2008 Woodie Awards
What we really mean when we say "family values"
Jamie Blanco
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Opinion
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One day a 6-year-old boy comes home from school with a new book.
He learned about families, and the book showed him how many different kinds of families there are. Some children have only one mommy or daddy, but some have two of each.
At this point, the parents have a decision to make: they can reinforce ideas of tolerance, or they can be like several Massachusetts parents and sue the school.
In late April 2006, two sets of parents filed a lawsuit against the town of Lexington's school system because a teacher read a gay-themed fairy tale to a class of 7-year-olds without parental notification.
David Parker, one of the parents involved in the suit, told The Associated Press, "When the teacher puts it forward, it becomes the gospel according to the teacher. The children are so young, they can't reflect on that idea. They're too young to put it in context."
But in what context should they be putting it in?
There is absolutely no place for state-sanctioned homophobia in our public schools. To force teachers to notify parents every time a controversial idea is discussed would be a logistical nightmare.
John Davis, an attorney for Lexington school officials, said it best when he told the AP, "The parents do have rights ... but they don't have the right to dictate to the public school system what their children can be exposed to in the way of ideas."
It's the job of the parents to create context for those ideas, according to their morals at home.
The controversy over gay families is often advertised as a fight by the morally superior to preserve family values.
But it is these self-righteous types who are hijacking our family values--not gays or Democrats, but the arrogant and intolerant.
"Family values" have been reduced to a clever political slogan used to denounce those who choose to live differently from the status quo. This narrow sloganization is used to discriminate and instill ignorance.
If you think that's too harsh, ask the Lofton-Croteau family.
He learned about families, and the book showed him how many different kinds of families there are. Some children have only one mommy or daddy, but some have two of each.
At this point, the parents have a decision to make: they can reinforce ideas of tolerance, or they can be like several Massachusetts parents and sue the school.
In late April 2006, two sets of parents filed a lawsuit against the town of Lexington's school system because a teacher read a gay-themed fairy tale to a class of 7-year-olds without parental notification.
David Parker, one of the parents involved in the suit, told The Associated Press, "When the teacher puts it forward, it becomes the gospel according to the teacher. The children are so young, they can't reflect on that idea. They're too young to put it in context."
But in what context should they be putting it in?
There is absolutely no place for state-sanctioned homophobia in our public schools. To force teachers to notify parents every time a controversial idea is discussed would be a logistical nightmare.
John Davis, an attorney for Lexington school officials, said it best when he told the AP, "The parents do have rights ... but they don't have the right to dictate to the public school system what their children can be exposed to in the way of ideas."
It's the job of the parents to create context for those ideas, according to their morals at home.
The controversy over gay families is often advertised as a fight by the morally superior to preserve family values.
But it is these self-righteous types who are hijacking our family values--not gays or Democrats, but the arrogant and intolerant.
"Family values" have been reduced to a clever political slogan used to denounce those who choose to live differently from the status quo. This narrow sloganization is used to discriminate and instill ignorance.
If you think that's too harsh, ask the Lofton-Croteau family.
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