Right-wing complaints about schools represent a 'hyper-focused' minority of Americans: report

Despite the relentless right-wing drumbeat that children are being groomed, taught critical race theory and being "abused" by wearing masks, most parents are quite satisfied with their children's schools and what they're being taught.

A new national poll by NPR and Ipsos showed positive trends as the nation continues to recover from the pandemic. By a wide margin, "parents say their child is ahead when it comes to math, reading, social skills, and mental health and well-being. Fewer parents say their child is behind in those areas.

"In fact, in 2022, almost half of parents, 47%, agree with the statement: 'the pandemic has not disrupted my child's education.' That's up from 38% in 2021."

The nationally representative poll of 1,007 parents follows up on a similar survey that NPR and Ipsos conducted a year ago. In both polls, parents were asked about the impact that the pandemic has had on their children and about their schools' performance during this time.

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This year, 88% of respondents agree with the statement "my child's teacher(s) have done the best they could, given the circumstances around the pandemic." And 82% agree "my child's school has handled the pandemic well." Seventy-six percent of parents said they're satisfied that their schools do "a good job keeping me informed about the curriculum, including potentially controversial topics."

What's more, only 18 percent of responding parents said their child's school taught about gender and sexuality in a way that clashed with their family's values, 19 percent said the same about race and just 14 percent had concerns about how U.S. history is being taught.

The poll results lead Mallory Newall of Ipsos to conclude, "It really is a pretty vocal minority that is hyper-focused on parental rights and decisions around curriculum."