Posted on 05/04/2007 2:10:49 PM PDT by rface
Parents gave local educators an earful after fifth-grade students at Derby Ridge Elementary School were asked to read a newspaper column supporting same-sex marriage.
Columbia Public Schools administrators say the assignment wasn’t appropriate for 10- and 11-year-olds. "The purpose was to become familiar with editorial writing and respond in an editorial back," said Jack Jensen, assistant superintendent of elementary education. "But it was not an appropriate topic to use at this age level."
The students had brought up the topic of gay marriage before the assignment during a classroom discussion on current events, Jensen said. The newspaper article used in Wednesday’s assignment was a nationally syndicated column written by Richard Cohen titled "Gay marriage ban no benefit to society." It appeared in the July 17, 2006, edition of the Tribune.
Responding to a New York Supreme Court decision to uphold a ban on same-sex marriage, Cohen argued that the court should "grant to homosexuals and lesbians the benefits of marriage so casually granted to heterosexuals."
Jensen said the school fielded several phone calls from parents upset about the assignment. Administrators have talked to the teacher, whom he did not name, but no other disciplinary action will be taken.
Jensen said teachers should collaborate with peers or administrators if they’re unsure about an assignment. "Unfortunately, that did not happen in this case," he said.
It’s common for newspaper articles to be incorporated into classroom lessons. Many newspapers, including the Tribune, supply schools with free issues through the Newspapers In Education Program. Research indicates students who use newspapers in classroom curricula become better readers, more motivated and more aware of the world and their communities, according to the Missouri Press Association.
But newspaper editorials often take stands on controversial issues such as gay marriage, stem cell research and abortion. Teachers sometimes have to walk a fine line between using those articles to teach current events and deeming whether the materials are appropriate, said Earnest Perry, chairman of journalism studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s School of Journalism.
"It’s not as easy as just saying, ‘No, it shouldn’t be done,’ or ‘yes, do it,’ " he said. "It’s up to a teacher to instruct at the grade level in which they’re teaching and to determine whether or not the students have a grasp of the subject and understand what’s going on. It depends on the age level and maturity level of the children whether they understand and can define what same-sex marriage is and the moral as well as political ramifications of that. Is that a subject the entire class will be able to understand?"
Schools rely on parental input to help make those decisions, Jensen said. "We’re pleased when the parents had concerns, they immediately called the school," he said. "We knew exactly how they were feeling, and we acted on that."
All education should be private, startng with K-12. Parents should vote with their feet by sending kids to private schools. If there are not enough private schools, parents should join together and incorporate new private schools in their area. This would cut state and local taxes on average by 50%, and put the socialist educrats out of business. Free market competition will take care of pricing and quality.
Ditto for public colleges and universities. Parents should stop paying for junior or sis to be brain-washed by liberal lunatics. Choose private colleges that are conservative, such as www.hillsdale.edu. If there are not enough suitable colleges, start new ones.
ping
Freepmail wagglebee or little jeremiah to subscribe or unsubscribe from the homosexual agenda ping list.
Click FreeRepublic homosexual agenda keyword search for a list of all related articles.
Add keywords homosexual agenda to flag FR articles to this ping list.
Wow, unsubstantiated statements of opinion, second hand anecdotal evidence, and outright falsehoods to support gay marriage, all wrapped up in an appeal to emotion.
Even if this were about speed limits, it wouldn’t be good material.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1828168/posts?q=1&;page=87#87
I then had a talk with my son, who completed the assignment as directed, about being compelled to do something that he does not agree with, even by a teacher.
pollywog - I would remove my children from the school district and join the lawsuit asking for compensation for their private education.
Columbia, MO is pretty much in the Bible Belt too (though it is after all the home of MU and plenty of liberals work, teach and reside there).
Thanks for post the poem. It says it all.
If God didn’t want us to eat animals, He wouldn’t have made them out of meat.
Yes!!!
Get the kids out of there, and don’t waste anymore time with un-brainwashing them. Spend more time learning and being a family instead.
Great job!
And keep it up!
HH
I knew there was an article I was looking for!
As I’ve mentioned recently, public schools are becoming an arm of the “gay” rights movement, with children being inducted as foot soldiers (and future participants, I might add).
Home schooling is the only safe thing to do.
People are made out of meat too.
Excellent!!
They pretended to listen...as they got caught!
Come hell or high water, the homosexuals are going to have legal access to kids. Allowing adoption is nothing short of the worst kind of child abuse.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.