A private San Francisco elementary school got itself wrapped up in an ideological kerfuffle last week when a second grade class, as part of an assigned Social Studies school curriculum, went to the Castro District on a Field Trip, along with other minority SF communities like Chinatown.
Several enraged parents withheld their kids from the class trip because they felt 8 years old was too early to be discussing sexuality with them.
Only…sexuality wasn’t discussed. Gay rights was discussed. And they didn’t go to a leather bar, they went to a community center to learn about slain activist Harvey Milk, arguably the gay Martin Luther King.
I think it’s time we separate this idea of talking about gay people is talking about putting a dick in someone’s butt. Talking about gay people should be talking about “you know how you have a mommy and a daddy? Well, some people have two mommies or two daddies.” DONE. And it doesn’t need to happen at the same time as the sex talk!
This hysteria is either ignorance or a blanket for more unsettling feelings about gay culture. The school is not backing down from its curriculum, and kids SHOULD learn about the Gay Rights Movement, as it something that is HAPPENING THIS VERY SECOND.
BTW, here’s a clip of incredibly funny lady Julia Sweeney talking about when her young daughter learned about the Birds and the Bees, as well as the Bees and the Bees. And her humor and honest is incredibly refreshing after watching that news clip.
