Last week, the founder of a Philadelphia magnet public school tweeted his concern about at-home Zoom call education. He was not worried about the quality of online vs in-person instruction, but whether class discussions, especially on gender/sexuality would be overheard by “conservative helicopter parents.”

Many were outraged, but we should be thankful the hard truth is out in the open. After all, many embrace and employ a philosophy of education that suggests children belong to the state, and that parents – especially religious ones –get in the way. Matthew Kay just said out loud what many educators do day by day.

Perhaps this is the silver lining to the challenge of distance learning: parents have the opportunity to know out what’s really going on at school. In fact, I’d suggest it’s more than opportunity. It’s a responsibility.