Dumb Plan Backfires

Susan Jamison is a lady who knows what's right for everybody, whether she's got the facts or not. She sent a long letter to families of students at several Montgomery County schools, telling them about the new MCPS sex education curriculum. Things like how it promotes homosexuality and encourages students "toward sexual self-identification into homosexuality" and other things. She said Is MCPS going to pay the medical bills for the students who are vulnerable enough to be influenced by this Health Class, adopt a gay life style and contract HIV before they can even graduate from high school?

You get the picture, we've seen this kind of garbage before. She goes on for several pages.

Jamison describes herself as the Director of "Parents Against X-Rated Curriculum in MCPS," or MD-PAX, a group which did have a representative on the citizens committee that proposed the new curriculum. This letter was sent out with two stamped postcards, one addressed to the Montgomery County Board of Education, and one addressed to Russ Henke, the coordinator for the health programs for MCPS. The postcards were for people to send in, to protest this evil curriculum. It looks like she somehow got the directories for some schools and sent this to every address. Figure a stamp to send it, and two more stamps for return postage, that'd be more than a dollar per student. Anyway, her plan isn't really working out that well.

This morning's Gazette reports:

Misdirect marketing

A mail-in campaign designed to generate opposition toward the Montgomery County school system's new sex education curriculum may be backfiring.

Since March 21, the county school board has received 60 postcards. Parents at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School forward most of those. B-CC is one of six schools selected to pilot a discussion of homosexuality and sexual identity this spring.

The catch? The postcards are running more than 3 to 1 in favor of the new curriculum. By Thursday, 45 parents had crossed out the printed message that reads "I am requesting that you reverse your decision to put this curriculum in MCPS schools and immediately reverse the decision to use my child's school as a trial school," replacing it with messages such as "I support the new curriculum."

The postcards appear to have sent to families whose children attend B-CC or Poolesville High, as well as Thomas Pyle Middle and Walt Whitman High in Bethesda.

Two postcards -- one addressed to the board, the other to Russ Henke, the school system's health education coordinator -- are arriving pre-stamped in mailboxes. A letter explaining to parents that their child's school has been selected as a "trial" school for the new curriculum is also included.

The letter is signed by Susan Jamison, a Poolesville attorney and parent with children in the county school system, and the director of the group Parents Against X-Rated Curriculum in MCPS. She did not return calls.

Henke said he had received 82 postcards as of Thursday.

"The one being sent to me is for parents asking to have their child opted out of the health curriculum at the high school level," the health education coordinator said. "... Of the 82, on 51 of those, people have crossed out the message on the card and said they support what we're doing."

By Thursday, the board had received 14 postcards in opposition to the new curriculum. (One postcard appeared to take "no position" -- it was left blank.)

Board President Pat O'Neill said she and her husband received the postcards and letter in their mailbox two weeks ago.

"Clearly my name must've been taken out of the Walt Whitman High School PTSA telephone directory," she said. "... It's kind of ironic that I'm being asked to protest myself."

-- Sean R. Sedam (Gazette) Misdirect Marketing (Scroll down for this story)

Susan, if you're reading this, here's some advice to you: move to Alabama. People here in Montgomery County, Maryland, are not falling for it. We're diverse, we're educated, we're tolerant, and we're able to think for ourselves.