Parents of third graders outraged at diversity tape

[Melisinde]

This happened in my area and it's all over the news. I thought I'd post it here and see what you all thought about it. I myself don't have children, but if I did, I would not have an objection to them learning about the many forms families come in. If I have children at a later date, I will be sure to explain to them that all kinds of people make up the world . Be sure to check out the source for the whole thing.

*snip*Parents outraged by a diversity video that includes same-sex parents had the chance on Monday to view the tape for themselves.

School officials said the video introduces third-graders to families of all types, including interracial, single parents and same-sex couples.

But some parents said they never knew its content introduced third-grade students to same-sex parents. *snip*

http://www.nbc10.com/news/10882367/detail.html

I dunno- many of the parents protesting say it is against their moral values. Well, a lot of people considered the other families in the tape (interracial and single parents) to be immoral or wrong at one point too...

 

[kittykat1]

I would have no problem with my children viewing it, but I would like to know about it in advance - just like if they were learning sex ed. You want to be prepared to answer your child's questions or concerns when they come to you. I think so many people are "moral" that they cannot accept there are other lifestyles than their own. It is called being narrow-minded and it teaches children to hate.


I do think the parents have the right to know what their child is watching at school before the child is actually watching it.

 

[southcitymom]

I think it's great. I think that anything that tries to teach children respect, tolerance and acceptance for others is great.

One parent wrote the district informing them that "these issues are not only against our religious beliefs but also our family values."

Interracial or same sex families may be against someone's religious beliefs but they are still a reality of the world. You can accept and respect someone and still not feel their path is the correct one for you personally. These things can be taught side by side. I don't see what the fuss is all about.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Aren't the parents who are offended here the same ones who want their rights upheld to push their own agenda and religion in our schools?!

I think the subject of Diversity should be taught in all schools. I feel it is a neccesary part of learning what it means to be an AMERICAN! We have freedom to live our lives within the laws of our fine country...and our children have a right to know that someday they will have those choices to make for themselves. Since some parents don't appear to see a need for them to study or acknowledge the real world, I don't feel the school has an obligation to tell parents ahead of time and give them the option of their child missing out on this healthy and educational film.

Yes, it does help children to be more understanding of their peers, their teachers, and most importantly, their own parents. I believe this is why so many parents don't want their children to watch films of this nature...because their children might become 'intolerant' of their ignorance!

 

[FlowerChild]

How does tolerance and accepting diversity disagree with someones moral or religious beliefs? Didn't Jesus teach loving everyone - even the sinners? Especially the sinners?

If acceptance of and tolerance for other children from diverse lifestyles and backgrounds isn't being taught at home then the schools MUST do something to stop the hate. What is just teasing at 3rd grade can become violence by the 9th grade and even murder by the 12th grade. Bigotry comes in all religions (sadly) and from people of outstanding morals (sadly).

Bigotry of any sort breeds hate. Single parent homes, biracial couples with kids and openly homosexual couples with kids are all now found in all parts of the country. All of them have been or are still the target of hate and discrimination. There are now more children in school from openly homosexual parented or Bi -Racial parented families. While it may disagree with certain people's religion or moral beliefs that is a teaching for HOME. At school, the children should be expected to be tolerant and respectful. They are not being required to embrace such a lifestyle themselves personally - just not to hate a child whe lives in such a family based on that - something the child has no control over. All children are going to encounter families very different from their own in public school...teaching tolerance of such differences is a vital part of educating these children - children who must succeed in school and in a very diverse society. If they are going to encounter it in real life at school every day then why the objection to a film stating the obvious. The kids are already living it - why the outcry over stating what they SHOULD be learning at home - which should be at a minimum - tolerance - which is NOT in opposition to Biblical teachings. IMO, ignoring it merely encourages bigotry learned elsewhere to find fertile ground.

To put it Biblically - the sins of the father are not the sins of the son.

Hate is learned...so is tolerance. Teaching tolerance is everyone's responsibility.

 

[JBean]

My kids learned about this and sex ed long before 3rd grade and their info came from me.

So, this program wouldn't have had much impact on any of my 3rd graders.

 

[Dalilah]

Since when do "morals" and "values" include bigotry and hatred?

I agree that parents should know beforehand what their children are being taught in order to facilitate conversation and further learning in the home.

If parents are so opposed to diversity, they shouldn't be sending their children to public schools.

