I read the following article online, it came from ABC Channel 7 News out of Denver and the stupidity (my personal opinion of course) of the people involved called out to me to blog on it. First read the article below and then I will continue.
Boys In Drag At School Riles Some Parents - Parent,
Blogger Call Lesson Part Of 'Gay Agenda'
GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press Writer
POSTED: 1:51 pm MDT April 14, 2010
UPDATED: 8:41 am MDT April 15, 2010
MAPLE SHADE, N.J. -- A teacher's explanation to parents of a women's history project planned for her third-graders contained these words: "If your child is a young man, he does not have to wear a dress or skirt."
That didn't stop a parent and a blogger from complaining that little boys were being asked to cross-dress as part of the "gay agenda." From there, the Maude Wilkins School's project about the evolution of women's clothing quickly took on a life of its own -- and now it's been called off completely.
"In hindsight," Superintendent Michael Livengood said Wednesday, "maybe a different activity could have been chosen that was a little bit more relevant to history."
It's the second time in six months that a New Jersey school program has attracted wide attention for something officials say was planned innocently. About 70 protesters visited a Burlington County school in October, upset about a song in which students praised President Barack Obama.
In both cases, administrators say, the ensuing uproar was due to blogs that spread the word but got the intent wrong.
The latest saga began this month when teacher Tonya Uibel sent a letter home with her pupils announcing that all third-graders at Maude Wilkins were required to participate in a Women's History Month project examining how women's fashion has changed over time.
The letter said, in part: "If your child is a young man, he does not have to wear a dress or skirt, as there are many time periods where women wore jeans, pants and trousers. However, each child must be able to express what time period their outfit is from. Most of all, your child should have fun creating their outfit and learning about how women's clothing has changed!"
Janine Giandomenico, a mother of a boy in the class and a frequent user of online social networks, posted a complaint on Facebook. By Monday, her concerns had worked their way to Warner Todd Huston, an opinion writer and editor of the Publius' Forum site. He skewered the school and suggested that the timing of the event, scheduled for Friday, was designed to coincide with a national "Day of Silence" to protest harassment of gays.
"Pushing the gay agenda while feminizing our young boys through a cross-dressing day? This isn't your parent's grade school celebration, for sure," he wrote.
On Monday, as the Web traffic swelled and national media outlets picked up on the story, principal Beth Norcia decided to cancel the fashion show. She wrote in a new letter to parents that instead, students would draw how women's fashion had evolved.
One third-grader, Elizabeth Heisler, said as school let out Wednesday that none of her classmates had seemed confused about whether boys were supposed to wear dresses. The cancellation of the fashion show means she doesn't get to wear her red and black "can-can" dress to school on Friday.
The episode confounded her mother, Andrea Heisler. "I would never think my son was going to come to school in an 1800s dress and petticoat," she said.
Livengood, who leads the Maple Shade Township school district, acknowledged that the initial letter could be misunderstood.
But he said the school wasn't trying to make anyone uncomfortable -- and wasn't even aware of the gay rights protests scheduled the same day.
"It's unbelievable to me that the wording of a letter to a group of third-graders has caused this," he said. "Do they really think that our little group of third-grade teachers has conspired to try to get boys to cross-dress?"
The district hasn't heard complaints from any parents besides Giandomenico, Livengood said.
She told The Associated Press via Facebook message that she would be available for an interview, but has not responded to subsequent requests. On her Twitter account, she had this to say: "WE WON-CANCELLED! THANKS 4 YR SUPPORT!"
Still, Livengood said, he's learned a lesson -- to make sure communications from teachers to parents are reviewed before they go out.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/education/23151571/detail.html
Interesting article isn’t it. Still trying to figure out how it was “Pushing the gay agenda”, since the letter specifically said boys did not have to wear dresses or skirts, now if the letter says they don’t have to wear dresses or skirts, then how is it promoting cross dressing? This is the quote from the letter (from the article above).
The letter said, in part: "If your child is a young man, he does not have to wear a dress or skirt, as there are many time periods where women wore jeans, pants and trousers. However, each child must be able to express what time period their outfit is from. Most of all, your child should have fun creating their outfit and learning about how women's clothing has changed!"
Sounds to me like the parent (and I use the singular because there was one, yes I said one, complaint) involved did not take the time to read the letter closely. Or maybe the parent had an axe to grind, who knows, all I know is that after reading the article, unless the letter contained information that was not said, I would not be able to look this parent in the eye without laughing at them for making a fool of themselves. Because if you pay attention to the wording “does not have to wear a dress or skirt” then you realize she made much ado about nothing. All she had to do was put the kids in blue jeans and say it was from the 1800’s, but no, we have to attack the school for “Pushing the gay agenda”. And then when it’s done she posts on Twitter; "WE WON-CANCELLED! THANKS 4 YR SUPPORT!". What did you win? You took away a project that the kids probably would have enjoyed because of your homophobia (and yes, that is what it is), cause ladies and gentlemen, whether you believe people are born homosexual, or that it’s a choice, it doesn’t matter, the school has your children 8 hours a day, you have them the rest of the time. And if you are active in your children’s lives then their beliefs will reflect in some way shape or form, your beliefs.
I also find another comment in the article interesting: “She told The Associated Press via Facebook message that she would be available for an interview, but has not responded to subsequent requests.” (guess they didn’t offer her enough money for an interview yet).
As for the blogger who helped, either he is a dupe, a homophobe or just looking for 15 minutes of fame. Don’t know which, don’t really care, have my opinion of him and the tone of the blog should make that clear.
*Historical Note: Men did not always wear pants, pants as we currently know it are a historically recent inventions, the last couple hundred years. Before that seeing a man in a skirt (Kilt for the educated out there) was not unusual. – But you tell them that and they will probably call you a liar or say your “Pushing the gay agenda”
And one last note on this, I bet, now that I have posted this blog, if they ever read about it, I will be accused of “Pushing the gay agenda” because I disagree with them. You see, people like this believe in free speech, as long as that free speech agrees with them, but if you don’t then you are obviously trying to help the other side, or are stupid, criminal, whatever. You are not allowed to disagree, see, the limited mind cannot handle that, there is only right and wrong, and they are obviously right and if you disagree, you are obviously wrong.
Don’t be a sheep, Think, before you speak, before you act, and especially before you vote. Don’t make decisions based on pretty words or how someone looks. Find out the truth and act accordingly. Because even if the truth for you is different than the truth for me (and yes, that is possible), at least your decision will be informed.
Spread the word, make your speech, actions and decisions informed.
Have a wonderful day.
"God created two kinds of people, those that are Irish, and those that want to be."
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