The Alameda (a suburb of San Francisco) Unified School District is pushing through a new curriculum that aims to teach Kindergardeners through 5th graders about the GLBT lifestyle in an effort to "discourage bullying on the playground". The proposed curriculum will use a book titled, "And Tango Makes Three", which is about two gay penguins who raise a child together.
See article here In addition, the Alameda school district is saying that parents will not be notified when this will be taught, and therefore will not have the right to exempt their child from this new curriculum. Alameda parents who feel that these issues are better taught at home are outraged and feel that the school district is bullying them into accepting this new curriculum. They feel that their 1st Amendment rights are being violated. I agree. I have always been against GLBT lifestyles being taught in schools. Parents are given the right to exempt their children from Sex Ed - how is this different? If they HAVE to teach it in schools, AT LEAST notify parents ahead of time so that they can choose whether to send their child to school that day. Anything different is taking away Parental Rights, which seems to be a trend these days.
And just a word about "discouraging bullying on the playground". My son, who has Asperger's Syndrome (a form of autism that causes major social disconnection) was bullied for years in public school. I have worked with educators for years, trying to get him the help he needed to avoid the bullies, but in spite of a "zero tolerance" policy, the bullying escalated until they broke my son's finger and gave him a concussion. (I now homeschool him, the best choice I ever made!) My point is, no one is trying to teach about Asperger's in school. No one is forcing children from age 5 - 11 to learn about autism and how exactly a special needs child lives. You don't have to learn about the GLBT lifestyle to learn not to bully. Bullying is about power and control over another person. It is not just aimed at the GLBT community. Bullying is aimed at anyone who is different. Anti-bullying should be taught, NOT the GLBT agenda. I'll be watching our school district, and if they pull out "And Tango Makes Three" - I will be homeschooling ALL my children!