Demands would impact children (anti- David Parker letter)

I would like to thank Neil Tassel for clarifying several issues surrounding the David Parker/Estabrook School incident ("Refuting accusations against David Parker," July 28 Minuteman). I would also like to respond to a few points.

Mr. Tassel said that the Parkers wanted the school to "...notify them in advance if there is a planned discussion about same-sex issues, and, if an adult becomes involved in a discussion spontaneously begun by a child, then remove their child from the discussion. Their concern is that impressionable children will hear for the first time from a respected adult that a homosexual-headed family is a normal family structure, and an equally 'good' one at that."

But do Mr. Tassel and the Parkers not understand that if their demands were met, these same impressionable children would be getting the message from a "respected adult" that these families are not normal, and not equally "good?"

This is the view of the Parkers, and they are demanding that the school present their view to all of the children, no matter how damaging this view is to the children of the affected families. Put yourself back into kindergarten and imagine if any time you wanted to talk about your family to the teacher and the class, the classroom ground to a halt so that certain kids could leave.

How would that make you feel? How often would you bring up your family in classroom discussion after that? How would you feel when other kids freely talked about their families? How would you feel when the other kids teased you about it?

Mr. Tassel also said that "...the Parkers find it alarming that the definition of diversity does apparently not include people with views such as theirs." It's not their views that create the problem. It is their attempt to impose those views on everyone else that is the problem.

As far as I know, no families with same-gender, multi-racial, divorced or single parents have asked that the schools tell children that their families are better than anyone else's. Most parents I know are comfortable with presenting all families equally and understand the importance of doing so. If they have differences with what's presented in school, they talk about it with their children at home. The Parkers, via their notification and removal demands, are asking that the schools incorporate into the curriculum their view that same-gender families are not as good.

Finally, Mr. Tassel said that David Parker "...does not desire to impose [his principles] on anyone." That's hard to swallow. I can't know what Mr. Parker's desires are, but the effects of his demands are exactly that.

Wow!

I visited David Parker's web site which linked to a Boston Globe article where I found this from a Lexington school administrator.

"We don't view telling a child that there is a family out there with two mommies as teaching about homosexuality, heterosexuality, or any kind of sexuality," he said. ''We are teaching about the realities of where different children come from."

It's all about very careful definitions for them.
For us it all points back to their acceptance of sin.

I heard David Parker speak and fully support what he is doing. This fight could occupy a lot of his time and hopefully won't jeopardize his job. The fight is to keep his 6 year old from being taught a secular humanist belief system that clashes with basic Christian moral values. Never thought we'd see this day.

Help him if you can.

The public schools are thick with a secular humanistic influence, backed by the Unitarian Universalist Church. Homo, bi and trans sexuality (and many and all other forms of weird sexuality) are neutrally embraced.
These radical new forms of what they're identifying as "family" are the accepted norm among our "educators", without a doubt.

David Parker has chosen a noble fight. I just hope he did it wisely and with legal council. I know how these things can turn out when you don't get good advice beforehand. What seems like a good thing can lead him into unnecessary trouble.

That strategy works when a child is inclined to go with the parent's way of thinking. That's the way we handled it with our kids too. The propriety of them introducing falsehoods to young minds, six year olds! makes me think that David Parker may be onto something.

Today's educators are aggressively teaching a false death culture as equal and superior...with an open hostility toward traditional people of faith.

This should be opposed.

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