Posted on 03/09/2008 10:15:21 AM PDT by wagglebee
DEERFIELD, IL, March 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Deerfield High School, in Deerfield, Illinois, is offering the books "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes" (Part One & Two) - laced with graphic sexual content, including gay sex, pervasive expletives, religious denigration and mockery - in English classes this spring.
The books contain graphic descriptions of sodomy heretofore only heard of in hardcore homosexual pornography. With numerous uses of the 'f' word and vulgar sexual references to Mother Teresa, the Mother of Jesus, and God.
"After almost 15 years of school advocacy and reviewing many objectionable books and curricula, I have never seen anything this vulgar and harmful to students," says Lora Sue Hauser, Executive Director of North Shore Student Advocacy. "Parents, taxpayers and concerned citizens must force themselves to read these excerpts, as horrific as they are, so you know what kids are being exposed to. The school justifies this egregious choice because of its themes of hope. Evidently, all great literature with themes of hope have already been exhausted so teachers need to start offering pornography. We say - enough."
North Shore Student Advocacy (NSSA), an organization to help parents and students when they run into problems in public schools, was made aware of these books last fall when a parent complained. The books were part of required reading until NSSA filed a formal complaint with the school, asking the books to be reviewed by committee.
The committee decided to remove the books from required reading, but continued to offer them in the classroom as an optional title. "Optional Title," according to the principal, means that the student may select the books to study with peers and be guided by the adult, male teacher. A parental permission slip will be required, but without full disclosure of the sexually explicit content. This conclusion is unacceptable to the complaining parent and to NSSA. They are asking that this pornographic book be removed from curriculum completely.
The State's Attorney's office of Lake County, Illinois, deemed the books "obscene" according to Illinois obscenity laws, violating the "distributing harmful materials to minors" statute. However, state and federal obscenity laws exempt schools and libraries under "affirmative defense," giving the school and teachers involved near immunity.
To Express Concerns:
Deerfield High School
Principal
Sue Hebson
224-632-3011
shebson@dist113.org
1959 N. Waukegan Rd - Deerfield, IL 60015
>>No, we just don’t have to endorse clever stealth promotion of degeneracy. You apparently do not see homosexuality as degeneracy. So be it known.<<
The bible makes it clear that homosexuality is a sin.
In the United States citizens are all supposed to have equal rights. That means no special rights for homosexuals but it also means you don’t arrest people for writing about homosexuality and when a historical figure like Cohn is gay but worked with McCarthy to deprive people of equal rights it makes it fair game for a play.
And if you don’t think the press will pick on the irony of prosecuting people for teaching a play that deals with McCarthyism and the slow response to AIDS when McCarthy’s man turned out to be gay and died of AIDS, you are either underestimating or overestimating the press.
>>Did this play also not opine upon the supposed innocence of the Rosenberg’s? Or is that some other piece of revisionist (award winning)literature?<<
I think Cohn was the guy who prosecuted the Rosenbergs. It could very well be it makes them sympathetic, which is, of course, wrong. But having a wrong political point of view is not something we censor a play for.
I apologize that I don’t remember the play’s position of the Rosenbergs, I had kind of glazed over at many parts of the play. It would not surprise me if took a pro-Rosenberg position in order to make Cohn look worse.
A less sensational look at Cohn is Citizen Cohn.
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0103973/
That’s why I refuse to vote for the school levies.
Yes, it isn't the sort of thing one would assign high school students -- not when there's so much else out there to read.
It's too propagandistic, a bit too much like a political tract.
Any Muslim students at the school?
I encourage every one to e-mail the principal. It’s not like she can give us detention or any thing for expressing our opinions, just do it nicely with out name calling, swearing, etc..
To Express Concerns:
Deerfield High School
Principal
Sue Hebson
224-632-3011
shebson@dist113.org
1959 N. Waukegan Rd - Deerfield, IL 60015
“”Optional Title,” according to the principal, means that the student may select the books to study with peers and be guided by the adult, male teacher.”
Oh, it’s OK then. I feel better.
Framing this to children, as a safe and natural alternative lifestyle, is more dangerous to their wellbeing than teaching them to smoke, drink, and any other habit COMBINED. It is also, along with global warming, the biggest lie our children are being taught. They frame it around safe schools, as though a child feeling as though his or her family being reflected in curriculum, has anything to do with safety! I came from a very very large family. My family was not reflected in curriculum, but I didn't need it to feel “safe”.
We MUST start unabashedly emphasizing the serious medical risks, including but not limited to AIDS/HIV. Those are the risks this agenda is ultimately exposing our children to. It is NOT about safely.
John McCain could unfortunately care less about these sorts of things occuring across America. I’m so dissapointed we didn’t get a good conservative like Duncan Hunter. I am going to have to hold my nose and vote for him because the alternative is so much worse.
>>Any Muslim students at the school?<<
Probably not since pretty much the entire cast is Jewish, Mormon or gay and the kids apparently all got parental permission.
