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Court supports school's diversity curriculum
Filed under: Gay Parenting, Alcohol & Drugs, Media, Day Care & Education, That's Entertainment
There is some good and bad news coming from a circuit Court of Appeals in Massachusetts. First, the bad news: it appears I can't complain about my son bringing home a book called "Angel Hide and Seek" when we don't believe in angels. Now the good news: parents cannot force schools to exclude books from their curriculum because of their beliefs (or lack thereof.) As one lawyer explained it, "the courts have rightfully found that parents can't control which books are used in school just because they are in conflict with their personal religious beliefs."The case involved a pair of families that objected to their children being exposed to books that acknowledge or promote tolerance of lesbian and gay families. The books in question included the well-known "Who's in a Family" which presents many different family configurations and "King and King" which tells the tale of two princes who fall in love and get married (remember that gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts). The parents felt that they should have been informed in advance of the subject matter and been given the chance to pull their kids out of class. The judges, however, disagreed:
The mere fact that a child is exposed on occasion in public school to a concept offensive to a parent's religious belief does not inhibit the parent from instructing the child differently. A parent whose 'child is exposed to sensitive topics or information [at school] remains free to discuss these matters and to place them in the family's moral or religious context, or to supplement the information with more appropriate materials.' . . . There is no free exercise right to be free from any reference in public elementary schools to the existence of families in which the parents are of different gender combinations.
The fact is that LGBT families do exist, whether or not these parents like it. It is up to the schools to teach the facts; the parents are free to help their children interpret those facts however they like.
via Mombian
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 2)
2-11-2008 @ 11:39AM
LS said..."It is up to the schools to teach the facts; the parents are free to help their children interpret those facts however they like."
And then when we teach our kids, according to our beliefs, that homosexuality is wrong, we're called "intolerant", "bigot", and other, far worse insults.
Reply
2-11-2008 @ 12:12PM
Uly said...So then you get to teach your children that being persecuted for your beliefs is a tradition reaching back to the early days of Christianity, and has historically been considered a sure path to heaven (as well as a great way to build character). You're so put-upon, you know, but God seems to love that.
2-11-2008 @ 11:55AM
W. H. Heydt said...That's right.... You ahve the right to raise your kids to be intolerant bigots.
Reply
2-11-2008 @ 12:04PM
kate said...Hahahaha!! You beat me to it!
2-11-2008 @ 12:26PM
Jill said...To step back from that a bit...
LS: You have the right to discuss the matter with your child and say, "I believe that x is wrong, for these reasons. Other people do not and they do x, claiming these reasons. I hope that you will follow our family's beliefs." What Massachusetts' law rules is that you can't tell other people's children what they must believe or what they can or cannot be exposed to seeing/hearing at school. They have parents who can filter and explain to meet their own beliefs.
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2-11-2008 @ 12:35PM
LS said...So, this means that the schools can put Bibles on the shelves of the library, right? Because "It is up to the schools to teach the facts; the parents are free to help their children interpret those facts however they like."
And looking through my copy of the Constitution, I find no clause stating that church and state should be separated. Only that the government is forbidden to establish a state religion.
Reply
2-11-2008 @ 12:55PM
kate said...LS, the bible is as much a "fact" as the Easter Bunny and Santa. Bibles belong in CHURCHES not schools.
2-15-2008 @ 7:24AM
pbhj said...>>> LS, the bible is as much a "fact" as the Easter Bunny and Santa. Bibles belong in CHURCHES not schools.
The bible is one of the most important historical texts we have. It has been tested having established historical facts (layouts and locations of cities for example) before archaeological details have confirmed the truth. Other secular texts also support some details of the New Testament.
I've seen rabbits at Easter and the Vatican library will record the details of a real person called Nicholas who was canonised. So without your prejudiced vagries being added these are completely ascertainable facts - as good as any historical fact.
But can you tell me in which country and at what date two princes married and when was the dual coronation?
2-11-2008 @ 5:52PM
roger.sinasohn said...Yes actually, and they can be used in class if they are relevant to the curriculum. Of course, that curriculum cannot present the contents as fact, only that some people believe in it (and it's up to each kid's parents to let them know what they think.) So, it would be appropriate in, a comparative religion class or perhaps in a world history class (to show how belief in the bible has influenced the course of events). Of course, I would expect that any such class would also need to use the Koran and the book of Mormon and so on.
2-11-2008 @ 10:47PM
Jen Henry said...Speaking as a school librarian, yes you can put a copy of the Bible in the library. It's a book and as long as it's treated as a book it is just fine. Freedom of information and all that.
