Activism vs. Inquiry
- Sep 9, 2025
- 1 min read
Two K–12 private schools recently opened in strikingly different ways.
At one, Dexter Southfield, the Head of School, set the tone with an op-ed titled, “Lessons in character important to the school year.”
At the other, Milton Academy 5th graders were greeted with a different exercise: being asked to “state your pronouns.”
How do these contrasting messages set the tone for the new school year?
Does your school culture prioritize activism over dialogue and inquiry?
Why are schools still pushing a culture of activism?
A recent piece by Lucy Tabrizi, The Age of Useless Activism, maintains:
“The biggest predictor of activism isn’t oppression, but comfort. Or more accurately, boredom. The middle and upper classes are politically active precisely because they aren’t busy surviving. Freed from the grind of meeting basic needs, they reinvent themselves as moral crusaders, usually with all the merchandise to match.” -Lucy Tabrizi
Rob Henderson coined the term “luxury beliefs,” which are ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper class at very little cost while often inflicting costs on the lower classes. His essay, “Luxury Beliefs That Only the Privileged Can Afford,” sums up how extreme views serve as status symbols.
What can you do?
Talk to your children about what they are learning in school. Parents are their children’s first and most important teachers. Trust your instincts.
Read our Navigating Back To School one-sheet:
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