Posted on 08/14/2006 7:36:04 AM PDT by calcowgirl
Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, and other supporters of her bill to mandate positive images of gays in textbooks and classroom, faced with a veto threat from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, dropped those provisions. Instead, the measure, Senate Bill 1437, now would prohibit instruction or textbooks that "reflects adversely" on groups because of their sexual orientation.
That doesn't satisfy the Campaign for Children and Families and other groups on the other side of the gay rights battle. The bill "still requires all teachers, all textbooks and all instructional materials to positively portray cross-dressing, sex-change operations, bisexuality and homosexuality, including homosexual marriages," said CCF's president, Randy Thomasson.
It is, however, a significant change, conceivably enough to overcome Schwarzenegger's rationale for opposing SB 1437, that it would, in the words of a spokesman, be "micromanaging curriculum" from Sacramento, rather than allowing local officials to decide what's taught.
Whether heartfelt or politically expedient, Schwarzenegger's position is a logical one. The state already mandates positive classroom imagery for several ethnic and cultural groups, thereby skewing history for political purposes. Before it was changed, SB 1437 would have been another step down that slippery slope. It's one thing to mandate instruction along ideological lines -- which smacks of official propaganda -- but it's quite another to prohibit gratuitously negative images based on sexual orientation.
Kuehl will maintain that shifting from active instructional standards to passive protection would not be micromanaging curriculum -- and that has the opponents of SB 1437 a bit worried, even though Schwarzenegger doesn't want to discomfit Republican conservatives as he seeks re-election this year. "Gov. Schwarzenegger said he would veto SB 1437," Thomasson said. "Fathers and mothers expect Arnold not to let them down."
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
- SB 1441, Kuehl, Discrimination: state programs and activities: sexual orientation, passed legislature - sent to governor for signature
- • AB 606, Leno, Safe schools: discrimination and harassment, pending in Senate after Assembly approval.
- • AB 1207, Yee, Fair Campaign Practices, pending final vote in Assembly after Senate approval
Too late.
To be fair, and not to discriminate, why doesn't their bill say that conservatives cannot be held in a negative light in textbooks?
A proposal like that would of course prohibit "academic freedom", and maybe even "freedom of the press". But what's freedom when we are talking about hurting a leftist's feelings?
It would be nice to see private schools become really profitable.
Good ones, of course, not McCharter schools which are often no better than public in their philosophies.
I agree about Thomasson. I often cringe at his comments in the media. Sometimes he gets it right, but he's often off the deep end in his rantings. I think the leftist media goes to him on purpose so they can paint all conservatives as right wing whackjobs.
Whatever the heck this means. This is so subjective it could be twisted and turned to mean most anything.
Yeah, we are facing a dilemma about where to put our (now 2 and 6 month old) children when the time comes. It's a dreadful choice, and I don't think in good conscience I can put my kids in public schools (even the schools here in Simi Valley).
We'll be scraping together what we can to put the kids in a good private school. Heck, I'm not even Christian (Hindu by birth, non-religious in practice (not an athiest however)) -- and a good Christian school is sounding like the way to go. Maybe they can be at a place that stresses morals, and not "sensitivity training". All kids have to learn are the basics: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is 99% of the battle. Given how insensitive today's youth are to their fellow man, the schools can add that to the rest of their failures.
I went to the Early Entrance Program at CSULA, so I started college when I was 12 so got to skip the really nasty part of high school and junior high. I know my kids can do the same, have to work with them every night now!
I hear them sashaying in their jack boots.
When I was a kid I lived across the street from Bob Dornan's brother, Don. We used to take turns carpooling to a Catholic school about 10 miles away. One day his son Kevin asked him, "Dad, if we didn't go to Catholic school, which public school would we go to?" To which Mr. Dornan replied, "Son, I'd eat dog food before I'd send my kids to a public school."
I've always remembered that line and to this day that's my philosophy. During tough times we've nearly hit rock-bopttom, but I've always managed to find a way to keep my kids in a private Christian school.
(BTW that was in the 1970s BEFORE all the crap they put in place since then.)
"Fathers and mothers expect Arnold not to let them down."
...
never mind all the rest of the domestic partner legislation he has signed so far and the additional pieces he will sign...
I'm guessing 30/70 on veto probability.
One more reason that school choice (vouchers) should be made the law of the land.
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