Ray Marcano is a Columbus Dispatch contributing columnist.
When I was a young boy in the Bronx, New York, I would board a yellow school bus every Wednesday to go to a local church for “religious instruction” where I and my classmates would learn how sin, especially the fornicating kind, could ruin our lives.
Lawmakers want Ohio students to undergo a similar forced indoctrination by requiring schools teach a course backed by a Christian lobbying group determined to foist their view of the world on young people.
The path to a successful life
Most heinously, the course would be a requirement for graduation, meaning a legislature that alleges to champion parental choice won’t give them any in this case.
The so-called “success sequence” under Senate Bill 276 would mandate students in grades 6-12 sit through one class that teaches that graduating from school, getting a job, and then getting married before having children leads to a more successful life.
There’s plenty of research supporting that position, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only path that can lead to an accomplished life.
The billionaire Richard Branson dropped out of school at 16. David H. Murdock, the billionaire corporate investor, dropped out in the ninth grade. Media mogul Oprah Winfrey and Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, were born to unwed mothers.
The dead fish have it wrong
I grew up in one of the worst projects — at the time— to a single mother and still clawed my way to a good life.
And guess what? Ted Kaczynski (The Unabomber), Dennis Radar (BTK Killer) and Dylan Klebold (Columbine) are among those who grew up in stable families.
You can argue that all of those instances are outliers, but they all show there isn’t one way or one teaching that increases the chances of success.
You can’t argue that this is yet another example of political hypocrisy from people who have the morals of dead fish.
We’ve heard, for years, that parents should decide what’s best for their children, especially when it comes to education. Under the guise of choice, the state passed a law that allows parents to remove their children from school for religious studies.
So, parents have the choice in that instance, but can’t remove them from a course they might find offensive? It makes no sense.
If the state wants to give parents the choice to opt their children out of the “success sequence,” fine. Instead, lawmakers drone on about “choice” when it meets their political interest, not when it meets a parent’s needs.
For the bill to become law, Gov. Mike DeWine needs to sign it. He shouldn’t, unless the Senate adds opt-out language.
Give parents the choice they deserve.
Ray Marcano is a Columbus Dispatch contributing columnist. The longtime journalist is the former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, a two-time Pulitzer juror, and a Fulbright fellow.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio’s ‘anti-fornication’ bill tramples parents’ rights | Opinion
Reporting by Ray Marcano, Contributed commentary / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Ray Marcano, Contributed commentary | USA TODAY Network
