Here's an interesting story. I found it on Jessamyn West's library blog. Several families in Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against their school district, claiming "their religious rights were being violated when kids read books involving 'positive portrayals of families headed by same-sex parents and same-sex marriage, including the frequently challenged children’s book, King and King.'”
The court ruled against them, saying that "there is no First Amendment free exercise right to be free from any reference in public elementary schools to the existence of families in which the parents are of different gender combinations. It also held that public schools are not obliged to shield individual students from ideas which potentially are religiously offensive, especially when the school does not require that the student agree with or affirm those ideas, or even participate in discussions about them."
I've got a lot of conflicting thoughts about this one, and I think part of it is due to me having been home schooled. I'm a little put out at the "how dare you question us" attitude that the school seems to have (or maybe it's the ACLU lawyer's tone that makes me think that). It seems like the rights of the children and the parents are second to the rights of the school to teach its curriculum however it sees fit. I'm not taking issue with the specific topic; I would feel the same way if the issue were more specifically religious.
Then again, this does seem like it was blown out of proportion. The books in question were optional reading that the students took home in a book bag. The parents were notified well in advance (though not about the choice of books, as far as I can tell). And I don't think that filing a lawsuit is usually a very effective way to get your point across.
Finally, I have the same question about this as I do about any sort of censorship/banning/controversial book situation: did the parents talk to their child about the books before they started litigating, etc?
P.S. You can read some of the back story here and here, and read the full court decision here (it's a PDF).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
This seems to me a perfect opportunity for parents to discuss homosexuality with their children. It is presented as a children's book, not a porn site. However, I know that not all parents agree with me. Perhaps the school should have notified the parents of the subject matter included in the books so they could prepare themselves for discussion (or refuse the reading material if they so chose). Then again, this could have been offensive to homosexual parents who don't see such materials require a warning. Like you said, this issue arouses mixed feelings.
I have the same reaction as you in terms of the issue of the lawsuit. How did it get that far? Did the parents come in with an agenda or just a concern and how was it handled by the school administration? In most instances I think that experienced and sensitive administrators are able to engage parents in a respectful manner so that things don't end up in litigation.
Post a Comment