Student's Harvey Milk Report Censored By School

Hey, TWOLF, seriously?

I facepalmed that entire post of yours because your argument isn't even legit. It's NOT a choice to be gay. I would know. Ask anyone who is. Do you think the kids abused and kicked out by their parents and teased and harassed at school wouldn't have changed their ways if they could have?

And what right do YOU have, a heterosexual, to even say so in the first place? You haven't experienced it, you have no proof. You didn't choose to be straight any more than anyone chose to be gay.

At the end of the day, it's common knowledge that it's not a choice. It just wouldn't add up if it was. But just saying so isn't good enough for scientists. They need a reason why it is. Which was kind of the point Showdown was making in the first place, which makes your argument invalid.

I did not know that God has appointed you his Morality Representative on Sexual Conduct. How dare you to assume that you have the right to tell anyone what they should or should not do. There is only one person that people have to answer to and they will do that the day they die.
As far as I am concerned if one of my family members becomes Gay, then that is their choice and you have no right what so ever to open your mouth and start spiting out uour garbage. There is enough hatefulness out in the world now a days because of people like you.
If you don't like what is going on in this world, than move to Oregon, Washington, or one of the other Assisted Suicide States and they will probably help you, hopefully.

To have made an issue out of this child's very appropriate subject matter is a disgrace. It's hard to believe that people can be so ignorant about homosexuality in the year 2009, particularly the so-called "learned folks" who teach our kids. Children of that age know what homosexuality is. To pretend that Harvey Milk doesn't exist, or is irrelevant because of his sexual preference, is teaching the wrong message. Is this what happens when writing textbooks about U.S. history? If so, how can we trust that we are getting the facts straight? Who decides who gets to be left out of the history books, and who our children learn about? It should make everyone question all the things they learned in our public school system. That's undoubtedly why women and minorities have been pretty much left out, and given way too little credit, for their significant contributions to our culture.

Our youngsters are much more knowledgeable about this subject today than we were at the same age. Live and let live.

Yes, but they are far less knowledgeable about right and wrong because schools are not allowed to teach anything about morals. They've learned all about the mechanics, they've learned about all of their "rights" and how no one has a right to disrespect THEM but they have no respect for anyone else, particularly adults who, they are taught, even by their parents in many cases, aren't as "smart" as they are. Of course there are exceptions, but imagine yourself at that age with no parental guidance, no educational morality and a society at large that is amoral. All of the safeguards we had growing up a generation ago are gone. Parents, school and Church all worked together to give kids an anchor. Where would we be without that structure and where are we now?

a persons sexual orientation has nothing to do with how they perform as an elected official. This information should have been left out - it's moot when considering a persons prefessional performance.

I am glad they sent a note home! I think parents should know what is going on in the classroom. I for one would have wanted to know and I would have made sure my child wasn't there for the presentation. I don't think children should have to worry about adult issues. It isn't right that they know more than they should.

You are right in that if the writing was done well, it deserves the audience. However, I should say that if the fact of being gay was the center topic in that project then the school is in the right. Nowhere I see to discuss any political figure's sex orientations when their achievements is on the table. Or, Mr Milk was elected just for being gay and not for his merits? In that case, we have a serious problem here with a new era of witch hunts.
--Mitannica

I wonder what would have happened if her report had been about Jesus? He is just as historical as Milk.

I agree, if the paper was researched and properly written it deserved to be Graded not Rated. Also the man did not have to be known as a Gay man, he needed to be known for who he was and what he did for his Office in his Elected State. But she chose to word her Report on Facts as how the Media presents them to us. She did not do anything wrong.

Then those that are in attendance have the right to leave the classroom if they do not want to here about this subject. They also have their rights.

I think this would not have been an issue if the parents had done their job, parenting. Parenting is teaching a child how to navigate in the world in all ways. The article wasn't about "sex", it was about a person who has a different sexual orientation than heterosexuals. The school then compounded the problem by making it THEIR business to censor information that is NOT sexual in nature. I mean, do we stop talking about President Obama and the First Lady because it may make someone think about "sex"? Why is this any different. It's no one's business what people do in their bedroom. The school's need to butt out by not projecting their own fears on their students. That child needs to be applauded for her work, not castigated for awakening "homophobia" among the school's staff.

reply for Paula:

Everything you have said about society being amoral and the world coming to an end because young people have no moral compass was said about your generation and every other new generation that has ever walked through the school house door.

A school report about Harvey Milk the politician does not need to be repressed. The report was not about sex.

