Are Vermont School Children Being Put Into Exploratory Mode with Homosexuality?
October 30, 2000
Dear Fellow Vermonter,
More than a quarter century ago, Catherine
Barrett, then President of the National Education Association (NEA), was
quoted as saying:
Dramatic changes in the way we will raise our children in
the year 2000 are indicated, particularly in terms of schooling...We will
need to recognize that the so-called “basic skills”, which currently represent
nearly the total effort in elementary schools, will be taught in one-quarter
of the present school day. When this happens - and it's near - the
teacher can rise to his true calling. More than a dispenser of information,
the teacher will be a conveyor of values, a philosopher. We will be agents
of change.
No doubt the “basic skills” referred to include those
that parents expect their children to learn in the public schools, such
as reading, writing, and arithmetic. The year 2000 has arrived, and
concerned parents should ask what “values” are being conveyed to our children
during the remaining and significant part of the school day. ForTheChildrenInc.
would like to share some ways in which the above quoted prediction has
been realized in the Vermont public schools.
Tolerance of diversity is a noble ideal, but diversity
should not extend to promotion of a life shortening behavior such as the
practice of homosexuality. The methods being used to promote diversity
in our Vermont schools encourage students to experiment with a lifestyle
known to have serious health consequences.
We would like to share excerpts from a letter received
from a graduate of South Burlington High School. In order to protect
the identity of the individual, we will refer to this person as “Alex”.
...I graduated from SBHS in 199- ...I can tell you
that even then the homosexual agenda was very prevalent. We spent
considerably more time in health class discussing homosexuality than many
valid health concerns. I remember being astonished that we spent
a whole day watching some movie about accepting homosexuals, and then talked
about it other days when we entirely skipped many things due to lack of
time.
...They also put way too much emphasis on "safer sex" ...I tell you
I listened carefully and the whole week we spent on birth control, abstinence
was not mentioned!
There were also a multitude of activities and gay awareness programs
coming from every direction. Most students ignored it but it bothered
me. It seemed there was a constant barrage of gay awareness. This
included an awareness month with various displays around the school. During
"Diversity Days" regular classes were suspended to allow for awareness
activities including speakers and movies and discussion panels. These
covered other forms of diversity than just sexual, but gay awareness was
a big part.
Homosexuals were mentioned in almost every history class with extra
focus during US History and Public Issues and World Affairs. In US
History ...(we) ...used theme units instead of chronological history.
The units lasted a month or so each and focused on different groups that
had been discriminated against, homosexuals being included. I learned
almost no real history.
The Public Issues class or PIWA was even worse using US News and
World Report as the textbook, with the teacher selecting the articles.
He asked for our input on topics at the beginning of the year, then completely
ignored it choosing the articles he wanted us to read.
... The number of ways the gay agenda infiltrated the schools was
mind boggling. It ranged from putting gay books on prominent display in
the library to appointing committees to discuss homosexuality during the
Model UN program. And the effects were profound. All of my friends
were convinced that homosexuality was perfectly natural, and acceptable,
and some of them even found themselves wondering if they were (homosexual)
or Bi. ...I'm pretty sure most of them experimented for a while before
deciding maybe they weren't bi after all. The
school had convinced them that Bisexual was like the default state,
and they needed to experiment before deciding if they were really gay or
straight. I was astonished that my friends, who were top students
and very intelligent, were so taken in by the propaganda....
Alex’s insight is consistent with another
letter and information ForTheChildrenInc. has received from other sources
connected with South Burlington High School. It seems that the “values”
being conveyed to students at South Burlington High School are not Vermont
values. Rather, they are values intended to put our children into
exploratory mode with homosexuality. As Alex puts it, “the school
had convinced (students) that Bisexual was like the default state, and
they needed to experiment before deciding if they were really gay or straight.”
Unfortunately, the situation at South Burlington
High School is not unique. Mount Mansfield Union High has been in
the news lately for a letter posted on
our web site at www.ForTheChildrenInc.com. This letter relates to
the one-sided teaching of homosexuality at MMU. When a school board
member requested that a presentation on diversity that featured a homosexual
man should be balanced by a talk by an ex-gay, the board member was criticized
and publicly rebuked.
There are many ways in which the homosexual
agenda is being promoted in the schools, but none more effective than the
use of gay advocacy groups known as Gay Straight Alliances (GSA).
These groups are typically formed under the guise of “safety”, and given
direction by a faculty advisor. Students who are convinced by the
school that their default sexual orientation is Bisexual, as described
in the letter from Alex, can begin the process of experimentation by getting
information from these Gay Straight Alliance clubs.
Another way to instill “values” in students
is to circulate questionnaires intended to make a mockery of heterosexuality
in an effort to confuse children and to put them into an exploratory mode
with homosexuality. ForTheChildrenInc. has obtained two such questionnaires
which have been circulated in Vermont public schools. Anyone with
internet access can find multiple web sites that have similar questionnaires.
Here are two of the twelve questions from a questionnaire
circulated in a northwest Vermont High School:
1) When and how did you decide that you were a heterosexual?
2) If you’ve never slept with a person of the same sex, is it possible
that all you need is a good gay/lesbian lover?
Are these questions consistent with the values you are teaching your children?
Do they have anything to do with “tolerance” or “safety”? Might the
intent be to replace your child’s or grandchild’s core values with those
based on the “don’t knock it, until you’ve tried it” philosophy toward
homosexuality? All Vermonters who want what is best for the children
must ask these questions and others.
Whether it is “gay books on prominent display in
the library” or history classes where children learn “no real history”,
Alex’s experience illustrates what can happen when priorities are put in
the wrong places. Children end up learning more about the controversial
subject of homosexuality than they do
about US History. What values are your community schools emphasizing?
Pay a visit to your child’s school library, and you may be surprised.
An important factor in rating the merits of
an educational institution is the quantity and quality of available books
and tapes in their libraries. This is an indicator of exactly where
the institutions are placing their priorities. Please refer to the
pie-charts, on the following sheet, which
illustrate an important comparison in Chittenden County public high school
libraries. The comparison shows that homosexuality clearly outweighs
algebra, a critical skill required for most careers, especially those relating
to math and science.
Imparting values to children is important work.
But whose values are being “conveyed” to your children and grandchildren?
Are they yours? It is time for all concerned Vermonters to get involved,
and learn what is going on in the schools. Start by talking with
your children, and follow-up by talking with other parents. Learn
more about these issues by visiting our web site at www.ForTheChildrenInc.com.
Finally, we urge you to support candidates and elected officials who
share your values, and cast your vote in November, or any election, on
behalf of the children.
Sincerely,
Bruce A.Wilder
President
|