When we start treating it as holy text THEN there's a problem and we run into issues with the separation with church and state.
2-11-2008 @ 12:39PM
ame s said...I have two homosexual friends, 1 male, 1 female, who "came out" several years after I met them. Both have told me were aware of their sexual orientation as children. Both "hid" those feelings until their late 20's. My female friend stated after she told me that she had rather be dead than be a lesbian, but I think the 4 year + relationship she is now in has changed that.
I'm not sure how I will handle talking to my daughters about homosexuality. My older daughter is 10, so I should probably decide. I hesitate to tell them it is absolutely, terribly wrong and I don't agree with it, on the chance that one of them may end up being attracted to other women. Tricky!
Reply
2-11-2008 @ 6:19PM
roger.sinasohn said...Just tell them that you love them and you will love them no matter what.
http://www.parentdish.com/2006/08/20/ali-forney-center-aims-ad-campaign-at-parents/
2-11-2008 @ 1:47PM
Mel said...Jill said: "...you can't tell other people's children what they must believe or what they can or cannot be exposed to seeing/hearing at school. They have parents who can filter and explain to meet their own beliefs."
According to this reasoning, you must also have no problem with abstinence-only education. Right? Because the "parents can filter and explain to meet their own beliefs." But wait. Isn't the liberal battlecry just the opposite when it comes to sex ed? That some parents won't or can't provide necessary information, so the school must step in to fill that void?
This is the problem with liberal, permissive parenting.
So contradictory.
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2-11-2008 @ 6:15PM
roger.sinasohn said...Um, not quite. I would prefer that schools present the facts (as in, if you have sex, condoms will significantly reduce the chance of getting pregnant or catching something) and then I can filter that (if you have sex, you will sit on the stairs for the rest of your life.) I don't want schools hiding the existence of condoms and such any more than I want them to pretend that LGBT families don't exist.
2-11-2008 @ 9:43PM
Nyx said...Interesting attempt, but I'm going to have to give you a poor score for trying to prove that a=b.
See, education - whether about families, relationships, sex, or money - is A.
Ignorance is B.
Educating a child about different family types is A.
Not educating them about sexuality is B.
See the difference? Or should I get out some grade-two textbooks to help you get some A?
2-11-2008 @ 2:35PM
Rachel said...It's not a "presentation of the facts" that most parents have a problem with. It's the propaganda of "look how wonderful and perfect and happy all these alternative families are!" that is the issue. Liberals love to scream, "Don't you dare tell me what to believe or how to live!" but then they turn around and say," If you don't agree with me you are bad, bad, bad!!!!!"
What hypocrites.
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2-11-2008 @ 6:18PM
roger.sinasohn said...And so, when discussing heterosexual families, schools should make sure that kids know all about the divorce rates and how many men beat their wives, and so on?
Schools don't need to go into that sort of thing -- all a first grader needs to know about is that they may encounter families that aren't exactly like their own and that sometimes men fall in love with men and sometimes they fall in love with women and so on. That's the way the world is, whether you like it or not. And whether you like it or not is what parents should be teaching their kids at home.
2-11-2008 @ 2:52PM
Emily Campbell said...Please note that these books were read to/by first graders. I think it's a bit much to expect parents (or teachers!) to explain same-sex marriage to 6-year-olds. It seems obvious that children this age do not have enough life experience, information, or critical thinking skills necessary to handle this subject or to make judgements about it. You have to wonder WHY teach THIS when there are oh-so-many more important things that kids NEED to learn about. It is the liberal agenda that WANTS to have very young children hear about this BEFORE they can think about it rationally and before their parents would have brought it up. By the time they are old enough to process this stuff, what they will have learned is that it's intolerant to question it. How fabulously educational.
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2-11-2008 @ 3:37PM
isisaquaria said...I thought the same thing regarding the sge, nor do I believe this is a school topic any more than the Bible, Koran, Book of Shadows ETC (whichever you choose to follow is your right)--I do not want that in my children's school, let me handle it. I do not have concerns with one's lifestyle choice w/ regard to sex orientation, but leave it out of schools.
2-11-2008 @ 6:35PM
roger.sinasohn said...My daughter (in preschool) and son (in kindergarten) have a friend with two dads. They have more than enough experience to understand love. It is the adults who cannot understand love and must link it to sex. Kids don't need to make any judgments. They don't care about anything except that they love you and you love them and that is good.