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The decision by the nation’s largest teachers union to
abandon a proposal to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender issues in the national curriculum is a slap in the face
to the ideals of equality fought for since the days of Brown v.
Board of Education.
At its national convention in Los Angeles, the National
Education Association was pressured by the anti-homosexuality
sentiments of many Americans, represented by the 600 protesters
present, into abandoning the proposal for a task force to address
this issue. This is simply not enough.
By choosing a weak alternative, the NEA is acknowledging and
giving credibility to protesters’ belief that addressing
homosexuality in schools is wrong.
Particularly problematic is the way deferring to a task force
confirms the fear of some opponents that discussing homosexuality
in the classroom may be a way of “promoting” it on
campuses.
LGBT people have already been denied rights other members of
society enjoy, such as the right to marry or openly serve in the
military.
Just because a large segment of the population is averse to
homosexuality, as they once were to racial integration and women in
the workplace, does not justify ignoring concerns of the LGBT
community.
The LGBT curriculum is primarily aimed at serving the needs of
members of its own community and educating the public as a whole
““ not seeking to undermine those who are heterosexual,
although people of all sexual orientations would benefit from this
education.
Education should be about more than basic academic skills. One
of the most important aspects of being an educated person is
learning to be part of the community.
If a person cannot interact with others, he or she is at a
serious social disadvantage. The LGBT curriculum would provide a
very important civic lesson: tolerance.
It is difficult to be a child or teenager these days, especially
with the peer and academic pressure that is characteristic of
schools. But it is even more difficult to belong to the LGBT
community, because aside from dealing with ordinary school-day
conflicts, students must also tackle the extraordinarily confusing
subject of their identities.
And why wouldn’t they be confused? Millions of Americans
think homosexuality is wrong. This is why homosexuals have become
the target of hate crimes and are prone to discrimination at every
age.
In schools, this discrimination is so prevalent that it is
second nature. It is in this environment where these issues must be
addressed. Where else is calling someone “gay” or a
“fag” commonplace but in schools, where students
don’t know how damaging those words can be?
A successful incorporation of educational resources about, and
for, the LGBT community at all levels of the American educational
system has not occurred. And even though some, like the NEA’s
task force, are making efforts to correct this, the seriousness
with which they are taken has so far been inadequate.