JD Busch:

A few years back, I did what any reasonable parent would do after their kids came home from Chicago schools quoting Che Guevara and rattling off gender theory jargon that would give Judith Butler a headache: I pulled the plug after realizing the K-12 curriculum was infected with a mind virus embedded in the very standards and teacher education.

If you’re a Chicago parent sick of the status quo, you can pull your kids out and give them a real education — one that’s about justice, not “social justice.” Heck, you can even make it work while staying in the city if you’re brave enough and willing to drive a few miles out of state.

The results? Let’s just say I’m no longer the dad defending his kids against charges of racism for questioning whether BLM was anti-Semitic from the start (yes, this happened at a Chicago private school and Lane Tech).

What I learned yanking my kids out is that the obsession with race, gender, and all manners of victimology and suicidal empathy at these schools has sucked away time for academic excellence and building children of sound moral character.

My now 8th grader, formerly a student at a Chicago private school that worked its way into the “wrong headlines” for going woke, has gone from academic roadkill (pushed along and told he was “doing fine”) to a full-blown scholar-athlete. This is the same kid who, upon leaving his so-called elite private school, tested behind grade level in math and reading and was admitted to his new school on academic probation.

Fast forward to today, and he’s not just catching up — he’s crushing it. Three years on, my son is safely in the top quartile in state assessments, playing high school sports this spring (despite being in middle school), and learning what real accountability looks like.