I gave the condensed version earlier; I will go into more detail now. The teacher contacted me this past Monday (4/30); I spoke with her and the principal on Tuesday. I expressed my displeasure with the subject matter and the principal halfheartedly agreed. Not happy with his response, I asked him how he could guarantee me that next weeks assignments would not be Why I am choosing to be a lesbian and Why I am choosing to have an abortion. His response: One is a choice (vegetarianism) and the others are moral issues. I disagreed but said even if I agree with you, how can it be considered a choice if my daughter was directed what to choose? He saw my point and agreed with me. That is when I told him that my daughter would be happy to write the paragraph covering why she chooses to eat meat.(which was deemed unnecessary) I finished by telling him that I will be monitoring the subject matter more closely from now on and that I expect no repercussions to be directed toward my daughter or her twin brother, who is in the class.
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.