Homosexual Education Essays - Same-sex Sexuality, Sexual Orientation

Homosexual Education Teaching sex education in public schools alone has become a very controversial subject with some parents and other community members. So one can only imagine the reaction to teaching about homosexual lifestyles as part of the sex education program. There are basically two different views on the subject of homosexuality. Some people are perfectly okay with it, while others cringe at the thought. Many parents would be highly upset if their child came home from school one day and said, Mommy, guess what? We got to learn about homosexuals today. Ms. Conner said we are supposed to accept them no matter what their sexual behavior. Why did you and daddy tell me it was bad? Ms. Conner said it was okay. The issue of teaching homosexuality in the sex education curriculum is important because it affects all of our children. Some of us may not have our own children, but most of us have children in our life which we care about deeply, such as nieces, nephews, and god children. Sometimes the public schools overstep their boundaries when teaching young children subjects such as homosexuality. For example, in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the school board has voted to begin teaching preschoolers about homosexual lifestyles. They also want to back hiring preferences for sexual minorities ( Clinton's homosexual agenda 2). There is also a school in New York City that have told their students they must come to an assembly for two days in a row to talk about how normal homosexuality is, and how indecent, undemocratic, and homophobic it is to have any negative views of such sexual functioning (Socarides 3). It is hard for me to accept this type of teaching in the public school. When it comes to l earning about homosexual lifestyles, I believe a child should be aware that these types of people are in the world, but I would never condone the matter. I would also never discriminate against homosexuals. Children should never hear their teacher say good page 1 of 4 things or bad things about homosexuality. At school, they should just learn the basic facts and leave the morals and values to be taught at home by the parents. I do not believe that homosexuality is the right way to live, but that does not give me the right to judge. Our children should not be so sheltered of the fact that there are homosexuals, but I believe it is the parent's responsibility to talk their children about this matter. I do understand, though, that many parents will not discuss this subject with their children. They either believe it is not important, or feel they just do not have the time. Someone should take time to speak to the children about it. We cannot wait until Little Johnny comes home from school one day and says, Why does Georgie have two moms? I told him that was weird. It is so important to discuss this different way of life to the children, but is it the school's responsibility? Some educators believe that it is important while teaching sex education to help the students unlearn negative feelings and stereotypes about gay and lesbian people (Roleff 53). On the other hand, other educators feel certain that teaching children to be open-minded about gays undermines the authority of the parents who consider homosexuality to be morally wrong (Roleff 63). Public schools used to try and teach moral practices such as abstinence before marriage, but schools have stopped trying to legislate morals and have started teaching responsibility (Roleff 9-10). I do not necessarily believe as some do, that teaching sex education in public schools is a bad thing as long as the teacher knows where to draw the line. Some educators believe that the lack of sex education is one of the major causes of the sex variant (Burt 151). page 2 of 4 Like I have already mentioned, I do think it is the parent's responsibility to talk to their children about homosexuality. Most parents try to explain this issue to their children in a neutral way, but occasionally they have to deal with their own complicated reaction to this lifestyle (The Study Group of New York 252). If I were a parent with a child