(no subject)

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/us/15gay.html?_r=2&hp

California will become the first state to require public schools to teach gay and lesbian history.

As expected, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill on Thursday that mandates that the contributions of gays and lesbians in the state and the country be included in social science instruction and in textbooks. School districts will have until next January to begin implementing the new law, which was also promoted in part as a way to combat bullying of gay and lesbian students.


Well, now this is a surprise.After Prop 8 I was forced to revise my opinion on just how progressive California really was. But this makes me think that maybe things might not have been what I though. Sure, their will be opposition. But while this will take some time to fully kick in I think that the genie is out of the bottle and as California goes so goes the rest of the nation. However more slowly.

With this and the ruling against DADT it looks like gay rights is really picking up some steam.

Comments

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

I find it to be a trifling issue with no real educational value.

Sexuality has little to do with historical worth.

[skull-bearer.livejournal.com]

Could say the same thing about ethnicity.

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

But not every class is about the title. Most science classes are about teaching you how to think about problems, and teaching you to do so with physics or chemistry or biology is merely a secondary bonus. History class can be as much about teaching you how to think about others as about teaching you a bunch of dry dates and related occurrences.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Fairly sure this is not the case. It's hard for instance to discuss the history of Ancient Greece without pederasty or Christianity without noting its resolute hatred of the mere existence of the sex drive.

[jazznut85.livejournal.com]

Well, let me ask you this...Why is it that we teach our kids these days about prominent figures such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Brown V. Board of Education, as well as the horrific treatment that the African American community received during the time of Jim Crow laws? Why do we teach kids about World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust? Because to understand the long way our society has come in not just accepting all people, but also embracing the multiculturalism that makes us unique and great, you must understand the past. All these things make up the fabric of our nation.

This goes the same way for Gay rights, which are another demographic that have contributed a lot to American society. Therefore, this is why it is important for kids, these days, to learn about the Stonewall riots in NYC, prominent GLBT figures, as well as struggles; past and present, so kids can pinpoint what has brought our society to this point that we're at. Also, this is why I say that schools ought to make famous pieces of GLBT lit to be required reading, as are novels that talk about racism, sexism, and things like the Holocaust. Books such as Patricia Nell Warren's THE FRONT RUNNER first comes to mind.

Your statement, "sexuality has little to do with historical worth," is riddled with fallacy, for these reasons. In other words, someone's sexual orientation is just as much as a person as the color of their skin; you are born with both. And I'm sure that some Bible-Thumping, back woods retard administrator will try to put the issue on the slippery slope, saying that they'll start shoving all things gay down kids throats and, like, showing them gay porn in class, but this is just wrong. People have been discriminated against on the basis of race and their sexual orientation for a very long time. Same thing with religion. So, given that we teach about our history of racial bias, and that against those of different religions, why aren't we taking more steps to do the same to make a safer place for the GLBT community?

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

Agreed. A person's sexuality doesn't demean nor heighten their contribution to society or history.

[eracerhead.livejournal.com]

They are trying to save face after having been beaten by New York. Suits are more progressive than hippies, so there!

But seriously, Prop 8 was just badly done. The way to do it was the way NY did it - by legislators doing their job rather than punting the issue as a referendum.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

In general, putting minority rights up for majority vote is a flawed premise, which wasn't helped in California by the Mormons and Catholics pumping a fortune in to defeat Prop 8.

[jlc20thmaine.livejournal.com]

Since California heavily influences what goes into textbooks which are used nationwide, how will this influence the rest of the US?

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

As much as Texas deleting Thomas Jefferson for Jefferson Davis.

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

It's a nudge. California is influential but state politics are a tricky business. The more liberal states will follow suit in the next few years but it'll take lawsuits in more conservative areas.

[blorky.livejournal.com]

I wish they had mandated a more broad scope study of Civil Rights history - women, blacks, gays, the current immigration issues, etc...

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

IIRC they already most of those topics covered as required curricula, and they're just adding LBGTQ on top of it.

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

*shrug*

There's only so many hours in a school day.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Sacred Band of Thebes FTW!

teh gayz

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

THEY HAVE AN AGENDA




and good for them!

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

IMO this is IDIOCY of the highest level.

Schools are already failing to teach basic skills and now you want to waste even more time with teachers telling 1st graders who don't even know what sex is yet, "Hey isn't this cool, this important person was also Gay" and then trying to deal with the inevitable followup of "What does Gay mean?".


I am all for gay rights and my only criticism of the Gay rights movement is that they are not willing to go far enough in winning civil rights for non mainstream sexuality (where is the support for Swinging, BDSM, and Polyamory?) but seriously "gay contributions to history" is irrelevant, the contribution is what matters, not who they were sleeping with and we should not be wasting valuable class time on irrelevancies like this.

[youngbridge.livejournal.com]

I could be wrong, but I would imagine that they would focus mostly on the gay rights movement and people who have contributed to the movement.

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

Because everybody has alrready mastered Math, English, Philosophy, and a 2nd Language we must find additional subjects to occupy our students and teachers time!

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough if you properly educate a kid as an adult he's capable of learning more in depth issues.

Now we can add Harvey Milk to the list of famous names kids will have to remember but not actually care about.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

This. Trust me, at the elementary level at least, social studies is barely taught anyway. After you get the mandated stuff out of the way - 2.5 hours for Language Arts, 1.5 hours for math, 30 minutes for PE, plus lunch and recess... there's just no time for silly things like history, science, etc.

[harry-beast.livejournal.com]

On the plus side, California will be able to clinch the top spot for the OECD's rankings of gay skills and knowledge. Take that, South Korean and Finland!

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Let's start with conservative xenophobes and ensure they have orthography to a sufficient degree:

http://mugsysrapsheet.com/4blog/misspelled_tea-party_sign_05.jpg

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/04/02/gal_teabonics_14.jpg

http://cdn.trendhunterstatic.com/phpthumbnails/30/30249/30249_1_230c.jpeg

http://blog.buzzflash.com/files/file008.jpg

If you insist on functional literacy, physician, heal thy own kind first.

[404.livejournal.com]

If California can successfully provide evidence to show how sexual identity can improve content knowledge acquisition and retention, then I don't really see any reason why not to teach it as part of the curriculum. I do have a problem if it is just for bullying, which is a problem, but I don't see how this really addresses that issue.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

How dare they attempt to make equal that which God has made unequal? God loves bullying queer children:

http://gawker.com/5626199/anti+bullying-policies-are-a-gay-conspiracy-says-mega-church