Thank God we've never had to deal with such crap. At least not to our faces. My husband is Black, I am Caucasian and my daughter is both. We have rarely dealt with any intolerance and I know I'd be very intolerant of any intolerance in this regard. Ha!

 

[csds703]

Aren't the parents who are offended here the same ones who want their rights upheld to push their own agenda and religion in our schools?!

I think the subject of Diversity should be taught in all schools. I feel it is a neccesary part of learning what it means to be an AMERICAN! We have freedom to live our lives within the laws of our fine country...and our children have a right to know that someday they will have those choices to make for themselves. Since some parents don't appear to see a need for them to study or acknowledge the real world, I don't feel the school has an obligation to tell parents ahead of time and give them the option of their child missing out on this healthy and educational film.

Yes, it does help children to be more understanding of their peers, their teachers, and most importantly, their own parents. I believe this is why so many parents don't want their children to watch films of this nature...because their children might become 'intolerant' of their ignorance![/QUOTE]

I totally agree with this statement.

 

[Melisinde]

I'm so glad that everyone else agrees with my point of view. :blowkiss: That sounds like it's coming out wrong but... it's all a lot of people could talk about on the radio stations this morning and most people were against the tape being shown at all. I just couldn't understand the vitriolic reaction that so many of the callers were having. I understand showing it to the parents/telling them about it first and I can support that. Just because someone believes gay people are immoral doesn't make them go away however... and these parents that won't let their children see the tape are behaving like ostriches in the sand!

 

[Dark Knight]

I think it's great. I think that anything that tries to teach children respect, tolerance and acceptance for others is great.

One parent wrote the district informing them that "these issues are not only against our religious beliefs but also our family values."

Interracial or same sex families may be against someone's religious beliefs but they are still a reality of the world. You can accept and respect someone and still not feel their path is the correct one for you personally. These things can be taught side by side. I don't see what the fuss is all about.

They don't want the school teaching that same sex marriage, etc. is acceptable when they are trying to teach the kids that it isn't due to their religious beliefs. All this stuff about bigotry, hatred, etc. makes me laugh. This has been debated ad nauseum on WS to the irritation of the mods so I won't break TOS by debating religious theology, but some of the comments against these parents are something else. Maybe not agreeing with the parents values is also predjudiced and bigoted.

 

[Dark Knight]

I'm so glad that everyone else agrees with my point of view. :blowkiss: That sounds like it's coming out wrong but... it's all a lot of people could talk about on the radio stations this morning and most people were against the tape being shown at all. I just couldn't understand the vitriolic reaction that so many of the callers were having. I understand showing it to the parents/telling them about it first and I can support that. Just because someone believes gay people are immoral doesn't make them go away however... and these parents that won't let their children see the tape are behaving like ostriches in the sand!

Yes because popular opinion makes it alright.

 

[Yakwoman]

Whether or not the parents have a moral objection to same-sex parenting, it DOES exist and there's no reason kids should not be made aware of it, when teaching about diverse families. If they have further questions about it, then it's up to the parents to discuss it with them and, if so inclined, impress their moral objections upon their children.

What if I had it in my head that the world was flat? Should I be able to object because the school teaches otherwise and has a globe in the classroom?

 

[Kitty5001]

I, as a parent of a 3rd grade boy would be FURIOUS if this happened to him. YES while there are homosexuals out in the world, there is a TIME and a PLACE to approach that topic and it certainly is not a 8 years old. It is at a time that they would be mature enough to understand it. People as parents have every right to censor what their children are exposed to- rated m video games, rated r movies, music with obsecene words and yes sexuality in any form. My son does not need to know about two guys or girls having relationships nor does he probably want to. It has nothing to do with buring anyone's head in the sand. It has to do with shielding our kids from the liberal ideas that they can see and hear all the crap in the world and become "educated" no-they become desensitized like we all have and moral values keep slipping further and further down the tubes.

 

[Peter Hamilton]

I, as a parent of a 3rd grade boy would be FURIOUS if this happened to him. YES while there are homosexuals out in the world, there is a TIME and a PLACE to approach that topic and it certainly is not a 8 years old. It is at a time that they would be mature enough to understand it. People as parents have every right to censor what their children are exposed to- rated m video games, rated r movies, music with obsecene words and yes sexuality in any form. My son does not need to know about two guys or girls having relationships nor does he probably want to. It has nothing to do with buring anyone's head in the sand. It has to do with shielding our kids from the liberal ideas that they can see and hear all the crap in the world and become "educated" no-they become desensitized like we all have and moral values keep slipping further and further down the tubes.

