‘Whose Children Are They?’ documentary exposes what is really happening in the nation’s public schools
January 24, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Parents and teachers are awakening to a destructive agenda that’s been lurking in America’s schools for decades and they’re demanding reform. The agenda includes anti-American history, divisive Critical Race Theory (CRT) and explicit sexualized curricula for small children. Yet, parents have been deliberately kept in the dark.
This is not the case any longer, as evidenced by what just happened in Virginia. Backed by a parents’ revolt, newly inaugurated Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on his first day in office on Jan. 22 issued executive orders aimed at returning control of education to parents. He banned Critical Race Theory in schools and will allow parents to decide if their children should wear masks at school. He also launched an investigation of Loudoun County, where officials covered up two sexual assaults, dishonestly denied allowing CRT instruction, and shut down public hearings when speakers became too critical.
“This is the kind of movement we are hoping to galvanize across the country encouraging parents to reclaim their right to be the ultimate authority in their children’s lives. Our new documentary ‘Whose Children Are They?’ will inform and inspire millions of parents and teachers to stand together,” said Parents United America founder and president Deborah Flora, a producer of the film.
Flora launched Parents United America to advocate for parents after lawmakers in Colorado pushed Comprehensive Sex Education through the legislature despite hundreds who rallied against it. In response, Flora worked to introduce Sex Ed Transparency legislation and helped flip her own school board in Douglas County, Colorado after one of her testimonies went viral.
Slated for release this spring in theaters nationwide through Fathom Events, “Whose Children Are They?” features brave teachers, emboldened parents, impacted students and frontline experts who show how schools are sexualizing children and indoctrinating them into radical ideologies without their parents’ knowledge.
Produced by an all-star production team, the new documentary reveals exactly how dangerous schools have become and what parents and tax-paying citizens can do about it.
Also a producer, Rebecca Friedrichs is a veteran public-school educator and founder of For Kids and Country. Friedrichs served as plaintiff in the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court case Friedrichs v. California Teachers’ Association that blazed the trail for ending forced unionization of teachers and government employees.
Friedrichs set out to educate teachers on their newfound freedom from unions, and to catalog her experiences as a teacher and mother dealing with years of union abuse of her children, herself, and others. The resulting book, “Standing Up to Goliath” – which highlights the testimonies of dozens of brave teachers, parents and kids— is part memoir, part expose, and part call to action providing a road map for parents, teachers and students to unite to combat this abuse.
“Most teachers disagree with the radical ideology being pushed into our schools by so-called teachers’ unions, but they’re either unaware the unions are the culprits, or they’re too terrified to speak out,” said Friedrichs. “That’s why we sued the unions— to free teachers and kids from their hostile grip. The testimonies in ‘Standing Up to Goliath’ broke the silence of teachers. Whose Children Are They? raises their voices exponentially and features dozens of additional testimonies that more fully expose the destructive influence of unions.”
The team also includes Executive Producer Gerald Molen, the Academy Award-winning producer of Schindler’s List and other highly acclaimed movies including Jurassic Park, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, Amistad, Twister and Rain Man, and Director Jonathan Flora who worked on Disney blockbuster Star Wars and Marvel franchises.
“‘Whose Children Are They?’ is designed to trigger a national conversation about the dire need for educational transparency,” said Flora. “Any parent of school-age children who sees this will never view the school system the same way again. We took special care lining up articulate and passionate parents, brave teachers, along with first-rate experts in the field in order to expose the gravity of the problem and discuss what we can do about it.”
In addition to Flora and Friedrichs, experts include Robert Woodson of the Woodson Center, investigative journalist Alex Newman, Ian Prior of Fight for Schools, Gina Gleason of Real Impact and others.
Mailyn Salabarria, who was born and raised in communist Cuba, describes the alarming trend toward indoctrinating America’s children in socialism and how it is similar to what she experienced under Castro. “They always try to replace the parents in communist systems because one of their core tenets is that [they] need to be in charge of educating and preparing the younger generations.”
Alex Newman connects the dots between Marxist philosopher John Dewey and today’s leftist-dominated public education system. Dewey’s 1916 book, “Democracy and Education,” became the touchstone for “progressive” schooling in America.
“John Dewey is the single most important character in the history of our modern educational system,” Newman says. “There isn’t even a close second. He believed so thoroughly in Marxism and communism that he went to the Soviet Union and wrote back with these glowing reports that appeared in the New Republic about how wonderful the system was. He was especially fond of their school system, which he bragged was instilling a collectivistic mentality into the children. And that’s what he wanted for America.”
“Our documentary informs people of exactly how dangerous America’s schools have become,” Friedrichs says, “And it teaches them how to stand with good teachers— against unions— for the sake of our kids and our country.”
Fathom Events is a recognized leader in the entertainment industry as one of the top distributors of content to movie theaters in North America. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC); Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK); and Regal Cinemas, a subsidiary of the Cineworld Group (LSE: CINE.L), Fathom operates the largest cinema distribution network, delivering a wide variety of programming and experiences to cinema audiences in all the top U.S. markets and to more than 45 countries. For more information, visit FathomEvents.com.
For more information about the documentary and to view the 60-second trailer visit WhoseChildrenAreThey.com.
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