SACRAMENTO – Assembly Republicans today strongly criticized Democrats for passing an intrusive measure that will impose the political agenda of narrow special-interest groups in public schools across California.
“Our children should be given a complete and honest picture of the struggles, sacrifices and successes that have made America the nation it is today,” said Assemblyman Doug La Malfa, of Richvale. “The narrow political agenda of some Sacramento politicians should never alter how lessons are taught to students in our public schools.”
Senate Bill 1437, by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, would prohibit schools from engaging in any activity or using any instructional material that reflects negatively upon individuals because of their sexual orientation. While Democrats recently amended the measure to delete provisions that would have required the teaching of the history of homosexual Americans in public schools, Republicans believe that imposing lesson plans from the State Legislature is still a flawed approach.
“While this measure is not as intrusive as first proposed, it is simply wrong for state lawmakers to usurp the role of accountable school board members by mandating from the Assembly floor that teachers portray one group of Californians solely in a positive light,” La Malfa said. “It is offensive to California’s proud tradition of academic freedom and diverse viewpoints on our school campuses, something liberals say they have been fighting for since the 1960s.”
Here's the pertinent text from the law in question:
51500. No teacher shall give instruction nor shall a school district sponsor any activity that reflects adversely upon persons because of their race or ethnicity, gender, disability, nationality, sexual orientation, or religion, as those terms are defined in Section 422.56 of the Penal Code.
The fact that this legislation addresses classroom mentions of homosexuality doesn't bother me as much as the broad nature of the law as a whole does.
Do we really want to ban lessons in the classroom that " reflect adversley" on specific demographics? I'm the descendent of people who homeseaded here in the west. Would lessons about how my ancestors aggressively took land from Indians not "reflect adversley" on my ethnicity or at the very least my nationality?
I'm also of Scandanavian descent. Wouldn't lessons about how my viking ancestors marauded across Europe raping and pillaging "reflect adversley" on my ethnicity? Will lessons about Nazis be prevented to spare people of German heritage? How about lessons about more recent history, like the AIDS epidemic? Can teachers mention the historical fact that the AIDS problem has its roots in the homosexual community or are we going to omit that pertinent bit of hstory lest it "reflect adversley" on gays?
This sort of let's-not-offend-anyone approach to education is dangerous. Facts are facts, and students should be taught facts regardless of who it offends.