Posted on 08/15/2007 3:02:25 AM PDT by Pharmboy
After five years, one legal defeat and a challenge on the way, Montgomery County, Md., is at the frontier of sex education in the United States. This fall, barring last-minute court action, the county will offer lessons on homosexuality in its 8th- and 10th-grade health education courses.
To school officials, the lessons are a natural outgrowth of sex education and of teachings on tolerance and diversity...The lessons’ central message is respect and acceptance of the many permutations of sexual identity, both in others and in one’s self.
School officials said they were not seeking to promote a political agenda, beyond tolerance...
But critics, who have filed lawsuits seeking to stop the lessons, contended that the Montgomery County schools, just north of Washington, have gone too far. John Garza, president of the Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, a group leading the opposition, said parents can block television shows they deem morally questionable, “but then we have the schoolteacher affirming unhealthy behavior.”
... In the 10th grade, the lessons, which presume that sexual identity is innate, again discuss the stresses of coming out, but add, “Many people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender celebrate their self-discovery.”
Kevin Jennings, the executive director of the New York-based Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, said the curriculum could reduce bullying over sexual identity.
“I don’t know how denying information to young people about sexuality or sexual orientation does anything to promote their health and well being,” he said.
Mr. Garza objected to schools teaching that homosexuality is not subject to change and failing to mention higher rates of some venereal diseases among gay men. “When you get into these hotly contested areas of moral judgment, that’s where the school needs to get out of it, or at least teach all sides,” he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
This article does NOT do that; in fact, it gives Garza of the opposition the last word which is downright fascinating.
As much as we’ve all railed against the Times (and rightly so, of course), I believe they deserve recognition for this one which is fair and written with essentially no editorializing in a news piece.
Perhaps..but the story is the story, no matter where you see it published. If this ‘subject matter’ EVER attempts entry into my child’s curriculum, I will fight to the end. I will NOT see my school tax dollars put towards this BS.
Our children were exposed to Inventive Spelling, Creative Math and the above forms of indoctrination. When we asked the Montgomery School board to hold him back and train him to read, they said "We have a NO FAIL POLICY". So we home schooled our son and brought him up 5 reading grade levels in one year.
Our son was told he should concentrate on technical skills because "he would never go to college". The ROTC here in Georgia straighten him out on that one and he went to Valley Forge Military College, went into the Air-force and graduated Air-force Basic with honors (1st out of 876).
No thanks to Monkey County.
I live in Montgomery County and had two kids in the public schools. This agenda has been proposed for several years. This program descibes anyone who considers homosexuality to be immoral for religious reasons as intolerant and a bigot. The article did not mention that. The article also did not mention all the pro homosexual propaganda in the program. This was not a balanced article.
Anyone who cares about their children’s success ought to abandon the public schools. Christians should abandon them in general. It is time for separation of school and state.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Notice how she doesn't say which one is preferred.
Anyone who describes my religious beliefs as intolerant and bigoted is ... well ... intolerant and bigoted. And I don't want bigots running public schools.
The NYT is expert at search engine manipulation. The fact is the end paragraphs are generally chopped off by TV newsreaders or other news outlets.
It is like the way editors intentionally manipulate headlines.
the bottom line is right here in the TOP of the article
central message is respect and acceptance of the many permutations of sexual identity, both in others and in one’s self. [emphasis added]
It is very caucasian of the homocentric NYT to toss a scrap at the end but the bottom line is the goal of this propaganda effort is to move from we have to tolerate the homosexual to we now must ACCEPT that childrenn will be taught in the public schools about the recreational sex of two men playing with each other's genitals. Acceptance mandated by force of law. Thought crime prosecution for failure to express acceptance.
“....anyone who considers homosexuality to be immoral for religious reasons as intolerant and a bigot....”
This has been bothering me for some time, and perhaps this thread will provide me with an answer.
I do not consider whether or not homosexuality is a choice or a genetic mechanism, simply because I don’t think it to be important. I simply can’t accept homosexuality as “normal”.
Now at this point, most people ask, “what is NORMAL?”
Leaving out the obvious religious contraindications, I conclude that “normal” is anything that would either tend to promote the propogation of a species, or would NOT hinder it.
In either case, (true) homosexuality seems to contradict both, in that in its purest form, reproduction becomes impossible, therefore the species extinguishes itself and therby could not be considered a natural condition.
I am left with the conclusion that homosexuality is some sort of disability or birth defect; whether biological or psychological. Any disability or birth defect must be considered “abnormal”, correct?
I really do not have hate in my heart towards homosexuals/homosexuality, but my brain will not allow me to consider them/their behavior normal.
Can anyone share their thoughts?
Just send them to your local madrassa.
What “information” and from what point of view? The article is only “balanced” from the perspective that it is biased in a more subtle fashion than the normal beat-them-over-the-head style of Leftist hyperbole we see in the NYT.
“School officials said they were not seeking to promote a political agenda, beyond tolerance...”
Leftist “educators” see nothing wrong with indoctrinating/inculcating the children with their own Leftist brand of religion, do they? How is it that the classroom is seen by “educators” as the proper venue for instilling their social and cultural values? I thought Leftists were all about each person defining for themselves their own PERSONAL philosophy. After all, parents shouldn’t attempt to inculcate religious values in their children - Each child must discover for themselves their OWN PERSONAL philosophy. Of course, that freedom to “do their own thing” is only applicable until the Leftists have succeeded in gutting the old morality, then the focus becomes “promoting tolerance” which really means forcing their Leftist views on the children.
Leftists are filth, wherever they are found.
No, the piece is not “fair and balanced” by a long shot. Reality: Homosexuality is an aberration no different than any other psychological or physical disease. It is not normal! If schools are to cram the concept of “it’s just an alternate lifestyle” down our children’s throats then, to be fair and logically consistent, they should be doing the same for beastiality, toe suckers, crossdressers etc. Having said that I fully embrace homosexuals as being God’s children every bit as much as heteros. I do not condone harrassment of homosexuals. Please, spare me the usual homophobe diatribes. I know it is a bit of cliche, but one of my best friends is gay. I grew up with him from 6-17 years old. Anybody wanting to pick on Lenny had to deal with me first.
Just how many FReepers do you expect to sign up to the New York Rag? What is this fascinating "last word."
I do not doubt you...perhaps I should have made my point stronger, which was that that this is a balanced article FOR THE NY TIMES.
Where’d you go Pharm?
Lots of folks calling you on the “fair and balanced.”
What say you?
Damn. Nevermind.
There is no moral relativity for journalistic coverage.
fair is fair
not one fair for the NYT and another for other outlets.
It is just the NYT with its homosexual heavy staff pushing the homosexual recruiting agenda.
The NYT can’t fold up and end publishing fast enough.
Also: homosexuals make up 2% of the population (the old 10% figure is known to be a lie). You know, 4% of the population is considered legally blind. Is blindness "normal"? Nah, it's a disability.
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