1st: We do NOT know what the paper said, thus we cannot place judgment on whether or not it should have been read!
2nd: We do not know the rules as they are written regarding what a speech/presentation can or cannot cover!
3rd: Did the sixth grader choose Milk or was the idea given by her parents due to the controversy it would have caused? If her parents persuaded her, it should be docked, if the child chose herself it should be graded on content, spelling, grammer, etc.
4th: The ACLU did not stand up for the young child who was suspended due to asking another child to pray with her before eating lunch, but they sure are upset at something that only pushed their own agenda.
5th: Look up Madeline Murray O'Hair - the American Atheist (who started the organization) and her life. She is the woman who determined that prayer should be illegal in schools. (Also that "sixth graders should be taught sex ed and that the day we become able to have sex, we should; like animals and flowers") She won, now look where we are at! Not to mention she, her son Jon and her grandaughter Robin were kidnapped and brutally murdered, bodies sawed into pieces by a employee of the American Atheists. (Judgement Day) Her own son, William, is a pastor who calls his late mother evil, a theif on a grand scale and other things an average son nevers says about his mother. Since she won the case Murray vs. Curret our school systems and children graduating from them have progressively become less independent, less respectful towards authority, elders, parents, each other or themselves. When you ask God to leave your life, school, finances, etc.; being the gentleman he is, he will do as you ask. Do not blame the problems on God, blame them on America's choice to back God out of everything that once made our country the world leader, proponent of peace, financial leader, military leader, educational leader...

The school district's argument is particularly weak. If they consider presenting a gay historical figure to be a form of sex education, they would have to censor presentations about Alexander the Great, the Spartans, the Athenians, a large number of the Caesars in Rome, numerous composers and other musicians like Samuel Barber, artists like Michelangelo Warhol, and writers like Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. This list could literally go on and on. It is impractical to assume than such presentations about gay figures are a form of sex education because they would deny role that homosexuals have played in our society as well as the full teaching of history in general.

It is absurd that a child should receive this kind of censorship. As for Paula, PARENTS should teach morals. If you are relying on schools to do that, then you are abdicating your parental duties. If you were a parent of a child in that classroom and thought that homosexuality is wrong, then you could use that girls report as a platform for a discussion at home about your views on sexuality.

When my youngest daughter was in the 10th grade she was assigned a paper on a topic of her choice related to the American west. My love of history extends from my own childhood and led me to a degree in history and life long fascination with the subject. Our home is filled with books.
For this particular assignment she grabbed a book I'd just finished, Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the Old West. My wife and I read her report and were impressed with our daughter's insight to hardship, sexism, the necessity of survival, and several other observations she made. She wrote a very decent paper.
Her teacher censored her paper as inappropriate and, to his great misfortune, sent a note home to us suggesting we do a better job of supervising her choice of material.
A school conference ensued which involved us, the teacher, and his principal. The net effect was that the teacher was asked to reconsider the grade, develop a greater appreciation for the role of women in American history, and find positive ways to support intelligent young female students who are curious and willing to think out of the box in completing otherwise dull assignments.
While this occured 12 years ago, I sometimes wonder if high school teachers have moved much beyond the sort of prissy, self righteous narrowness reflected in this incident. With the 32% drop out rate we have in this country, we'd all better get a clue.

I have but one question. Had Harvey Milk not been gay, would this report have been written. Therefore, in a sixth grade class the subject does surround the sexual preference of the subject and many parents do not desire gay and lesbian sexual preference as a topic of the public schools at this point. Their choice should be respected. Given this, the school official made the correct choice by leaving the attendance of the child to the parent. The school is in a no win situation for had the report been allowed without question, it would be the parents funding the hired guns, the ACLU.

Perhaps that school did not handle things in the best way possible, however, their efforts weren't too bad. It appears that the girl was not sensored by anyone except perhaps concerned parents of fellow students. Parents should use judgement in how they raise their children and what morals they wish to teach their child. Sending a note home is a great approach. Perhaps this girl was not discussing sex ed. but sexual orientation is most likely in the presentation. Some parents may want to discuss such issues at home, one-on-one rather than have their child hear about it at school. I realize that kids are exposed to a great deal at younger ages. That doesn't mean that parents should resign and let the media teach their child right and wrong.
It should be noted that this school did not prohibit the presentation, nor did I read a mention of editing. It appears that this is a matter in which parents were allowed to have some input on what was presented to their own children.
Sometimes schools, it seems, at least in the past, taught, or allowed certain things to be presented at school which later outraged parents who found out. That may be why the school had such a policy about asking parents about sex, or sex ed stuff.

I live in Ramona and my children go to Mt Woodson. In my experience this principal has also demonstrated a lack of concern about the biased behavior of staff members towards hispanic children and their parents. I hope the ACLU broadens its efforts to find out more about why minority children in the Ramona school district are falling far behind their white peers.