I still just cannot wrap my head around what the big deal is here. Families are all different, and there's no reason to get all freaked out if a family is made up of one mom, one dad, a mom and a dad, two moms, or two dads. I live in MA and have not heard anything about drama around "teaching about gay marriage in school". We should just stop calling it that. It's marriage. It is and should be a legal contract between two consenting adults. Not sure why it's a big deal to "teach" kids what the law is or what is basically a civil right to which all citizens should be entitled.
Since I have yet to actually meet, in person, anyone who is against gay marriage who can tell me in real words WHY they are opposed to it, I continue to be in the dark on this.
To say a gay person cannot have the right to be legally married is just wrong. It is an issue of civil rights not unlike the right of women to vote or the right of African Americans to get married.
I also don't understand what people have against gay marriage. Marriage is marriage whether it is between a man and a woman, 2 women, or 2 men. And while I understand some people don't believe in it because of biblical reasons, our Constitution specifically addresses separation of church and state, which means you can't use religion as a reason.
Now, it's been a long time since I was in school, but how are kids "taught" about "traditional" families?? Like is there a lesson about it???
In my opinion, I don't know why it needs to be taught because I don't get that "traditional" families are something that needs to be taught.
Is there really a class day devoted to teaching kids what their family life "should" look like????? Because that seems like a bad idea. These days, with the rise of divorce/remarriage and single parents, I think there are probably very few mom/dad/kid (what I'm assuming is "traditional") households. Are they going to teach how Johnny can have a mom and a dad. Or a mom and a step dad. Or a dad and a live in girlfriend. Or just a mom. Or just a dad. Or two moms. Or two dads. Not to mention being raised by/sharing a house with non parents (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc). Or do teachers say "Everyone should have a mom and a dad and those of you who don't....??" So how, exactly, is this family unit thing getting taught???
I guess it has to do with including examples of such families? Like reading books that include non-traditional families? Eh - I'm just not into that in the sense that I'm not going to be bothered either way. So you read a story to my kid with two dads. No big whoop. Or - all the stories are about 1 mommy and 1 daddy. That's fine too. We'll cover non traditional families at some point.
Also, in my opinion, it would really depend at what age this is taught and how it is taught. Too young and I think kids who don't have experience with non-traditional families might be confused. Wait a bit longer and the kid is going to be like "Duh, my friend Suzie has a family like that, and my friend Bob has a family like that...." (Or even "*I* have a family like that....")
I guess maybe where I could see it happening would be in like a
family tree type lesson........but I don't think that that requires
teaching anything. You branch up to your two parents (mom/dad, moms,
dads, whatever) and go from there. I don't think that requires a lesson
on gay marriage.
I guess this is also weird for me to address because like other issues with race/religion/sexual orientation, I know people who are different than me in all of these regards so I assume at some point DD will be exposed to that kind of stuff naturally. I forget so often that so many people AREN'T exposed to other types of people - either due to opportunity or by choice - and those are the people/kids who might have a hard time with stuff like this. I don't know how you introduce stuff to kids that they have no/little chance of encountering naturally on their own in childhood.
Sheesh, sorry for such a long post, didn't know i had so much to ramble on about!
I also don't see the big deal. What is there to teach? People that love each other get married. And that is that. They can be a man and woman, they can be a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. Whatever.
b/w=FSH 15.6, AMH 0.4 surprise natural BFP on 3/12/11 DS born via unplanned C-section at 40w6d
Is there really a class day devoted to teaching kids what their family life "should" look like????? Because that seems like a bad idea. These days, with the rise of divorce/remarriage and single parents, I think there are probably very few mom/dad/kid (what I'm assuming is "traditional") households. Are they going to teach how Johnny can have a mom and a dad. Or a mom and a step dad. Or a dad and a live in girlfriend. Or just a mom. Or just a dad. Or two moms. Or two dads. Not to mention being raised by/sharing a house with non parents (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc). Or do teachers say "Everyone should have a mom and a dad and those of you who don't....??" So how, exactly, is this family unit thing getting taught???
Good point! Also, I'm really confused how you're going to keep your child from hearing that gay people exist, and get married, divorced, have children, eat breakfast, etc. As if they're going to "catch the gay" by hearing about it. What could be the harm in learning about other types of people and families that exist in the world? In my experience, these "horror stories" of things that will happen to your children if gay marriage is passed are simply false propaganda promoted on Fox News and the like. Like the stories of kind, innocent pastors forced to marry gay men against their beliefs. They are factually incorrect, and since there is no curriculum requirement (in my understanding) to teach heterosexual marriage there is no requirement to teach gay marriage either.