These activist, at the care of the agenda, are the first ones to jump on the smoking nazi gravy train. Smoking may kill you, we know that. BUT Funny thing that, homosexual behavior is 100X more dangerous in so many ways, Will kill you, not may, and yet they teach it to kids.
And Islamofaacist, though the former will be one of the first to lose their heads if the Moozies ever manage to gain control.
Group protests Pulitzer-winning play
Deerfield Review - March 7, 2008
Deerfield High School is again under fire by a North Shore Christian group because the school offers the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes” to college-bound seniors.
North Shore Student Advocacy called for School District 113 Superintendent George Fornero, Deerfield High School Principal Sue Hobson and all involved teachers to resign or be fired by the School Board.
The group claimed a victory when, after its complaints, the school district made “Angels” an option rather than required reading in the Advanced Placement English literature course. Parents and students have to opt in to read this play as well as “The Plague.”
Last year, “Angels in America” author Tony Kushner talked to the class about the play, how he wrote it and produced it.
The story is about two couples whose relationships are disintegrating. It is set in the United States in the 1980s against a backdrop of greed, conservatism, sexual politics and the discovery of AIDS.
Lora Sue Hauser, executive director of the Christian group, complained that the book is replete with profanity, overt racism, an explicit description of a sex act involving Mother Theresa and vivid depictions of sodomy.
“After almost 15 years of school advocacy and reviewing many objectionable books and curricula, I have never seen anything this vulgar and harmful to students,” Hauser said.
She said her group also talked to the Lake County state’s attorney’s office and claimed that office concurred that the play violated the state’s obscenity statute prohibiting adults from “distributing harmful material to minors.”
State’s Attorney Michael Waller disputed that claim, saying the play did not violate any criminal statute.
The book and the class curriculum were approved by the Advanced Placement College Board, she added. The students who “opted in” for the class will not be reading it until April. The class is limited to seniors, and 51 signed up to take it, but not all have made their choice of one or both books.
Votsmier said the play also has been taught in Highland Park High School.
The school district and the Christian group clashed last year over a freshman orientation session where students talked about bullying and other issues and included gay students relating their experience in high school.
Matt Barber, director of cultural issues with Concerned Women for America, said his jaw dropped when he read the book.
“This isn’t a First Amendment issue. This is about school officials betraying the community trust. Heads need to roll here. Assigning this racist, pornographic smut to high school kids is nothing short of child abuse,” Barber said.
Votsmier said no one has been asked to resign, and there have been no voluntary resignations. She said the teacher of the course feels the students have the maturity and thoughtfulness to read this book and learn from it.
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/deerfield/news/831040,de-angels-030708-s1.article
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Our half DOES have the power. They just haven't figured it out yet. They are still in a coma. The solution is to pull the rug out from under the government schools.
Please read #29. In this post I outlined a plan.
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This story won't be on the radar of Rush, Sean, or OReilly either! What wimps!
An example of the same kind of public schools Judge Croskey has ordered all California homeschoolers to attend.
This is a very good idea, particularly if your police chief or sheriff is more conservative than the school board.
bump
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Do you understand the conflict that all government schools have with freedom of conscience?
While I agree with you that the government should NOT be censoring anything, government schools present a special problem, and will forever be in conflict with the First Amendment and freedom of conscience!
For most children, government schools are NOT optional. If parents or their children refuse to cooperate with the government schools **armed** police, court, and foster care action **will** be taken against them. Children ( who have committed no crime) are imprisoned by the government in buildings that look like minimum security prisons and subjected to a non-stop government curriculum that can NEVER be religiously neutral!
For those parents who do have the option to homeschool or privately school, yes, they still can leave the government school, but they pay extra for the privilege. They are in essence **ransoming** their children, or paying a freedom of conscience, or religious exemption tax, for the privilege of freeing their children from the government school. It does seem after the California judge's ruling on homeschooling, that parents will soon lose that freedom!
OK,,,So,,,Let's examine this particular Advanced Placement course:
Unless the parents can ransom their child from this government school. The government WILL force their child into association with children who have read and will discuss this book among themselves. This is a violation of the First Amendment Rights to free assembly and freedom of government establishment of atheistic, grossly anti-Christian, anti-Mormon, pro-homosexual,pro-Secular Humanist religious worldview!
The government is using taxpayer money to promote in a government classroom an atheistic, grossly anti-Christian, anti-Mormon, pro-homosexual, atheistic, Secular Humanist religious worldview! ( Violation of the First Amendment establishment of religion)
Yes, the parent can opt in or out of this class, however the parent can NOT opt in or out of having their children associate with these students in other classes ( Violation of First Amendment Right to free assembly and establishment of religion)
If the parent chooses to opt out, the parent's child loses the opportunity to earn AP credit. This parent or child will then need to pay extra for this college credit when he attends college. The parent is PUNISHED financially by the government because of their moral and religious beliefs!
Government schools are a freedom of conscience and First Amendment abomination!
The book should not be censored, but the government schools ( all of them) should be utterly abolished!
If you care about your children
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You should do everything possible to get your children OUT of government school. Live in a tent if you must!
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