Posted on 08/10/2005 8:04:45 AM PDT by vrwc0915
David Parker (search) of Lexington, Mass., is scheduled to go on trial on Sept. 21 for asking his son's public school to provide parental notification before discussing homosexuality with the 6-year old. The actual charge is criminal trespassing. But the real issue is whether parents or schools will control the teaching of values to children The conflict began on Jan. 17, when Parker's then-5-year-old son brought home a Diversity Bookbag from kindergarten. Included was Robert Skutch's "Who's In a Family?" that depicts families headed by same-sex couples. Parker had wanted to decide for himself the timing and manner in which his son was introduced to the subject of homosexuality. (The Bookbag is supposed to be a voluntary program but the Parkers knew nothing about it in advance.) Parker immediately e-mailed the Estabrook school principal, Joni Jay (search). Parker expressed his belief that gay parents did not constitute "a spiritually healthy family"; he did not wish his son to be taught that a gay family is "a morally equal alternative to other family constructs." Parker acknowledged the equal rights of gays but objected to "the 'out of the closet' and into the kindergarten classroom mentality." In essence, Parker highlighted the difference between tolerance, which acknowledges someone's right to make a choice, and acceptance, which is the personal validation of that choice. The conflict moved quickly from the Diversity Bookbag (search) to the more general issue of parental notification. The Parkers wanted to know if sexuality was scheduled to be discussed in class so they could remove their son. They also wanted their son removed from any "spontaneous conversations" about sexuality that involved an adult.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Yeppers....I thought it was junior high...THANKS!!!!
I have actually had a great deal of success in dealing with these sensitive issues in our public school system. Before my son even entered his mandatory "Health" class, I spoke with the teacher, went over the curriculum, and asked to be given the dates on which certain matters-and speakers-would be presented. I was treated with respect and kept fully abreast of all activities. Though the curriculum was abstinence based, they had a guest speaker come in to speak about contraception. The teacher email me a week before, honored my request for my son to be excluded, and insured that he was excluded discreetly so as to to make his absence the center of attention. I always felt as if they really appreciated my involvement. Apparently, my experience was the exception rather than the rule.
That's an important point :-). I think the GED is pretty much under the radar as far as NEA is concerned. (Egad - it actually tests knowledge and skills, even if at a basic level!)
And anyway, the average GED candidate (over 20 years old, after all) is likely to be perfectly aware of the existence of homosexuality, and be either indifferent or disgusted - at any rate, resistant to influence. It's not the same as forcing the agenda on 5-year-olds.
You're welcome. You could probably find some of the original news articles if you searched FR hard enough. It was quite a big topic for a while.
I'm not saying they wouldn't try to do this or that they might not already be doing so, and I certainly wouldn't put anything past Gray "Vladimir Il'ich" Davis. I'm just venting my outrage that they would be so presumptuous as to even try to adjust attitudes of their employers as the goal of legislation.
You forgot to mention that the school nurse can make the decisions about your daughter having an abortion without any consultation with you, the parent, whatsoever.
The nerve parents actually think they have some say in their kids education!
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As a "past" veteran parent, who was sucsessful at removing several teachers from employment because of their socialist teachings, rantings and gross incompetency, I can say to some extent, that the complacency of parents has not helped the socialist take-over of the government school system. What we see here is just another of many examples of the arrogance, the leftist attitude that, after so many years of being protected and pandered to by leftists in government and the unions, has run amuck.
Parents need to reclaim their control over the government education system OR FIGHT FOR VOUCHERS, or just refuse to pay taxes for education, which is a HUGE percentage of state-level taxation. Personally, after going through what I went through, here in the state of California, I would NEVER PUT MY CHILDREN into a socialist-run government school at any price. NEVER!
Good point, I hadn't thought it all the way through.
Got a link?
"You forgot to mention that the school nurse can make the decisions about your daughter having an abortion without any consultation with you, the parent, whatsoever."
The school counselor can bully your kid into it, too.
Honestly, my parents sacrificed SO much to put me and my siblings through Catholic school...and I will never be able to thank them enough. I'm only 18, but I still recognize what it took for them to send me to a school where they could keep tabs on my education.
Sorry, I just remember seeing a mention on FR. I don't even recall any larger context.
Go to www.article8.org for all the original info on this story! You get to read the actual documents between the school and Mr. Parker.
This is the first principle of childhood education which is violated by compulsory attendance laws and tax-funding of gov't schools only. Our current system of schooling is fundamentally immoral.
Ah---yes, they have been fighting that fight in Florida for sure..
BUT, you better not let your child take a Tylenol for a headache..or he/she could get suspended for "drug use".
Since my oldest plays with and interacts with public school children a good deal in the neighborhood, different clubs and in Boy Scouts- he is not that mystified about what public school kids are like-And he knows that recess is only 1/2 hour for the kids who are lucky enough to get it (We play at the playground until we are ready to go home). I let him pick out some of the neato school lunch meals he sees at the grocery store and we have lunch together with a bunch of homeschool kids at least twice a month- and we include special hostess goodies!!!
The other day he said to me,"Mom, if school is that great then why do all of the kids I know get so happy for vacation and a day off?"
Good question, huh?
My oldest son knows that if he is interested in attending school, he may- but the rule is not until high school.
I ask him every so often if he wants to to go to school in a school building and he always say no, not now. He also has a bunch of friends who want to be homeschooled, but their parents can't do it for lots of different reasons- so he thinks he is lucky.
Where Catholic priests walk the halls....hmmmm. May not be such a good idea either.
Homosexual Agenda Ping.
Gotta grind out some articles here, they're piling up! More on the reprehensible case of a father arrested for trespassing while in the school disagreeing with homosexual indoctrination of his child.
Time to rip, snatch, grab your kids out of government schools. It isn't that hard to homeschool - there are many resources available. Homeschooled kids are the future of this country in many ways.
Freepmail me if you want on/off this pinglist.
ditto for me also.
He's right about the difference between tolerance and acceptance. If these perverts want tolerance, I'll give them just as much as I give any other american. No more, no less. If they want my acceptance of Pride parades, their sexual proclivities, and the teaching to kids that gay sex is normal , well they may have to wait. Exactly when is hell scheduled to freeze over?
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