It's being voted on in MN as well. It's so sad. We are supposed to have separation of church and state and by voting to keep marriage only between a man and a woman is not doing that!
If your religious belief is against gay marriage, teach that to your children but in a respectful manner explaining that not all people share the same view. We are a country of so many different opinions and religions, why are we forcing beliefs down the throats of others??
I have never understood this argument. It should be taught about it schools regardless of whether or not gay marriage is legal there will still be gay people and some of those children will have gay parents and grow up to be gay themselves. You really can't only teach about nuclear (aka "traditional") families anymore these days since they make up less than 50% of families in America. It should be taught that there are all different types of families some have mommies and daddies, some have only mommies, some have only daddies, some have two mommies/daddies, some have grandma's/grandpa's/aunts/uncles/cousins/etc.
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I guess I'm not really sure why gay marriage is being taught in school. I know the ad you're referring to - we have that playing here in MN too. The other claim about now knowing when it's going to be taught doesn't really make sense either. I certainly hope that I know what my 2nd grader is learning in school each day, gay marriage or not.
Now, it's been a long time since I was in school, but how are kids "taught" about "traditional" families?? Like is there a lesson about it???
In my opinion, I don't know why it needs to be taught because I don't get that "traditional" families are something that needs to be taught.
I teach First Grade, and I am currently teaching the unit "Family and Friends" in Reading. It talks about what a family is, that you have a mother, a father, and brothers and sisters and how they love you etc... Like the story I read today was called "An Egg is An Egg" and basically the message was things can and will change, but you will always be your mom's baby. I think it's important to teach kids that you have a mother and you have a father, and that they love and care for you. Since a lot of my students come from broken families or blended families, they need to hear things like this.
My personal take... I support it from a civil point, but I think where it's hard for people who do not support it is that the outcome of a marriage is producing offspring. Well 2 men cannot biologically have a child together, and 2 women cannot biologically have a child together. That's my take on it, anyways. I went to Catholic school for 13 years, and was not exposed to gay marriage until college.
Now, it's been a long time since I was in school, but how are kids "taught" about "traditional" families?? Like is there a lesson about it???
In my opinion, I don't know why it needs to be taught because I don't get that "traditional" families are something that needs to be taught.
I teach First Grade, and I am currently teaching the unit "Family and Friends" in Reading. It talks about what a family is, that you have a mother, a father, and brothers and sisters and how they love you etc... Like the story I read today was called "An Egg is An Egg" and basically the message was things can and will change, but you will always be your mom's baby. I think it's important to teach kids that you have a mother and you have a father, and that they love and care for you. Since a lot of my students come from broken families or blended families, they need to hear things like this.
My personal take... I support it from a civil point, but I think where it's hard for people who do not support it is that the outcome of a marriage is producing offspring. Well 2 men cannot biologically have a child together, and 2 women cannot biologically have a child together. That's my take on it, anyways.
I also feel that it shouldn't always have to be up to the schools to teach this sort of thing. We are contracted and paid and responsible to teach your children to read, write and to understand math. The rest of it is up to the teacher.
Now, it's been a long time since I was in school, but how are kids "taught" about "traditional" families?? Like is there a lesson about it???
In my opinion, I don't know why it needs to be taught because I don't get that "traditional" families are something that needs to be taught.
I teach First Grade, and I am currently teaching the unit "Family and Friends" in Reading. It talks about what a family is, that you have a mother, a father, and brothers and sisters and how they love you etc... Like the story I read today was called "An Egg is An Egg" and basically the message was things can and will change, but you will always be your mom's baby. I think it's important to teach kids that you have a mother and you have a father, and that they love and care for you. Since a lot of my students come from broken families or blended families, they need to hear things like this.
My personal take... I support it from a civil point, but I think where it's hard for people who do not support it is that the outcome of a marriage is producing offspring. Well 2 men cannot biologically have a child together, and 2 women cannot biologically have a child together. That's my take on it, anyways. I went to Catholic school for 13 years, and was not exposed to gay marriage until college.
