Posted on 10/20/2005 9:48:30 AM PDT by Crackingham
Lexington, Mass. — David and Tonia Parker are asking their neighbors in this liberal town for one consideration: Tolerance. The Parkers believe homosexuality is immoral. So they were appalled when their son brought a picture book home from kindergarten that showed families with same-sex parents. To ensure his "spiritual safety," they demanded the right to pull him out of class whenever homosexuality was discussed. To deny them that right, they say, would be intolerant of their faith.
School administrators offer a different take on tolerance. They say it's their job to expose children to the world's diversity. Supt. Paul B. Ash refuses to whisk the Parkers' son away if a classmate with same-sex parents brings a family photo for show-and-tell, or a lesbian couple volunteers at the Halloween party.
Similar debates have roiled communities across the nation as conservative parents challenge classes, books and after-school activities that they say promote a one-sided view of homosexuality as normal. They have notched victories in several states. But the dispute here has gone further than most.
David Parker has been banned from school property. Ash has been flooded with hate mail from across the country. There have been protests and counter-protests; the local newspaper received so many letters, many condemning the Parkers as bigots that the editor stopped printing them. Ash talks of the school's obligation "to be more than tolerant" to children and parents of all backgrounds. Parker asks: Where's the tolerance for him?
"Real respect, real tolerance, is not pushing your beliefs on other people," Parker said. "What people do in their bedroom, that's their business. What they tell my children in school about these subjects — that's my business."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Agreed, but he is fighting a losing battle, IMO. Better to expend that effort in homeschooling.
I'm against promotion of homosexuality in public schools. However, what Supt. Ash refers to is not what I consider promotion. I'm not sure there is a reasonable objection to be made to the above.
So how about a picture book that shows other diverse sexual practices? Would that be ok, too?
No, it is not school administrators job to expose children to behavior that increases the odds of getting disease ( aids, syphilis) and peoples sexual confusion.
In fact it should be the school administrators job to protect children from such.
Uffa
ping
Only if the diversity does not include Christians and conservatives.
I thought it was their job to teach, not expose themselves to children.
That's why I control what books I send home for my first grade students to read. If the parents have a problem with a book, they know they are free to call me. I have only had that happen once. A mom thought the content of a chapter book was too much for her daughter (it talked about dying a little bit) so I told her to not have her daughter read it and send it back. It was no problem. NONE of my 850+ books has any two moms or two dads things in them.
"To ensure his "spiritual safety," they demanded the right to pull him out of class whenever homosexuality was discussed. To deny them that right, they say, would be intolerant of their faith."
We can argue that the material is not age appropriate.
We can argue that schools shouldn't be teaching non-academic subject. ( I personally would support this one)
But we can't ban things from public schools because of religious beliefs..the list of things that various religions object to would cripple schools and violate the constitution. Some people would want pork banned. Others might want boys and girls taught separately or to have female teachers wear veils or to have toilets face a certain way. Some people would demand that schools teach that the earth is only 10,000 years old.
Other would object to a positive view of American history arguing on "religious grounds" that all war is evil... Others might claim capitalism is irreligious or that Satan should have equal footing with Christmas.
What these parents are asking for is not something we can reasonably accommodate in the public school system. If they want a school consistent with their religion, they need to send their kids to a religious school.
I thought it was their job to teach, not expose themselves to children.
OOH! That's low:).
Uffa
Where does that name come from?
"So they were appalled when their son brought a picture book home from kindergarten that showed families with same-sex parents. "
Hmm...I'm not sure that such a book is actively promoting homosexuality. I don't know the book in question, and it wasn't named.
The fact is that their son is likely to meet other students who have same sex parents. That fact does not mean that the child is somehow wrong for having such parents.
I've seen some of these books, and they're primarily concerned with not treating non-traditional families any differently that traditional families.
I can't find any fault in that. There's a lesbian couple down the street from me. Whether I like the fact that they're living together is irrelevant. They are doing so. They're actually very good neighbors, keep their yard tidy, and watch pets and keep an eye on their near neighbors' homes when they're gone.
I can't imagine why I would treat them any differently that any of my other neighbors. I greet them, if I see them outdoors, just as they do me.
I'm in no way harmed by their proximity, as far as I can tell. I believe this parent is overreacting.
A message - I don't think that's why they're reffing gays in school. If it was the reasoning, maybe it should be limited to health classes...?
As long as school districts tax their residents, the residents have every right to dictate the curriculum, IMHO. Whether they have a child in school or not, they pay the same taxes as if they do!
True, no matter what, someone can get offended about something. I haven't had much problem with the parents of my students though. They know they can talk to me. We ususally find a solution in five minutes or less. They give me a little slack and I give them a little too. I am grateful that they have patience with such a bumbling teachers as myself.
Amen!
"Real respect, real tolerance, is not pushing your beliefs on other people," Parker said. "What people do in their bedroom, that's their business. What they tell my children in school about these subjects — that's my business."
Bingo!
Its not so much that they are exposing kids to the diversity of the world, but they are doing it in such a way so as to conflict with the parents moral teachings. Why not show kids a polygamist family? Heather has 10 mommies.
Isn't kindergarten just a tad early for this stuff?
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