Teacher training programs across the United States are increasingly adopting radical educational theories that undermine parental authority and drive a wedge between parents and children, according to PragerU CEO Marissa Streit. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Streit raised concerns about the rapid spread of what is known as the ethnic studies curriculum, which she says is being implemented or endorsed in more than 22 states. She specifically highlighted the term 'adultism,' arguing that it is being used to portray standard parental boundaries as a form of oppression.
The term adultism originally came from sociology to describe age discrimination against children. However, Streit contends that it has found new life in radical training materials, where it is used to cast typical parenting decisions about clothing, relationships, or major medical choices as a form of fascism or tyranny. She displayed a teacher training manual titled 'Lessons In Liberation: An Abolitionist Toolkit for Educators,' which she says promotes anti-capitalism, Critical Race Theory, and the rejection of adult authority. The publisher, AK Press, describes the book as designed for educators, parents, and young people to shine a light on abolitionist projects in Pre-K–12 learning contexts.
Streit argued that ethnic studies modules simply repackage concepts like DEI, social-emotional learning, and Critical Race Theory that have received negative attention. 'Ethnic studies teaches the teacher to tell the student that the term adultism is a negative thing,' Streit said. 'When an adult is behaving like an adult by telling their child that the child should not dress a certain way or have sex at an early age or even request sex or gender changes... the parent is engaging in adultism.' She quoted a passage from the text that allegedly states, 'Adultism teaches us that adults have the power and the right to decide what young people's boundaries should be.'
The controversy is not limited to theoretical debates. A June report by the San Francisco Chronicle noted that ethnic studies workshops in local schools have drawn significant controversy for promoting the idea of adultism as a form of oppression. The Chronicle cited a training presentation that circulated on social media, which claimed that due to systemic power dynamics, the relationship between students and educators is inherently oppressive.
Streit tied the push against adultism to ongoing legal and political battles over parental notification policies. High-profile disputes across the nation, some reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, have centered on whether schools can conceal a student's gender transition or preferred name and pronouns from parents. She noted that the largest teachers' unions in the country have opposed parental notification policies, citing a recent resolution by the American Federation of Teachers that says the union will protect students from forced outing, referencing President Donald Trump's executive order affirming biological gender.
According to Streit, dismantling parental authority is part of a broader political strategy aligned with the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America. 'The ultimate goal is the DSA platform, and that is to radically transform America,' she said. She pointed to DSA officials who have publicly stated they want to dismantle major American institutions like the U.S. Senate and radically change the presidency and the Constitution. To achieve that goal, Streit argued, activists must first break down trust in U.S. institutions and the bonds between families and individuals and their community.
'They have to break the bond between a child and the parent. They have to break the bond between a parent and the community,' Streit said. 'By creating an entire chaotic environment, you create an environment of collective grievance where the individual feels helpless and hopeless... then a new form of government comes out and says, 'Well, you can't trust anybody else, so therefore put your trust in us.' And that is always what socialists have done.' She warned that this ideology is mirrored in other teacher training materials that promote dismantling ICE and law enforcement.
Other conservative education activists, including the group Defending Education, have also warned about divisive DEI ideologies still being implemented into district model policies and teacher training materials, despite the Trump administration's actions to eradicate DEI in public institutions. A recent report by Defending Education allegedly found DEI principles were being incorporated into teachers' unions' policies on artificial intelligence. Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic Socialists of America, the American Federation of Teachers, and AK Press for comment but did not immediately receive responses.
