with them more. She tags her post with “parental guilt, showing up, working parents.”

I say great, let’s address it then — it’s worth helping families even if we have to change the whole culture to integrate learning with daily life, rather than isolating learning and working away from families and homes.

So that what she’s arguing for, right?

HA! No, this prominent supposedly-thinking mom says our whole culture needs to change indeed, but in the opposite direction, to further isolate kids away from their parents, to systematically keep even the best, most dedicated and productively present proud parents OUT of their own kids’ daytime learning and activities.

Why?

Because kids feel bad when their parents have to work.

So, if you can’t bring enough parent involvement for the whole class, don’t allow any for anyone. Level the playing field by taking all the kids away from all the parents, all day long. Parents can see ‘em after homework at night and have weekend visitation, otherwise they are creatures of the State and that’s the only fair thing to do.

We need to push back against the trend toward excessive and inappropriate parental involvement that weighs so heavily upon families in certain communities. We should start by requesting – ever so politely – that school events requiring parental participation be scheduled in the evening. Or on weekends. And not too often at that.

Let’s get parents out of their school-aged kids’ 9-to-3 lives. It’s a cost-free solution to one of the major sources of family angst today.

No worries for my kids of course, or yours — experienced Thinking Parents schooling or not, can afford to laugh at society’s urge to dictate our family time, much less our family values or level of involvement with our own children. We already refused to be part of sacrificing our own on these perverse policy pyres.

What does worry me though, is that this can be proposed as serious commentary to solve our serious social problems. It’s a bad sign imo, if credible liberal thought from our nation’s cultural and journalistic capital is this fatally misguided on family and education policy. The schools have been thoroughly socialized (how’s that working for ya? as Dr. Phil would say) so noblesse oblige now dictates that the next step is to socialize parenting itself, turn it over to community controls both legal and cultural?

It’s like reading Julia Steiny. You finish and think, well, we’re down the rabbit hole for sure now . . .no use even trying to talk sense until I get back HOME.