Is Quaker Education A Front For Social Justice?
- Parents Unite
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Quaker schools are among the most established and successful K-12 schools in the world. Quaker Education claims to nurture and celebrate each child’s special gifts, talents, and identities. Also called Friends schools, these institutions continue to build a reputation as dynamic and impressive academic institutions. In the US alone, there are 80 Quaker schools in 21 states, with approximately 4,900 educators. In the U.S., there is an extensive network of Friends schools. While each is independent, they all share the same essential mission: honoring what Quakers call the Inner Light and helping each child experience that Light within.
Moses Brown School is one of the oldest and largest of a network of Friends schools in the U.S. The mission of Moses Brown is “to inspire the inner promise of each student and instill the utmost care for learning, people, and place.”
Head of School, Katie Titus, describes Moses Brown as “rooted in the universal Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship, and we infuse those values into everything we do. The core of our mission is to help each student discover their inner promise while preparing them for a world that is constantly evolving.”
According to Jen McFadden, Director of Friends Education at MB, “Our Friends school community depends on diversity of perspective and experience — the wisdom gained through our collective search enriches the individual, the community, and the world.”
The school claims that truth matters and that “Dialogue and Diversity” are integral to the Quaker education. However, according to parents, the only “dialogue” at the school seems aimed at converting families and students away from their traditional values. Recent activity provides evidence of parents’ claims.
After Veterans Day, Jen McFadden used a mandatory Quaker meeting to host a talk on conscientious objection/conscientious objectors (COs), framed as support for the school’s “peace testimony.” COs are people who feel unable to participate in active duty military service for religious reasons or sincerely held personal beliefs.
The talk was, in fact, an interactive lesson in anti-military propaganda that included the children marching in place, chanting anti-military songs.
It provided a detailed lesson in how to avoid military service by registering as a conscientious objector.
Many parents, students, and fellow teachers were deeply offended by the presentation and their forced participation. After students and parents voiced concerns, the school and the Director of Friends Education were forced to apologize. This incident raises important questions about the adherence to Quaker Values for all students. Does all really mean all? There is no military draft today. Why did the school invite this speaker to explain how religious beliefs can be used to meet draft eligibility requirements, but not invite a speaker to explain students’ rights to object to the COVID-19 vaccine based on sincerely held religious beliefs?
Who at Moses Brown is in charge of vetting speakers and their content, and who decides which teachers to hire? Another teacher at Moses Brown, Jennifer Stewart, is a socialist and an elected official in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She teaches US History at Moses Brown, where tuition hovers around $50,000 annually. On social media, Stewart has actively expressed her “non-peaceful” and inflammatory viewpoints.
Even Libs of TikTok covered it:
And others are weighing in:
How can students feel “safe” voicing their viewpoints and beliefs in a classroom power dynamic in which a teacher openly presents her own views as fact? Does the school administration consider how students might react to seeing their teacher as a social justice activist? Might that have a chilling effect on classroom discussions? Does Quaker/Friends school culture prioritize activism over dialogue and inquiry?
Mission alignment
Schools that live their missions have healthy cultures. Teachers, faculty, and staff should all be versed in the mission and its practical implications. If they are not aligned, then the school may not be a fit for them. Moses Brown claims that diversity of perspectives is essential. Still, when only one negative and divisive worldview is promoted, this contradicts the idea that Moses Brown is a “diverse community strong enough to hold hundreds of unique and independent-minded people.”
Will schools like Moses Brown hold teachers who are not aligned with the school’s values to the same standards they hold their families? How will schools ensure the value and protection of conservative students when teachers and administrations publicly voice disgust at their sincerely held beliefs? Are dialogue and viewpoint diversity truly prioritized for all at schools like Moses Brown, or is a Quaker/Friends education just a front for social justice and conservative conversion therapy?
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