Editor responds to GPTA Controversy

As the facilitator of this blog, I rarely post any comments but I could not refrain from commenting on this issue. Firstly let me say that we currently have a PTA that is supposed to be in place to address the needs of all children: (taken from the PTA website)-"(PTA) provides parents and families with a powerful voice to speak on behalf of every child and the best tools to help their children be safe, healthy, and successful—in school and in life." If school districts welcome SEPTA, a parent teacher organization that focuses on the needs of children with learning challenges, then they must welcome all PTAs regardless of their focus. I am not saying that one is more important,or valuable  than another, I am speaking strictly on the fact that once a precedence has been set, you can no longer pick and choose whose issues are more credible and which groups should be recognized.
With regards to "pushing a child to learn about gay and lesbian lifestyles and their  legitimize alternative sexual orientation", I must say that, the constitution of our state acknowledges that gay and lesbian people have equal rights to the privileges as well as the responsibilities afforded the heterosexual populous. While this may not coincide with your personal or religious beliefs, it is part of your state constitution as well as the Declaration of Independence which sites that all men are created equally. You might consider the fact that your child will grow up and will probably work with or for someone who is homosexual or even transgender and if he is exposed to different lifestyles from his/her own now it will not be a problem for him/her later. You might want to consider that teaching your child that because someone is different from them that does not mean that they are bad, or stupid, or less than, and that this kind of thinking will not serve them well in the future, or  help them to get along in society better.
The foundation of this country has been built on the concept that all are created equally. Schools teach that the 13 colonies fought for equal rights of representation and religious freedom, they teach how women who were once thought of as no more than chattel have had to fight for their equal place in society from securing the right to vote to today; when women still don't earn equal pay to men, just because they don't have a penis. They teach how African Americans fought for the right to vote, to sit in a restaurant, to be free and all because they  have a different skin color. I think the fact that a group of people who are denied basic rights based on their sexual orientation and worked to change that is another example of a group of people who were marginalized because they were different. I think this is a perfect lesson to be taught in school. There aren't that many of us that were born in the USA that haven't had to fight to get accepted in this country and their stories are told in schools. One can pretty much pick an ethnic group and the situation repeats itself. One of the commentators talked about comparing Septa to children/adults picking alternative lifestyles. Science has spoken on this one; children and adults do not pick their sexual orientation, just as children do not choose to have trouble reading, so actually they have more in common then you care to admit, and both children are no less deserving of equality than you or I.
 Additionally, I can't understand why treating children's needs regardless of what or who they are equally would be offensive to you. I applaud the High School Principal for acknowledging  a need in his school and supporting his students. While I do agree that drugs and alcohol are major issues in our schools, you might want to consider why children turn to them. Often drugs and alcohol are used to dampen feelings of pain, and to give a sense of well being and self worth. Perhaps if those issues were equally addressed, alcohol and drug use would recede. Mr. Murray is justly acknowledging and supporting a segment of the high school's population.

I think teaching acceptance of other people, in school, particularly when they are not normally accepted by your religion or upbringing, is the whole point of teaching acceptance. Besides if you are going to teach your children that others who are different than you are unacceptable, I would think you would want to at least give him/her the facts that back it up; Learning about Harvey Milk, I am sure will make it easy for them to see that being homosexual is a thing to be shunned. Not. I guess that's what you are afraid of.

As far as teaching good old fashioned morals,I am all for that. I recommend the Golden Rule, (followed as early as ancient Egyptians and Confucius (551–479 B.C.), and can be found in some form in almost every ethical and religious tradition. I believe it goes something like, One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. Perhaps those of you should consider this before you judge others.
I hope I can persuade you to see the benefits and positive aspects the GPTA may bring both to the school district, and to the populations of both straight as well as alternative lifestyle students.

The New Long Island PTA

I don’t often say “Yay, Long Island,” but, yay Long Island. This is a great step forward.
A new parent-teacher organization is forming on Long Island to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students, and push for expansion of curriculum to include information about GLBT leaders and history.
The Long Island Gay Parent Teacher Association, which is to hold its first meeting Wednesday, has its mission already set: Use the backing of parents and teachers to make Nassau and Suffolk public schools more inclusive and safer.
One of the best ways to do that is to talk about GLBT people in mainstream lesson plans, not just in gay-straight alliance clubs or events promoting diversity, said David Kilmnick, chief executive of Long Island GLBT Services Network, an association of five nonprofit organizations.
Just as students learn about Martin Luther King Jr. and his civil rights efforts, they should be taught about Harvey Milk, the assassinated gay rights activist, who was born in Woodmere and graduated from Bay Shore High School, Kilmnick said.
“If kids start to admire gay people … it starts to break down the illogical reasons for homophobia,” Kilmnick said......

http://inthefade.tumblr.com/post/12140502199/the-gay-pta

Football Game Play Superceeds Safety. Really?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Pressured to Perform, Not Pressured to Learn":

A.M. UPDATE: All 18 Players OK after Suffering Hypothermia at Plainview JFK Game

Twelve students hospitalized after playing in frigid, rain-soaked conditions. All players now reported OK; two adults hospitalized with cardiac problems.



The weather report was broadcast way ahead. Who was the brilliant decision maker here? Was this game that important to jeopardize the health of students and supporters? I would appreciate some response on this.