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LIP...how do you feel about this? Re: Gay marriage in schools
Do you think this is acceptable or not?
[Poll]This discussion has been closed.
Re: LIP...how do you feel about this? Re: Gay marriage in schools
i vote special snowflake
I'm not sure family relationships need to be specifically addressed in class other than sharing with students that their family unit is the people they live with and family make-ups can vary greatly (that's what I do with my classes).
My best friend is a lesbian, and getting married in the summer. So this is something my daughter is familiar with, and knows much about because I've drilled it into her head that women can marry women, men can marry men and women and men can marry. She knows there are all types.
As a parent, it honestly wouldn't bother me if it were talked about in school or a book was read. I can see where it could bother some, if that's not "of their belief".. but I live in a state where it's now legal, so it's reality.
There is still WAY too much hate crime against same sex relationships and marriages- and I think WAY too rampant among young people in schools who are gay, lesbian, bisexual (etc). Personally, I believe if maybe it WERE talked to our young children who ARE growing up and WILL be the future... maybe it will be more tolerated as they get older, because it's spoken about from the start.
And, IMO, even if it's something you (in general) are against, it still needs to be known it happens. And that it's NOT ok to bully, tease (etc) someone who DOES choose to be in a same sex marriage. Children need to be taught there are ALL kinds of families in the world.
Our nanny is a lesbian and she and her wife are a big part of DS's life. Whenever we talk about families I say things like "some famiies have a mom and dad, some have a step parent (like DS's step grandmother), some have 2 mommies, some have 2 daddies", whatever. I have zero issue with schools addressing families in this way. There are so many different types of families, and here in MA it IS legal (thank goodness) so why wouldn't they mention it in schools??
When our children are our age they will look back on this time as simply another civil rights movement, and be appalled that people in our country wanted to deny basic human rights to people simply because they were gay.
From what that article said, it sounds like they're saying that having a book in the classroom or library that depicts a same-sex relationship = "teaching gay marriage to kids," as if the teacher is sitting down and explaining how to be gay and then trying to recruit the kindergarteners. That's like saying teachers are "promoting nudism" by having a copy of No, David! because he streaks through the neighborhood on one page, or that schools are teaching kids that monkeys can be firefighters because they read a Curious George story. Ridiculous fear-mongering.
Whether people like or approve of it or not, the fact is that some families ARE made up of two moms or two dads, and some people DO fall in love with others of the same sex. I don't feel that my kids need to be "protected" from that reality, or fear that they'll become homosexual if they read a story about a gay prince (if they happened to choose that book from the library).
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Even if you are against marriage between gays you can't pretend it doesnt exist, particularly in states where it is legal, and particularly in a state where it has been legal for 8 years. There should be books that depict all kinds of families. And if a book like Cinderella, about a prince who finds and marries his princess is in a school, why shouldn't there be a book about a prince who finds and marries his prince?
My dd has a set of twins in her grade with two dads. We vacation every summer with a family with 2 moms. For many kids it may not be common to have friends with same sex parents, but that doesn't make it abnormal. Just like mixed race families may not be common but we don't pretend they don't exist and we can't pretend same sex couples don't exist.
Although I will say that this particular book sounds annoying. I would rather non-traditional families be incidental to the story as opposed to the story itself. Otherwise it plants the idea that there is something unusual about their coupling in a child who may not have ever given it a second thought.
I can speak from experience, as DD's school is one of those MA schools that has a robust book collection featuring same-gender couples/families in its library. (During the library's fairy-tale theme week, the library specifically picked a book featuring a same sex couple in addition to the more traditional fairy tales. That's just how my town rolls.) I personally love how much of a non-issue this issue is in my town. We have more than a few same gender families in our community, and it's such great feeling to me when my daughter comes home mentioning her friend's two mommies without so much as batting an eye. Hooray for progress!
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Guess what Plante, it's Massachusetts! Gay marriage is okay.
This topic used to come up all the time when I taught preschool in MA. Someone would say they wanted to marry their friend and inevitably someone else would say that boys can't marry boys/girls can't marry girls and we always handled it with, "Yes, they can." There was no need to talk about if it's wrong or right, parents need to teach those values at home. It's just a simple fact. In MA boys can marry boys and girls can marry girls. The end.
I'm of the mind set that if your public schools teach something against your views you need to send your child to private school or homeschool them.
??? I am so confused.
