The school district of Alameda, California has been in the news because of its elementary school curriculum about bullying prevention.
The problem with the curriculum: its Lesson 9 teaches that some people have same-sex parents and that those students should not be bullied.
Without even the usual lip service to their caring for the sinner but not the sin, anti-gay activists have cried "Indoctrination!" One activist said parents don't want their kids being "bombarded" with "pro-homosexual messages" at school.
Others say it's just too early to learn these lessons; when the lesson was introduced a conservative blogger called it "The end of the innocence" - a particularly disturbing formulation as it implies that learning not to taunt and bully other children is the equivalent of teaching them The Joy Of Gay Sex.
Here's the AP on "a book that is a part of the curriculum:
"The book, Who's In A Family," pictures of families headed by grandparents, single parents and gay parents, among others."
Wait, so this book shows....actual families? Like, pictures of people in families? And one of them has a grandma, and one has two dads or two moms? .... I don't feel my innocence slipping away.
The lessons are needed:
From Fox News:
Some parents like Carrie Brash said the curriculum is necessary to combat bigotry that was already rearing its head among even young children, who were bullying her daughter in school.
Brash said her daughter had to endure taunting chants of "Lesbian, lesbian, your mom's a lesbian," from kids in school.
Sadly, the pressure of the Homophobe Lobby got to the school board, and they agreed to phase out Lesson 9 and replace with a more generic bullying curriculum that includes discussions of several kinds of bias. That's one step toward ending bullying, but according to GLSEN's report on orientation-based bullying in schools, is nowhere near as effective as policies and curricula that specifically address GLBTQ issues. Plus, the protestors are still not happy because the new lessons still acknowledge that GLBTQ people exist and experience discrimination.
Isn't anyone protesting these lessons ashamed of themselves? They are arguing against a lesson that discourages bullying and teaches tolerance. Learning not to beat someone up or call them a name because they have lesbian moms is not "indoctrination," a "pro-homosexual message," or "the end of the innocence." It's a matter of learning basic school conduct and coexistence with others.
Let's call things what they are. At the root of this is the same thing that made a McDonalds manager think it was OK to call a teen job applicant a faggot. It's the same root as the law in Uganda that could lead to execution for homosexuals and jail time for those who do not report them. It's not about HIV prevention in Uganda; it's not about religious liberty; and it's definitely not about the safety of children.
The root of it all is a basic belief that GLBTQ people don't deserve to be acknowledged, much less protected. No matter how you dress it up, it leads to harassment and danger for GLBTQ people. And anti-gay groups, no matter how Christian they claim to be, tacitly support this harassment and danger. They are just Fred "God Hates Fags" Phelps without the big yellow sign.
Crossposted at www.amplifyyourvoice.org
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Bullying Wins in Alameda.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/17530
This is so depressing. As a grad student in secondary education, this is really something I am dreading ... parents who don't want their kids to be taught. They see it as "the end of innocence", because they think that the schools are teaching their children that not all kids have one dad plus one mom, but in reality, if the kids are bullying other kids based on this, then they already frickin' KNOW this! Stop trying to protect your kids from the world and teach them how to live in it! And if you can't manage that, step aside and let someone else, like these teachers, teach them how to. I really hope that when I have my own clasroom, I work in a school where the administration and school board are supportive of actual teaching and won't back down on issues this important. Stories like this challenge me to think of ways that I can make sure teachers are able to do their jobs.
"The end of innocence"? Do these people think they can live in their own little bubble world where they can ignore anything they don't agree with? I mean, if one kid has two moms, or two dads, eventually someone's going to find out. Hell, the kids themselves will probably blurt it out, not realising that to some people that's a Big Deal.
Ugh, I can't even pretend to understand the mindset at work here, and I usually try. You might as well try and convince your kid that everyone is Christian--unless you live in a VERY isolated community, they're going to figure it out for themselves eventually.
As much as we don't like it, we can't force our views on other people's children no more than it would be for them to force their views on ours.
But when it comes to bullying or harassing someone the law is on your side to point out that it is WRONG, morally and legally to do so.
I think instead of saying "they need to be taught that its OK to be gay" it should be "why is it ever ok to bully/harass/abuse/hurt someone because they are gay?". That takes the focus from acceptance onto one's own actions which ALL bully prevention should be about. If you went to a racist kid and told him that its ok for a black man to date a white woman, you can pretty much start talking to a brick wall and count on his resentment building.