--totally agree kitty--showing same-sex couples to 8 year olds is an outrage--Its parents responsibility not schools--we don't need schools rubbing kids faces in this crap

 

[Peter Hamilton]

My kids learned about this and sex ed long before 3rd grade and their info came from me.

So, this program wouldn't have had much impact on any of my 3rd graders.

--Your kids learned about sex ed long before 3rd grade?? YIKES

 

[csds703]

I, as a parent of a 3rd grade boy would be FURIOUS if this happened to him. YES while there are homosexuals out in the world, there is a TIME and a PLACE to approach that topic and it certainly is not a 8 years old. It is at a time that they would be mature enough to understand it. People as parents have every right to censor what their children are exposed to- rated m video games, rated r movies, music with obsecene words and yes sexuality in any form. My son does not need to know about two guys or girls having relationships nor does he probably want to. It has nothing to do with buring anyone's head in the sand. It has to do with shielding our kids from the liberal ideas that they can see and hear all the crap in the world and become "educated" no-they become desensitized like we all have and moral values keep slipping further and further down the tubes.

This is about diversity NOT sex. It is about teaching kids that families come in all different colors, genders, married and unmarried. It's about NOT allowing a child who comes from a DIFFERENT family to be looked at in a bad way. Who said this is about Gay Marriage. They were only part of the film being shown.
Kids will not be harmed by knowing that there are different lifestyles out there.

 

[southcitymom]

They don't want the school teaching that same sex marriage, etc. is acceptable when they are trying to teach the kids that it isn't due to their religious beliefs. All this stuff about bigotry, hatred, etc. makes me laugh. This has been debated ad nauseum on WS to the irritation of the mods so I won't break TOS by debating religious theology, but some of the comments against these parents are something else. Maybe not agreeing with the parents values is also predjudiced and bigoted.

I do understand the perspective from which parents who disagree with interracial and/or same sex and/or single(divorced) families comes. As I said in my initial post, you can respect and accept reality (ie. interracial and same-sex families) AND also believe and teach your children your own position on that reality. I do not see how one negates the other.

It sounds like the school is trying to teach children that it is always acceptable and appropriate to respect families of all colors, shapes and sizes because this is the reality of the world they live in and will inherit. This still leaves parents with the responsibility of teaching the morality of such reality to their children.

I think if nothing else, such a program could be a great start to a dialogue within the individual families about these issues.

 

[IrishMist]

To be honest, I'm having trouble deciding what class this would be shown in at the third grade level. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all about sex ed, with parent's having a choice to pull their kids out. I'm all about equal rights for gays. (We all know that )

I guess I just don't see why it's up to the schools to teach this. The three R's, art, music, health, yes. But diversity? Just doesn't seem right to me. I suppose I could be persuaded, but right now, my thinking is don't the teachers have enough to do?

Thinking as I type here... but I can see teaching them that the handicapped (Is that still a PC term?) are people too. But that's about as far as I think appropriate.

 

[southcitymom]

This is about diversity NOT sex. It is about teaching kids that families come in all different colors, genders, married and unmarried. It's about NOT allowing a child who comes from a DIFFERENT family to be looked at in a bad way. Who said this is about Gay Marriage. They were only part of the film being shown.
Kids will not be harmed by knowing that there are different lifestyles out there.

Well said!

 

[southcitymom]

To be honest, I'm having trouble deciding what class this would be shown in at the third grade level. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all about sex ed, with parent's having a choice to pull their kids out. I'm all about equal rights for gays. (We all know that )

I guess I just don't see why it's up to the schools to teach this. The three R's, art, music, health, yes. But diversity? Just doesn't seem right to me. I suppose I could be persuaded, but right now, my thinking is don't the teachers have enough to do?

Thinking as I type here... but I can see teaching them that the handicapped (Is that still a PC term?) are people too. But that's about as far as I think appropriate.

I will say that unless the school is blind to the times they must have considered that some folks would be bothered by this. I keep thinking of the outrage several years ago of a library book called "Melissa Has Two Mommies" or something like that.

My son (6) is in kindergarden and it seems to me that he gets lots of diversity education at school - not formally, so to speak - like a film being shown, but in the course of day-to-day things. His school population is very diverse so maybe that's why. They had lots of diversity discussions when they studied Martin Luther King a few weeks back. It led to some great discussions at home.