'What Did You Learn in School Today?'

It is an undeniable reality that children are the custodians of our future, destined to shape the world we leave behind. Children indisputably hold the responsibility of safeguarding our future and have the inherent potential to influence the world we will ultimately pass on. It is an obvious fact that our children will become our leaders in the future, succeeding us, as well as their own descendants' and subsequent generations'. A nation that desires its leaders to continue the lessons learned in the past must educate them accordingly. This is why developed nations expend a significant portion of their gross domestic product on education, and it is why terrorist states teach their children the ideologies of their terror groups. The United States allocates 6.1% of its GDP toward education. The U.S. is ranked 36th globally based on this number. However, it is comparable to the expenditure levels of most major developed nations.

But money isn't everything. Investing billions of dollars in education would be futile if the curricula provided to students are insufficient. This is the reason why we observe poor educational outcomes in many low-income neighborhoods, where a large amount of money is invested per student but performance is below neighborhoods that spend less per student.

Despite its status as one of the lowest-performing school districts in the nation, the Baltimore County Public Schools allocate approximately $22,424 per student. Most problems in Baltimore County can be attributed to cyclical poverty and the prevalence of single-parent households.

However, numerous school districts throughout the country are grappling with an even more pervasive problem. A problem of progressive, left-leaning curricula that pose a significant threat to the longevity of our nation.

Over the past decade, our children have been exposed to a range of politically charged curricula. Many schools have incorporated lessons that center around critical race theory, which posits that Whites subconsciously act as oppressors toward minority groups. We have also witnessed unsettling phenomena such as drag story time, in which men, dressed in revealing attire, read books in close proximity to children. We have seen situations where pornographic literature has been made mandatory reading material for children in kindergarten. We have observed a range of LGBTQ propaganda disguised as fundamental education to our children.

It is a common observation that the implementation of woke, equity and inclusion-based policies in education often leads to negative outcomes for children. The problem with woke education lies not in the values that children are taught. Indeed, those values are commendable, and we should strive to embody them; respect, compassion, inclusion, fairness. However, what is truly worrisome is the method and substance of these lessons.

Prior to the inclusion of critical race theory and transgenderism in school curricula, students learned about equality and acceptance through stories such as those of Martin Luther King Jr. and other accounts of racism and oppression. Any child would find it challenging to read about the atrocities of slavery and Jim Crow and not feel anger toward the unjust treatment of Blacks solely due to their skin color.

However, with the implementation of woke curriculum, the mere act of accepting individuals irrespective of their skin color or gender identity is not enough. Having reached a collective understanding of accepting individuals as they are, it seems we are now required to take further action. Apparently, we must recognize that even children can contribute to the oppression of Blacks. Apparently, accepting LGBTQ individuals is not enough. We must also exert all efforts to embrace it in our lives.

Advocates of this form of education contend that early exposure to these subjects will result in students becoming more responsible members of society, and it will cause them to pursue more equitable goals in the future as they become our leaders. The reality is shockingly different, however. For example, a staggering number of kids who have been exposed to LGBTQ curriculum have undergone gender transition. Additionally, a significant number of these children opt for surgical intervention, which involves mutilating their genitalia.

It is a fact that individuals who undergo gender transition experience alterations not only in their personality but also in their physical appearance and physiological characteristics. They administer growth hormones. They cut off their genitals. It's no coincidence that these increased numbers have coincided with an increase in LGBTQ subjects being taught very early on in school.

What might be the underlying cause of the sudden rise in transgenderism? Could it be the result of humanity suddenly evolving into a more gender-fluid collective? Or is it more plausible that children are being instructed in these lessons from a very young age to the extent that if they ever experience a fleeting desire to identify with the opposite gender, they assume it will be a permanent state of comfort?

The problem lies in the inclusion of lessons on racial oppression and transgenderism in the school curriculum. They are too complicated for children. Children don't think in complex terms -- everything is simple for them. A child will not consider the long-term impact of gender transition; they will instead consider how it may help them at the present moment.

Education should prioritize teaching fundamental principles rather than focusing on specific doctrines. It would be extremely easy to educate children on the importance of accepting individuals irrespective of their race, sex, national origin, religion, age or gender identity without leaning too far into the topic.

The woke curriculum poses a significant national security threat, extending beyond its impact on individual children. We are producing inept leaders, and even more inept people will elect those leaders. We have reached a stage where people passionately express their endorsement for a presidential candidate solely based on their stance on issues such as CRT, abortion and transgenderism -- matters that have no direct impact on the prosperity of our nation and its citizens.

Other world superpowers such as Russia and China do not include these topics in their school curriculum. This is because they are aware that these concepts have a detrimental effect on society. They act as uncontrollable forces that gradually weaken people's moral values and lead to unresolvable social crises at a national level. They are keenly aware that power lies in a citizenry that doesn't fight itself over petty issues like Americans do.

Now states like California, and likely many other states that will follow suit, want wokeness to extend beyond the classroom and into the home by, as California did, prohibiting school personnel from notifying parents when their child decides to change genders. It is also why many advocates are even pushing for the removal of children from a parent's custody if they refuse to acknowledge and support their gender identity -- because apparently upending a child-parent relationship and sticking a child in the foster care system is a much better idea.

The perpetuation of indoctrination will persist in schools; there is no end in sight, and there likely never will be. Therefore, parents today must be increasingly vigilant and inquisitive when it comes to their young children. A straightforward and potent tool in combating indoctrination through woke education is a basic question every parent should ask their child: "What did you learn in school today?"

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Armstrong Williams is manager/sole owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the year. To find out more about him and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.