If you went to him and said, whether he is prejudiced against someone or not, his prejudice is NOT a defense or moral reason to hurt, bully or harass another person you can start breaking ground. WHy? Because it isn't just what you feel, its the law and its a person's right not to be bullied/harassed/hurt and those rights protect him too. Then point out, what if someone didn't like HIS hair or eye color and bullied him because of it. Or if they felt he was poor they bullied him because of THAT.
But the curriculum doesn't seem to be focused on saying homosexuality is not wrong; it's focus appears to be on saying that BULLYING people because of it is wrong. People are protesting the curriculum because they don't want it to SPECIFICALLY say that bullying this population (which faces a huge percentage of bullying)is wrong, they want to just say bullying in general is wrong. Do we then just say, well they don't want their kids to be taught that bullying people based on sexual orientation is wrong, so we have to be careful not to push our views on them? I am not going to pretend that their view is just as acceptable as the view that bullying people based on sexual orientation is wrong and teaching this to children is crucial.
But aren't you essentially saying the same thing? If bullying anybody EVER is wrong (and thats the message being taught) why would that exclude homosexuals simply because you dont specifically say that it includes them? Do these children think homosexuals aren't people too?
When it comes to teaching children values, parents have carte blanche because unless custody is taken away, you can't force the child to learn something their parents don't want them to know.
Do these children think homosexuals aren't people too?
Why yes, yes they do. This is why, sadly, we have to specifically say "Don't bully queer people" and "Don't bully people with disabilities" and "Don't bully people of a different race than you." Because the idea that these groups are people is being actively opposed at home.
Parents have every right to teach their children that other people are subhuman. They do not have the right to shield their children from the consequences of that kind of thinking.*
*Lest I be accused of wanting to criminalize thought, it seems like a natural consequence of discriminatory attitudes is discriminatory or bullying behavior, much of which is illegal.
When you ask if I'm saying the same thing, I don't know what exactly you're refering to. I was not saying that we should just tell the kids that bullying anyone is wrong and leave it at that, which it seems like you're saying I agreed with. I definitely support a more focused approach.
As the linked article points out, using a generalized approach to bullying does not produce as much change as one that focuses on the reality of who is bullying whom. If you just say, ok kids, it's important to make sure we're not bullying, do you think the kids are really going to take that to heart in a way that makes them really take a hard look at themselves and their classmates to see how that applies to their realities? The lesson needs to be really specific and connected with what is actually going on in their classroom and school.
And again, I'm not saying let's do something about making sure the parents don't express their values to their children. I'm saying I cannot be a part of perpetuating those values, and unless I am actively countering them in any way I can, I see myself as perpetuating those values. There is no neutral stance.
Anyone who's upset about this IS a bully. A grown, adult bully trying to get their way through intimidation. Heck, half of the people on the air at Fox are bullies. Is it really any surprise that they have no problem with their kids being bullies as well?
Yeah you can actively work to undo the teaching that a parent imposes on their child IF the parent doesn't do anything to prevent you from being able to do that.
WHat I fear is the children going, wont need to be taught this lesosn because their parents are letting them come in the first place knowing that what it entails. Its the children who bully other children or the children of parents who are actively AGAINST this that actually need it the most but more than likely wont get it.
Ok nix my last post, I just went back and reread the entire thing and saw that they had in fact gotten rid of Lesson 9.
*forgive me, I'm sleepy*
There has to be a way to broach this and get the point across that bullying is wrong for all reasons including sexual orientation without sending off alarms.
I do hope against hope that the program works even without Lesson 9 so that less children are bullied or better yet none at all where the program is taught.
Yes, I hope that the program is still able to do some good, too.
Hi, great post, but the links don't work.
Was that Fox News that made the point about Carrie Bush?
I guess the blogs have things from Fox that are too awful for their primetime shows (hell, after Glen Beck, I can't imagine what that would be) and too reasonable for their main media, as well.
A bit late to the party, but...
Isn't anyone protesting these lessons ashamed of themselves?
No, they aren't. You see, homosexual rights is one thing I've learned not to bring up around certain members of my famiy, as responses range from my mom's fondly exasperated headshake of disagreement, to dad's insistence that "they'll find out come Judgement Day". So, being as I'm in a small Southern town, guess what happens when topics like this come up? Indirect victim-blaming at it's finest. The kids don't deserve to be bullied, ya see, but if their parents cared anything about them they'd be heterosexual.