Out, In The Classroom: Homosexuality 101
S.F. Chronicle reports: “After a sometimes emotional debate centering on discrimination and sexual orientation, a [California] Senate committee approved a bill Wednesday that would require that the contributions of gays and lesbians be included in textbooks.”
Because Hollywood doesn’t give them enough coverage. Sometimes you’d think there’s one in every household.
And so much for homosexuals arguing that they don’t want special rights: In this case, sexual preference is being made the defining criteria. What about bisexuals? Throw them in the syllabus, too. Why not? Make it an orgy of activism.
Supporters argued that all students should be made aware of the role that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have made, but state curriculum has no such requirement.
Opponents countered that discussion of sexual orientation should occur at home and not be mandated in schools.
. . .[Publisher's note: Indeed, what about the rights of parents who, for whatever personal or religious reasons (take Islam, for example), don't want their children to be taught about homosexuality in the classroom. Do the parents not count? It should be no different than liberals arguing they don't want religion taught in the schools -- even though recognizing Christianity is paramount to any thorough reading of history. There seems to be a bias, to say the least.]
The committee approved the bill, SB1437, on a party line 8-3 vote. It now moves to the Senate floor.
Kuehl’s measure has attracted national attention because California represents about 12 percent of the nation’s textbook market.
State law already prohibits discrimination based on race, color and gender, among other things, in textbooks. The bill would bar textbooks from discriminating against gays.
It also orders school boards to use instructional material that reflects the “sexual diversity” of society and include the contributions of people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Opponents say the bill will turn schools into “sexual indoctrination centers” and complain it takes away the discretion of local school boards in deciding what’s best in the classroom.
“This bill only seeks to advance acceptance of certain sexual lifestyles in California,” said Benjamin Lopez of the Traditional Values Coalition.
Karen England, executive director of the Capital Resource Institute, said discussion about sexual orientation belongs “in the bedroom, not in the classroom” and that sexual orientation is not germane to a person’s historical significance.
“I care about their accomplishments. I don’t care who they slept with,” England told the committee.
Sometimes, though, who they slept with is their greatest accomplishment. Especially if that’s the agenda.
UPDATE: Speaking of equal rights…
ExposeTheLeft: (VIDEO) ADF’s Johnson Defends Anti-Gay Slogans In Classroom (via Stop the ACLU)
Moonbattery has the tell-all photo
RELATED:
Teaching History, Not Heresy:
The Assault on California’s Traditional Family Values
Teachers Capitulate To Gay Agenda
Teachers Refuse To Promote Gay Agenda
In The Classroom
The “Transgeneration”
Technorati Tags: California, S.B. 1437, Homosexuals, Sheila Kuehl, Schools, Special Interests, Culture
May 4th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
Yeah, this is a reasonable bill. How can we expect children to learn about Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and JFK if they don’t know their sexual orientations.
Furthermore, the topics covered should not be based on relevence, but rather equally divided amongst todays various groups.
May 4th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
You misspelled buysexuals, and in any case, we prefer “John”.
May 5th, 2006 at 10:41 am
Schools want to trach every deviancy, from homosexuality to abstinence-until-marriage. How about teaching people stuff they need to know instead?
May 5th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Having worked for years in educational publishing, I’d say the timing of this bill is not accidental. The committee members know that all the textbook publishing companies are working now on K-8 reading programs that are coming up for adoption in CA.
There is no way they will wait to see if the bill becomes law. They will assume it will be passed and implement it’s guidelines for this adoption. If they don’t, they risk not having time to comply and losing the adoption.
In other words, the bill’s proponents know that they will win, even if they lose.
Watch for a new industry: manufacturing “evidence” to “out” historical figures.
“Abraham Lincoln, who was homosexual, wrote the Gettysburg address.”
May 27th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
[...] The bill, which has already been passed by the Senate and awaits a vote in the Assembly, seeks to recognize “the contributions of the LGBT community in the social science curriculum in the same way the state has come to recognize the achievements of women and minorities,” the Sacramento Bee reports. [...]