Who decides that the outcome of marriage is children? Is this in the constitution? What about couples that decide not to have children? What about couples that cannot have children because of fertility issues? Should they have to get divorced? Should they not have the right to be married just because they don't plan to have children or they are unable to? What if a couple plans to adopt a child? Does this mean they should not get married because they won't produce children themselves?
People get their religious beliefs way too tied up in this issue and it ought not be about religion. Churches/religions do not have to take part in gay marriage. This issue is not about requiring the catholic church to accept and perform gay marriage. The issue is about civil rights and equality. All people should have the same rights. We don't get to pick and choose who has what rights based on who they love, the color of their skin, their religion, or their genitalia.
I get that your religion has taught that this is "wrong" or immoral or whatever. Not that long ago religions also didn't think women should be equal to men and many still believe this is true. But from a humanitarian standpoint, I just don't get how even a religious person could say that some people should not be guaranteed the same rights as everyone else.
I have zero problems with it, but I'm also curious how they teach it. Anybody actually know?
I don't know for sure, but after seeing the sme type of commercials because of the MN vote, I just assumed they were teaching it as part of a history lesson, or something along those lines.
I also love how the MA commercials say that parents were not allowed to take their kids out of class for those lessons. I have a feeling the ruling really said that parents didn't have to be informed when those lessons were taking place, just like every other leson plan. Therefore they wouldn't know if/when it was being taught, meaning they wouldn't know when to take their kids out of class.
BFP #1 August 2007, Lost Nov 2007, no heartbeat found at anatomy ultrasound at 19 wks
BFP #2 March 2011, Baby Girl born November 2011!!!
Now, it's been a long time since I was in school, but how are kids "taught" about "traditional" families?? Like is there a lesson about it???
In my opinion, I don't know why it needs to be taught because I don't get that "traditional" families are something that needs to be taught.
I teach First Grade, and I am currently teaching the unit "Family and Friends" in Reading. It talks about what a family is, that you have a mother, a father, and brothers and sisters and how they love you etc... Like the story I read today was called "An Egg is An Egg" and basically the message was things can and will change, but you will always be your mom's baby. I think it's important to teach kids that you have a mother and you have a father, and that they love and care for you. Since a lot of my students come from broken families or blended families, they need to hear things like this.
My personal take... I support it from a civil point, but I think where it's hard for people who do not support it is that the outcome of a marriage is producing offspring. Well 2 men cannot biologically have a child together, and 2 women cannot biologically have a child together. That's my take on it, anyways. I went to Catholic school for 13 years, and was not exposed to gay marriage until college.
What about married couples who suffer from infertility? Are there marriages less worthy than those who have 6 kids?
What I don't understand is why is it the school's responsibility to teach my kids about sex, families or anything besides reading, grammar, history, and math. That is my job as parent. Its no wonder our kids are ranked number 22 in Math and reading among all the other nations.
mama&baby
member
Re: Gay Marriage In Schools
I still just cannot wrap my head around what the big deal is here. Families are all different, and there's no reason to get all freaked out if a family is made up of one mom, one dad, a mom and a dad, two moms, or two dads. I live in MA and have not heard anything about drama around "teaching about gay marriage in school". We should just stop calling it that. It's marriage. It is and should be a legal contract between two consenting adults. Not sure why it's a big deal to "teach" kids what the law is or what is basically a civil right to which all citizens should be entitled.
Since I have yet to actually meet, in person, anyone who is against gay marriage who can tell me in real words WHY they are opposed to it, I continue to be in the dark on this.
To say a gay person cannot have the right to be legally married is just wrong. It is an issue of civil rights not unlike the right of women to vote or the right of African Americans to get married.
Now, it's been a long time since I was in school, but how are kids "taught" about "traditional" families?? Like is there a lesson about it???
In my opinion, I don't know why it needs to be taught because I don't get that "traditional" families are something that needs to be taught.
Is there really a class day devoted to teaching kids what their family life "should" look like????? Because that seems like a bad idea. These days, with the rise of divorce/remarriage and single parents, I think there are probably very few mom/dad/kid (what I'm assuming is "traditional") households. Are they going to teach how Johnny can have a mom and a dad. Or a mom and a step dad. Or a dad and a live in girlfriend. Or just a mom. Or just a dad. Or two moms. Or two dads. Not to mention being raised by/sharing a house with non parents (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc). Or do teachers say "Everyone should have a mom and a dad and those of you who don't....??" So how, exactly, is this family unit thing getting taught???
