Who said that? Mark Twain? I think so.

I thought of this quote when reading an article this morning about the effect of the recent election on school boards in Florida, many of which are veering sharply to the right.

I have said before that I am agnostic on the issue of school curricula. I believe that those in the vocal right are by and large too radicalized in their views, and that some of those on the academic left also have ideas that are too extreme. Like many others, I see the difficulty in resolving some of the issues, and think that politics and religion are playing much too influential roles.

But what got me thinking was a conversation last Thursday in my old Jewish men’s breakfast group. The conversation centered on Christian religious observance in (largely) public schools. Participation in Christmas pageants, singing carols, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, mandatory chapel and so forth.

Virtually everyone in the group condemned this, especially in public schools. Almost everyone had experienced this in their schooling. And – clearly, at least to me – it made no difference in their lives. None of these men became Christian, and none of them continued any of these practices in their later lives, which were spent as Jews, and typically as very active Jewish participants in Jewish life.

So, as we debate all of these issues as to appropriate school curricula, can it be that the biggest impact is not on the children, irrespective of how these matters are concluded in their particular districts, but on the participants in the debate, who are either enlightened as to the issues being debated generally, or who are simply more entrenched in their ways.

As to the students, it may not make any difference to most what books are assigned to their classes or sitting on library shelves. The difference may simply be in their recognizing the hate on both sides, an observation which may close their minds at an early age, and make it harder for them to navigate the world in later years.

But I also recognize that, in saying this, I am not offering anyone a suggestion on how to move from where we are today. Someone clearly has to set school curricula, or determine not to have a set curriculum. And, especially with limited funds and shelf space, someone must decide what books to buy, and what books, from time to time, to remove from the shelves.

The issues of sexual orientation and gender identification are also complex. When I was young, I didn’t know that there was such as thing as being “gay”, and I certainly didn’t know that were people whose gender was fluid or misplaced. But I assume the number of people under these categories hasn’t changed all that much, and that such feelings were simply repressed. And that the repression did no good, and possible harm.

Today, all children seem to know about these things. Is that better or worse? I would guess it is better, even though ignorance is sometimes bliss, but again I have to claim being agnostic on the topic. But my agnosticism does not exist in a vacuum and the gender identification cat is out of the gender identification bag, and society must deal with it, and not try to stuff it back in. Again, politics and religion clearly get in the way, and they need – somehow – to be removed. But how?

Finally, the question of athletic participation, and the further question regarding the use of restrooms, are even more complicated, perhaps. As to the second, single person restrooms can help, when they can be made available as an option for every student. As to who can try out for a team? I really don’t even know how to approach that one.

So, are all of these problems universal? Does every country deal with them? What happens in the most liberal of other countries – in Canada, say, or European countries. How do they handle these problems? Do we have something to learn from them? These can’t just be American problems, can they?