HOW TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN FROM PRO-HOMOSEXUALITY PROPAGANDA
IN SCHOOLS
There are many actions parents and pro-family activists
can take to protect children from pro-homosexuality propaganda in
schools. [For information on how homosexuality is being promoted in
schools, see “Top 10 Strategies Used by Homosexual Activists in
Schools,” an FRC Insight paper by Peter LaBarbera, 11/23/99,
IS99F4HS.]
- REALIZE THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Pro-homosexuality school
administrators may seek to persuade you that “gay”-affirming
programs in your child’s school have not caused any controversy.
If this is true, it is most likely because few parents are aware
of the program. Don’t accept the blandishments of school
administrators and teachers who may already be teaching your
children wrong lessons about homosexuality.
- INFORM A NETWORK OF PARENTS ABOUT THE PROBLEM; DON’T SPEND TOO
MUCH INITIAL ENERGY LOBBYING EDUCATORS. When pro-“gay”
policies are instituted in schools, the last thing educators want
is publicity. They often assume they know better than you what
is right for your child. Occasionally parents waste valuable
time and energy attempting to persuade educators that it is wrong
to promote homosexuality as normal. Meanwhile, the offending
lesson plan or program goes on. Teachers and school administrators
have been trained in liberal academic circles to believe that
“tolerance” and “diversity,” including embracing homosexuality,
are among the most important values for society. You may never win
them over, but many parents will be shocked to learn that their
moral and religious beliefs are being undermined by the schools to
which they entrust their children. Your first goal must be to
inform as many parents as you can about the problem. Later you can
all work together on lobbying the school decision-makers.
- STICK TO WELL-DOCUMENTED FACTS. To inform your parents
coalition, you must do your best to convey the problem as
accurately as you can. If you exaggerate it, you will lose
credibility and hurt your chances of getting rid of the program.
Get actual documents used to support the program (e.g., teacher’s
manuals for pro-homosexuality lesson plans). If a “gay” activist
is scheduled to speak to your child’s school, arrange to have the
speech taped. Pro-homosexuality educators can mischaracterize a
presentation — after all, it is in their interest to portray it as
innocuous — but they cannot dispute firsthand information. If
educators seek to keep you as a parent from attending a school
event (say, a “diversity” conference for teachers), fight for your
right to attend. You hold the responsibility for what your son or
daughter is taught. Do not let administrators intimidate you by
denying you access to full information, but always treat them with
courtesy and respect.
- HOLD A PARENTS MEETING. An effective way to build your
parents’ network is to educate other concerned parents in home
meetings. Many will be shocked to see how strongly the education
movement has embraced pro-homosexuality programs. Make copies of
your documentation of the offending program and pass them out at
the initial meeting. Some parents will be less committed than
others. It is your job to build a core of parents devoted to
eliminating the pro-homosexuality policy. You can educate this
group about the tactics of the “gay” education movement. Obtain a
copy of American Family Association’s video “Suffer the Children”
(www.afa.net; 1 (800) FAMILIES), a critical response to the
lesbian-produced film It’s Elementary: Talking about Gay Issues
in School. It’s Elementary shows teachers giving
pro-homosexuality lessons to young schoolchildren — including
first-graders — in six “progressive” elementary and middle schools
in San Francisco; New York City; Madison, Wis.; and Cambridge,
Mass. You can show AFA’s counter film at a home meeting to
demonstrate to your pro-family network that homosexual activists
are so serious about making schools pro-homosexuality that they
are already propagandizing first- and second-graders. You can also
show The Children of Table 34, an FRC-produced video about
how the discredited Kinsey studies involving children are the
animating principle behind most of today’s sex education
(www.frc.org; 1 (800) 225-4008). Realizing the depth of the
problem will help motivate your core group of activists and
inoculate them against claims by educators that the questionable
programs do not “promote homosexuality” but just teach
“tolerance.” Of course these programs promote homosexuality: When
you take a behavior that has been considered immoral and unhealthy
for centuries and start teaching children — even kindergartners —
that it is morally acceptable and the basis for a healthy
“identity,” that is promotion!
- USE THE MEDIA TO BUILD OPPOSITION TO THE PROGRAM. When the
time is right, you can take your concerns to the media. But be
careful! There are many journalists these days who are firmly
committed to affirming homosexuality and who regard those who
oppose “gay rights” as bigots — the moral equivalent of racists.
It is always safer to start with friendly media such as Christian
radio, but ultimately you will have to reach the secular
journalists, too. Appoint a competent spokesman from your core
group of parent-activists, preferably someone experienced in
dealing with the media who can articulate your position with
clarity and compassion. Don’t allow anyone to “speak for your
side” who does not address this issue with a Christlike attitude
of love for sinners. Humility will be rewarded. After all, we all
have problems to overcome; the “gay” activists are just seeking to
have theirs validated by the rest of society and declared normal
and good. You must also be vigilant against those in the
pro-family movement who overplay the “compassion card.” It is
wrong to affirm homosexual behavior or “identity” in any way,
especially in the name of Christianity, as some Christian leaders
have.1
Jesus Christ told the adulteress, “Go and sin no more,” not “Go
and defend your rights.” Homosexual behavior can be changed, as
proven by the many former homosexuals in our society. (Isn’t it
telling that you rarely hear of former homosexuals being asked to
speak at schools?)
- HIGHLIGHT THE WORST ABUSES. Even though acceptance of
homosexuality has grown in our culture, most people don’t think it
should be taught to children and most have no idea how far the
homosexual movement has advanced. In Massachusetts, “gay”
advocates in the schools are now pushing the “transgendered”
cause, taking class time to subject students to discussions by
transsexual activists.2
Such abuses will mobilize the public and parents to action, and
will embarrass school administrators who claim that “gay” school
programs are harmless.
