Let’s be honest: December is the month when America becomes a thriving black market of folklore.

We’ve got Santa, who somehow manages to deliver gifts to 2.3 billion children in one night with the help of eight reindeer, one of whom must have lived a little too close to Chernobyl. We’ve got Hallmark movies, where every struggling bakery in a small town is magically saved by a handsome architect wearing a red scarf. And here in the Pacific Northwest, at least one guy in every coffee shop is 93% sure he saw Sasquatch last week, probably just before he could get his phone out to snap a pic (or he didn’t want to take a pic and risk ruining the treasure he had found).

December is peak season for believing things that aren’t exactly verifiable.

Which brings me to… the public school system.

Specifically, the myths people believe about our local schools in Battle Ground.

Now, look—I don’t blame anyone for believing a myth. I once believed for an embarrassingly long time that the little “sharpeners” in the knife block actually did something. (For more context, click here.)

Turns out they’re about as useful as a screen door on a submarine (any Rich Mullins fans out there?). But I kept using them because… well, that’s what came in the box.

Likewise, a lot of folks in our community inherited stories about what’s really happening inside our schools—stories that mostly came “in the box” from big podcasts, national influencers, YouTube culture warriors, Instagram influencers, and that one uncle who sends Facebook posts in ALL CAPS.

But here’s the thing:

Just because a story goes viral doesn’t mean it’s true.

And just because something is true somewhere doesn’t mean it’s happening in Battle Ground. And even if it is happening in Battle Ground, that doesn’t mean it’s because of Battle Ground Public Schools.

So today, let’s put on our Santa hats, flip on Harry and the Hendersons, and look at the difference between myth and reality—Battle Ground edition.

Myth #1: “The schools are pushing extreme political agendas.”

If by “agenda,” you mean:

  • teaching teenagers to show up on time,
  • turning in their work,
  • not putting Cheetos in the tuba, and
  • maybe learning how to do long division…

…then absolutely. Guilty as charged.

But the idea that Battle Ground classrooms are all running some secret ideological experiment is simply not supported by what’s actually happening in our district.

What does our curriculum process look like? I’ve learned at a pretty deep level what the curriculum adoption process is like in our district. And it’s not simple. It’s slow on purpose. They want to get as much community and teacher feedback as possible. The guiding question is always:

“Will this help our kids learn?”

Not “Will this get us featured on a national podcast rant?”

If you want to see how curriculum is chosen, here’s a good place to start: BG CAST Episode on Curriculum Adoption: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bg-cast/id1617925382?i=1000590914543

For deeper research: A nonpartisan explainer on local curriculum authority: https://www.nsba.org/ASBJ/2021/August/local-control

Myth #2: “Teachers are indoctrinating kids.”

I know dozens of our teachers personally. You know what they’re doing when they get home?

Grading papers…Falling asleep while grading papers…Drinking lukewarm coffee while grading papers…Getting up at 5:30 a.m. to… grade more papers.

Then they go and teach the curriculum that was chosen by the district, work to get students caught up who are behind, work with students who are at different levels, go to staff meetings, give students money out of their own pockets for lunch, give students their own snacks, and more.

If this is the indoctrination curriculum, it needs a rewrite. These people aren’t running mind-control experiments—they’re fighting to help 12,000 students learn, grow, and build futures that reflect who God made them to be. They’re treating students with the dignity and respect all humans deserve, because they are made in the image of God.

Are there teachers who think differently from me? Yes. Are there teachers who think like I do? Definitely, we have a pretty good mix. And the way most curriculum works, they don’t have much room to work in their personal ideology. And it’s against the rules to do so.

(Legally, public-school teachers do have First Amendment free-speech rights, but those rights are limited when they’re acting in their official role. Federal case law (including Garcetti v. Ceballos) allows school districts to restrict political expression during classroom instruction, work hours, or when a teacher is speaking as part of their professional duties, in order to maintain neutrality and avoid influencing students. Outside of work, however, Washington teachers retain full political-speech protections as private citizens, as long as they are not using school resources or representing the district. In short: teachers may not promote their personal political beliefs in class, but they are absolutely allowed to have and express those beliefs off the clock.)

Back to the conspiracies. I love a good conspiracy theory. It’s fun to listen to Goerge Noory late at night. But, if there’s a “conspiracy” going on, it’s a conspiracy of exhausted adults trying their best to hold everything together with limited resources.

Myth #3: “I saw a video of a crazy thing happening in a school… so it must be happening here too.”

This is the Santa Principle:

When people want to believe something strongly enough, they assume it’s happening everywhere.

The truth?

National stories rarely match local reality.

It’s like assuming that because someone in Florida keeps an alligator in their bathtub, we’re probably doing the same thing here in Battle Ground. (For the record: we are not. Not even out where we live. And we live OUT there.)

If you want to see actual data about what’s happening in Washington schools—not clickbait—start here:

OSPI (Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction): https://www.k12.wa.us/ EdWeek data on school trends: https://www.edweek.org/

Or even better, Volunteer to help out in the school that’s closest to you.

Myth #4: “The district is hiding something.”

If anything, our district is exhausting itself trying to communicate.

They publish reports. They run newsletters. They take questions. They hold meetings (that almost no one shows up to). They literally do a podcast with me to increase their level of transparency.

You know who usually listens to these things?

People named “Mom,” “Dad,” and occasionally “A Well-Meaning Pastor Who Internally Regrets Having This Many Tabs Open.”

Transparency isn’t the problem.

Engagement is.

If you want to know what’s happening, the doors are wide open. It’s like Costco on a Saturday: overwhelming, but everything is technically available. (If you want to volunteer, start here: https://www.battlegroundps.org/page/volunteer)(I feel like I already posted that link. Oh, wait, I did. I’m going to leave it, just in case you don’t know how to scroll back up.

So what’s actually true?

Here’s what’s NOT a myth:

  • Our students need stable funding.
  • The state does not provide adequate funding. (They should, but they do not. This is a problem NOT caused by BGPS.)
  • Our teachers need sustainable workloads.
  • Our programs need investment—not cutbacks.
  • Our community thrives when our schools thrive.
  • Our students need a community that has their back.
  • And most importantly: local problems require local solutions, not imported national outrage.

We don’t need Santa. We don’t need Sasquatch. We just need people willing to look at what’s actually happening, not what social media says is happening.

A Quick, Honest Word as a Pastor

Christians are supposed to be people of truth. People who don’t spread rumors, but instead, research what the facts actually say and then present them faithfully, even if those facts do not agree with their own point of view. We are supposed to be people who love their neighbors—including the ones who teach algebra and the ones learning it.

When Paul says, “Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres”, that applies to how we speak about our community’s children, too.

If 85–90% of our local kids attend public school, the ones living next to you, getting on and off the school bus that you wait impatiently behind (is it just me?), then supporting those schools is one of the most practical, tangible ways we can obey Jesus when He says:

“Love your neighbor.”

Myth-busting isn’t just good civic work. It’s discipleship.

Further Reading / Deeper Dive Links