I voted I am fine with it but then again I am mad I cannot find And tango makes three in out library...they have it but I think it is on the wrong shelf right now. I do feel more SS really though bc I don't think marriage needs to really be discussed in school unless a kid brings it up, I think families should be defined as people that love each other Nd parents can any mix of genders, and I do not mean we should ignore it but rather I don't see it being in curiculum.
But I agree with Cubby that it does not sound like anything was being taught, just made avIlBle. And I almost spit lemonade through my nose at teaching nudism.
I totally agree. It's not 'promoting an agenda' to depict two men or two women in love, it's reflecting a reality of life that some people are unfortunately uncomfortable with and would rather ignore and deny. I understand that it is against some people's religion for same sex couples to marry. But as states legalize gay marriage and it becomes culturally accepted, people who have a problem with it will need to educate their children in parochial schools or deal with it. Lots of people opposed interracial marriage up into the 60's (and beyond) and it wasn't declared unconstitutional to prohibit interracial marriage until 1967.
If there were still religious organizations that believed interracial marriage was wrong (and no doubt there are) would it then be necessary to ban all books in school that depicted black people and white people (for example) from getting married? Would there be an outcry if a book in a Kindergarten showed a white princess marrying a black prince? Is that 'promoting an agenda?' Or just reflecting the reality that, yes, black and white people can and do fall in love, and it's okay, the world keeps turning, and the kindergartner goes back to picking his nose.
Not only is this completely acceptable in my mind, It is much needed. We need to bring this next generation up to be tolerant and caring of everyone around them. Perhaps that way we can finally be rid of this ridiculous ignorance. Hate breeds hate. The only way we can get past it is to teach our children to be better than that.
My DD is 5 and she doesn't even question why her aunt has a girlfriend, or her uncle has a boyfriend. It's just life and love and that is how it should be.
It's sad to me that almost 20% of people would be livid.
I actually think these kind of books are much needed. The parents in the article would go nuts having me as their teacher b/c I go out of my way to find and read books to my class that show different family units. I think kids need to understand that families come in all shapes and sizes, and I want to be inclusive of all kids in my room. And if all the kids in the class come from 'traditional' marriage homes then I think it is even more important that they are exposed to these ideas. I don't start big discussions on it, but often a comment or two is made. I have only ever had one parent say anything and that was to compliment me on the books I chose.
Gay marriage is legal where these people live. If they don't like that idea being shown to their kid then they need to homeschool.
I am Catholic - when it comes to my views on marriage in my church it is between a man and a woman. BUT the whole world does not belong to my church and I find that to be a positive fact.
I believe in civil unions between people who love another other. I do not believe that it is the governments right to say who can share their lives, money, insurance, time, house and who can't. And it PISSES me off that they think they can.
Marriage unions are things that are not a passing fad... although they have become that, they are something whether you are gay or straight that can be made and then broken... it is sick what marriage has become in this country and it has very little to do with if you are in bed with a boy or girl. It has to do with respect, love, appreciation and COMMITMENT - all those things are getting tossed aside when someone in the relationship doesn't get his or her way...
That being said. If someone tried to sit there and teach my child about adult relationships, sexual experiences or anything close to that, I would yank my child from the classroom. Thank you, but I will teach my child about acceptance and relationships and understanding... not some right-winged conservative teacher and not some left liberal either. And you NEVER know who is teaching your child. So when it comes to sex, when it comes to relationships and how HUGE of a topic this is and one that a kindergartener cannot even come CLOSE to comprehending, I will be doing this. Not some school.
*steps off soap box - looks at flame resistant suit - wonders if she needs to put it on*
Here's my story.
My daughter told me that she wanted to marry her best friend "A" and since she had the shorter hair, she would become the boy so they could get married. We live in Iowa, where gay marriage is legal, so I explained to her that she could marry anyone she wanted to. She then proclaimed "I love Iowa, it's the greatest state ever!" This was all very innocent, she hears DH and I talk about how we were so lucky to marry our best friend, and she wants to do the same. Most of the time when she brings up marriage, we change the subject because she's just too little to understand the details, whether it be a heterosexual or homosexual relationship. We're honest about the facts but make sure it stays age appropriate.
I voted I would be livid BUT not because I am against gay marriage. I'm not at all and it makes me livid that there is so much hate against gay people. Who cares who loves who? My neighbors are lesbians raising a child and they are wonderful people! With that being said, I don't agree with schools disgussing it. I'd rather teach my child that everyone is different and it's all about love...etc., etc. To me, marriage does not belong in the school and especially such hot debate as this. I think a general topic of hate and things like that can be discussed and this can be briefly thrown in as an example. Hope I made sense.