Monday, February 07, 2005
Just following the logic
One of the defenses that the Board of Education has used in their explicit and one-sided sex-ed program is that "if you don't like it, you can opt out."
Hmmm. Well, since this is Black History month, let's look at a parallel to prohibiting discrimination against our African-American families to illustrate why opting out is just another way to teach controversial topics over the objections of some parents and civic leaders:
For the sake of discussion, would it be ok if a duly designated citizens’ advisory committee revised the history curriculum to include a section on the virtues of the Confederacy and the economic boon provided by slavery? Proponents of such a recommendation would argue that there are peer reviews by scholars and historians that would justify the factual basis for teaching this controversial topic. Others might even argue that it would promote "tolerance" of students who feel their Southern culture is not given equal respect on campus. Would the powers to be then say, "Hey, if you're offended you can opt out"?
No, indeed. And rightly so. Because "opting out or in" would permit the majority of students to still be taught controversial subject matter that would be termed offensive by many, the BOE and most if not all Montgomery County parents would never permit this view point to be taught to middle and high school students. And doubly no if, as they have with the sex-ed curriculum changes, they had adopted the new curriculum in contravention of their own guidelines. Thus, the majority of parents and taxpayers would never know until it’s too late.