- MEET WITH THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION; ASK FOR A DESCRIPTION OF
THE PROGRAM IN WRITING. When you have assembled the facts
about the offending pro-homosexuality policy or lesson at your
child’s school, you can demand a meeting with the school. If you
can get several parents to attend, all the better. That will
dissuade school administrators from thinking that they can easily
dismiss your concerns. Ask for a description and defense of the
program in writing, including all teacher manuals used to
implement it. As a parent and a taxpayer, you have a right to this
information. If the administration decides to stonewall or
declines to provide you with the relevant documents, regroup in
another home meeting and plan your response. At this point, you
may need to inform the media of the school’s foot-dragging.
Remember that “parent’s rights” is a powerful rallying cry that
appeals even to many liberal parents who consider themselves
“pro-gay.”
Preventative Actions and Novel Strategies
There is no single strategy guaranteed to stop pro-homosexuality
programs in schools. Different groups employ different methods. The
following are some suggestions for preventative actions and counter
strategies that have been used with success:
- FIND OUT ABOUT FACULTY TRAINING.
Before the school year
even begins, write a letter to your principal asking him if he or
any other school administrator, or any teacher, has attended
“diversity” or “tolerance” seminars dealing with “sexual
orientation.” If so, which programs did they attend? Also, ask if
the school has ever in the past implemented, or plans in the
future to implement, any type of “gay”-oriented program for
teachers or students. (Use the terms gay-oriented or
sexual orientation-related, since the educators may deny
that such programs promote or affirm homosexuality.) In the
letter, you can mention the two leading homosexual groups dealing
with education issues: the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education
Network (GLSEN: www.glsen.org) and Parents, Friends, and Families
of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG: www.pflag.org). Has the school ever
worked with these groups or sent teachers to their seminars?
- OPT OUT. Write a letter to your school principal and your
child’s teacher explaining your wish that your child not be
exposed to pro-homosexuality messages (obviously, this could also
be part of the first letter above). If any such lessons are
planned, ask that your child be “opted out” of such programs. This
is also an opportunity to inquire about the teacher’s training on
this issue, and his or her philosophy regarding the
appropriateness of teaching children about homosexuality. Of
course, it is also an opportunity to share your thinking and even
your faith, if that guides your approach. You can politely assure
the teacher that you do not wish to focus solely on this issue,
but that you have been compelled to write due to news reports
about pro-homosexuality programs in schools. (Cite the showing of
the film It’s Elementary on public television in June
1999.) Be kind and courteous, but always remember that you are
responsible for guiding your child’s education and moral training
— not the teacher! If you develop a well-worded letter, show it to
your friends, so they can write one, too. (However, it’s best that
they not simply copy yours.)
- PROTEST PREEMPTIVELY. Ralph Ovadal, a Christian pro-family
activist with a group called Wisconsin Christians United (WCU),
believes parents often lose if they wait to get answers from
school administrators until after the pro-homosexuality
program has taken place. In 1997, WCU learned (through a letter
sent home to parents) of a pro-homosexuality “Multicultural Day”
workshop against “homophobia” for eighth-graders at a middle
school in Oregon, Wisconsin, outside liberal Madison.3
Ovadal organized a parents picket in front of the school to
protest the event. The school received much unwanted media
publicity, and several parents arriving to drop their children off
at the school were outraged to learn of the pro-homosexuality
session.4
(Remember, children often forget to give their parents notices.)
- DEMAND FAIRNESS. If you cannot stop a pro-homosexuality
event in your child’s school, or pro-“gay” tolerance sessions for
the school’s teachers, a fallback strategy is to demand that both
sides of the homosexuality issue be presented. It is hard for
school administrators to say that they are not promoting
homosexuality if they refuse to allow teachers or students to hear
the other side of the issue. Some pro-family advocates have used
this approach successfully.
- TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO RESPOND TO IN-SCHOOL “GAY” ACTIVISM.
Unfortunately, many children these days don’t listen to parents or
authority figures. In fact, many heterosexual students (even
self-identified Christians) have joined “Gay-Straight Alliance”
(GSA) clubs out of a sense that homosexual students are being
persecuted by other students and adult decision-makers. One way
around this is to work with and educate a group of student-leaders
who can correctly apply Christian principles on this issue. They
may be far more effective than you in reaching their peers with
the truth about homosexuality, and at the very least, they can
demand that school administrators not subject students to just one
side of this controversial issue. Many students have never heard
of former homosexuals, and their eyes are opened when they
hear this message, which runs directly counter to myths about
“gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender” identity.
***
— Peter LaBarbera
ENDNOTES
Letter from Peggy Campolo, wife of noted Christian speaker
Tony Campolo, to Christianity Today, Oct. 4, 1993. Mrs.
Campolo, who has assisted the homosexual activist group PFLAG
(Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), defended
homosexual “relationships” in the letter.
- Jason Shapiro, “Transgender panel discusses identity
issues,” The Newtonite, the student newspaper of Newton
North High School in Newton, Massachusetts (hometown of openly
homosexual U.S. Rep. Barney Frank), April 16, 1999,
www.tiac.net/users/newtonit.
- Flier from Oregon Middle School announcing program on
March 27, 1997, obtained from a parent by WCU ((608) 328-4841;
e-mail: newsdigest@juno.com).
- Interview with Ovadal by author; Gwen Carleton, “Anti-gay
protest at Oregon school,” The (Madison, Wisc.) Capital
Times, March 27, 1997.