I guess it has to do with including examples of such families? Like reading books that include non-traditional families? Eh - I'm just not into that in the sense that I'm not going to be bothered either way. So you read a story to my kid with two dads. No big whoop. Or - all the stories are about 1 mommy and 1 daddy. That's fine too. We'll cover non traditional families at some point.
Also, in my opinion, it would really depend at what age this is taught and how it is taught. Too young and I think kids who don't have experience with non-traditional families might be confused. Wait a bit longer and the kid is going to be like "Duh, my friend Suzie has a family like that, and my friend Bob has a family like that...." (Or even "*I* have a family like that....")I guess maybe where I could see it happening would be in like a family tree type lesson........but I don't think that that requires teaching anything. You branch up to your two parents (mom/dad, moms, dads, whatever) and go from there. I don't think that requires a lesson on gay marriage.
I guess this is also weird for me to address because like other issues with race/religion/sexual orientation, I know people who are different than me in all of these regards so I assume at some point DD will be exposed to that kind of stuff naturally. I forget so often that so many people AREN'T exposed to other types of people - either due to opportunity or by choice - and those are the people/kids who might have a hard time with stuff like this. I don't know how you introduce stuff to kids that they have no/little chance of encountering naturally on their own in childhood.
Sheesh, sorry for such a long post, didn't know i had so much to ramble on about!
DS born via unplanned C-section at 40w6d
Good point! Also, I'm really confused how you're going to keep your child from hearing that gay people exist, and get married, divorced, have children, eat breakfast, etc. As if they're going to "catch the gay" by hearing about it. What could be the harm in learning about other types of people and families that exist in the world? In my experience, these "horror stories" of things that will happen to your children if gay marriage is passed are simply false propaganda promoted on Fox News and the like. Like the stories of kind, innocent pastors forced to marry gay men against their beliefs. They are factually incorrect, and since there is no curriculum requirement (in my understanding) to teach heterosexual marriage there is no requirement to teach gay marriage either.
It's being voted on in MN as well. It's so sad. We are supposed to have separation of church and state and by voting to keep marriage only between a man and a woman is not doing that!
If your religious belief is against gay marriage, teach that to your children but in a respectful manner explaining that not all people share the same view. We are a country of so many different opinions and religions, why are we forcing beliefs down the throats of others??
I teach First Grade, and I am currently teaching the unit "Family and Friends" in Reading. It talks about what a family is, that you have a mother, a father, and brothers and sisters and how they love you etc... Like the story I read today was called "An Egg is An Egg" and basically the message was things can and will change, but you will always be your mom's baby. I think it's important to teach kids that you have a mother and you have a father, and that they love and care for you. Since a lot of my students come from broken families or blended families, they need to hear things like this.
My personal take... I support it from a civil point, but I think where it's hard for people who do not support it is that the outcome of a marriage is producing offspring. Well 2 men cannot biologically have a child together, and 2 women cannot biologically have a child together. That's my take on it, anyways. I went to Catholic school for 13 years, and was not exposed to gay marriage until college.
I also feel that it shouldn't always have to be up to the schools to teach this sort of thing. We are contracted and paid and responsible to teach your children to read, write and to understand math. The rest of it is up to the teacher.
People get their religious beliefs way too tied up in this issue and it ought not be about religion. Churches/religions do not have to take part in gay marriage. This issue is not about requiring the catholic church to accept and perform gay marriage. The issue is about civil rights and equality. All people should have the same rights. We don't get to pick and choose who has what rights based on who they love, the color of their skin, their religion, or their genitalia.
I get that your religion has taught that this is "wrong" or immoral or whatever. Not that long ago religions also didn't think women should be equal to men and many still believe this is true. But from a humanitarian standpoint, I just don't get how even a religious person could say that some people should not be guaranteed the same rights as everyone else.
I don't know for sure, but after seeing the sme type of commercials because of the MN vote, I just assumed they were teaching it as part of a history lesson, or something along those lines.
I also love how the MA commercials say that parents were not allowed to take their kids out of class for those lessons. I have a feeling the ruling really said that parents didn't have to be informed when those lessons were taking place, just like every other leson plan. Therefore they wouldn't know if/when it was being taught, meaning they wouldn't know when to take their kids out of class.
BFP #2 March 2011, Baby Girl born November 2011!!!
What about married couples who suffer from infertility? Are there marriages less worthy than those who have 6 kids?