Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell is senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a think tank based at Stanford University. Sowell contends in the following viewpoint that America’s laws and educational system undermine parental influence. He believes that programs in the nation’s schools, such as drug prevention and sex education, teach youths values that often conflict with those held by their parents. Because parents have been stripped of authority, they should not be held legally responsible for their children’s acts, Sowell claims.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Sowell, how do books, movies, and other materials in schools portray parents"
2. In Sowell’s opinion, what effect does the distribution of condoms at schools have on youths"
3. How does the author support his claim that “death...