Posted on 11/16/2007 11:25:08 AM PST by lightman
Diversity assembly at Eastern sparks backlash from parents
WENDY L. GARMAN For The York Dispatch Article Launched: 11/16/2007 10:47:40 AM EST
Eastern York School District's board meeting was standing-room only Thursday night after more than two dozen people turned out to protest a diversity assembly held last week at the high school.
Kathy Freeland, who has a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old in the district, said she received no notification of such an assembly and was "disturbed" to learn that her children were addressed by a "gay man, an African-American woman and a Jew."
"I send my children to school to be taught academics," said Freeland. "I'll handle the morals."
Freeland later learned from her children the same group that put on the assembly, the York County Diversity Coalition, in partnership with the Jewish Community Center and the York County Community Against Racism, held a public meeting at the school the same night as last week's assembly.
"Three parents and two students attended that meeting, and the gay gentleman that spoke (at the assembly) wasn't even present. If proper notification about the follow-up meeting was given, the entire auditorium would have been filled," Freeland said.
Offended by speaker: Many at the Thursday's board meeting said they were personally offended by the fact that the homosexual man who spoke stated that he was "born gay and did not choose to be gay."
Laurie Lehman, who has a 10th-grade student, said, "This is not what I'm teaching my children. We have a biblical-based belief system" and said she felt that proper notification should have been given to parents about the assembly and the follow-up meeting. "I want to be notified if a speaker is highly controversial."
Lehman said she felt that ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade students (seniors were not invited to the assembly) should have been given a choice to leave if they felt strongly opposed.
Kathy and Troy Smith, who also addressed the board, said that while they were not against the gathering, they would like to have been given the opportunity to be present.
Troy Smith said, "In the working world, people get terminated for failure to notify."
The Smiths said they felt that both sides of the story should have been represented. "Why not also include someone who used to be gay but now no longer is, or a Jewish person who has since converted to Christianity?"
Trying for dialogue: Cathy Bollinger, diversity director at the York County Jewish Community Center and a facilitator of the assembly, also addressed the board.
"The goal of this assembly was to break down walls and hold a dialogue," said Bollinger. "It was never intended to hurt anyone. Yes, a York College man said he was born gay. He believes this to be true, that doesn't mean you have to believe it."
Bollinger went on to tell the board that the assembly, which was to last 11/2 hours, was shortened to 40-45 minutes because voting was being held in the room originally intended to be used.
"By the time we moved everyone to the auditorium and the students gathered, we weren't able to end the program with questions, shared stories and strategies to build a better school environment," Bollinger said.
Assistant superintendent Rita Becker said the intent of the assembly was to "erase bias and bigotry among our students and to teach that all humans are worthy of value."
Becker said the public meeting held the same evening as the assembly was not a school-sanctioned event; however, it was advertised in the newspaper and open to all community residents.
Becker also said the district would be failing if it didn't prepare its students for a diverse and ever-changing world.
"Personal bias can lead to hatred," she said. "We need to create an environment where all students feel safe and welcome."
-- Reach Wendy L. Garman at 854-1575 or news@yorkdispatch.com.
Ping
Ironically on the same day a Pennsylvania Appellate court struck down the broadening of the PA Hate Crimes statute to include “sexual orientation.”
Win some, lose some.
also where I live
I had it good because my younger brother was bussed to a majority black school where they held an assembly at the beginning of the year where some faculty got on stage and told the white kids that they were in the minority now and how does it feel. My brother said the students were cheering.
The teachers want to have sex with our children.
So a gay man, an African-American woman and a Jew walk into a bar ...
My children would not have spent one minute in your brothers school.
I’ve had it up to my butt with “diversity.”
What happened to UNITY?
Diversified vs. Unified...who is “dividing the country.”
The LEFT.
One word: “Homeschool”
Ballard High? I lived in Ballard for some years when it was still mostly blue collar and Scandanavian. A lot of the kids we went to school with (Whittier/James Monroe) had fathers who worked in the fisheries and related industries.
That’s the whole goal, dude...
Divide and destroy the country. Tear down anything “traditional” to be replaced with secular socialism.
There are three kinds of people in the world.
Those who can count and those who can't
Good answer to the woman stating “I send my kids to school for academics, I’ll handle the morals”.
Well, then, you’re working at cross purposes, because the schools these days see their job as indoctrination into the “liberal” moral code.
This was the time where everyone started wanting to be a gang banger and the whole Californian bloods/crips thing was moving north. Combine that with liberal theology and it makes for a wonderful place to raise children./s
Bet that was culture shock.
My g-parents and that side of the family all live(d) in Ellensburg and up the coast in Bow and Lynden. We live in Texas, always loved going for a visit ( back in the 70’s of course ).
Sure was. My grandpa lived in Ballard and that is why we were there. I was glad to move away from the city and even more glad when I graduated and moved back to Texas.
If teachers’ unions and the dept. of education could be abolished, there might be a chance of the government scrhools returning to normalcy, but I don’t see that happening. Politicians, any of them, have never seen a bureaucracy they didn’t like.
We homeschool, and are daily grateful to God that we don’t have to hand our kids over to the wolves every morning.
Saw a sticker I want to get:
“We Homeschool because we’ve seen the village - and we don’t want it raising our kids!”
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