Improved Curricula, But Something Important Is Missing

Last night the citizens advisory committee was shown the version of the condom lesson and the eighth and tenth grade sexual orientation sections that will be presented to the school board.

The condom video is much better. They added a lot of things the committee had suggested; a woman's voice, a lot of details about proper condom use. It's actually not bad now -- you might remember, the original gave the basics about how to put the thing on, we wanted it to say how to use a condom correctly. Now it does. It's not going to win any awards for video production, but it's informative, at least. It'll work.

The eighth and tenth grade curricula are also better. The Superintendent's office accepted most of the changes suggested by the citizens committee, and smoothed out a lot of little things, and it's OK.

But the committee was not, let's say, enthusiastic at the end of the meeting. We discussed passing a motion endorsing the curriculum, and decided not to vote on it.

It seemed to some, maybe most of us, that the Superintendent's office backed down on one of the most crucial suggestions, without much of an explanation. The implication was that they were going to leave out some important details in order to avoid possible controversy.

There were several things, but most of it comes down to one item that was rejected for both eighth and tenth grade classes. It was a set of statements from professional organizations that had been recommended by the committee with 10-3 and 11-2 majorities (with CRC and PFOX being in the minority, of course, and on one vote, another conservative member).

Members of the committee were disappointed about the rejection of the "bullet points," a handout with a small set of statements by mainstream medical and mental health organizations that made an important point.

Here is the information that was excluded:

Other things to know:

• Children who have fleeting same-sex attractions may assume incorrectly that they are gay or lesbian. Mere fleeting attraction does not prove sexual orientation.
  
• All mainstream medical and mental health professionals have concluded that homosexuality is not a disease or a mental illness.
  
• The American Academy of Pediatrics says that most experts have concluded that "one's sexual orientation is not a choice; that is, individuals do not choose to be homosexual or heterosexual." Moreover, according to the American Psychological Association, sexual orientation is not a "conscious choice that can voluntarily be changed." Similarly, the American Medical Association opposes "therapies" that seek to change sexual orientation that are premised on the assumption that homosexuality is an illness and that people should change.
  
• Homosexuals can live happy, successful lives; they "can be successful parents."
  
• Children raised by same-sex couples do just as well as those raised by heterosexuals, and are no more likely to be homosexual.

These statements come from the American Medical Association’s Policy Number H-160.991 Health Care Needs of the Homosexual Population, the American Academy of Pediatric’s Clinical Report on Sexual Orientation and Adolescents, and the American Psychological Association’s online publication Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality.

It would be one thing if the committee had asked for statements from gay advocacy groups or church groups or whatever, but that's not what this is. These are the organizations we depend on for our health needs; these are doctors, they've got no axe to grind, they just want to see us well. These are important statements and the citizens committee wanted them included.

The Superintendent's staff comment was: Disagree. The recommended new material does not align with target indicators and objectives for the lesson. I think everybody understands that this is a judgment that could have gone the other way just as easily; these statements are certainly in line with the other materials in the lessons, and they are authoritative, readable, and relevant.

The next step is that the school board will discuss the proposed curricula on Tuesday. Among other documents, they will receive the list of suggested changes and whether they were accepted or rejected by the Superintendent's staff. During the discussion they have the opportunity to reintroduce changes themselves.

We hope the school board will be bold enough to put these important statements back into both the eighth and tenth grade curricula. It should not be controversial to quote mainstream medical opinion, and it could mean a lot -- a whole lot -- to the poor kid who's sitting in class feeling like a freak, not knowing if there's something wrong with him, as it will mean a lot to his friend who wonders what's up with him.

These statements were intended to be handed out with class materials. They hardly needed any classroom discussion, it was considered enough just to get the information to students.

The board has a number of new members, and has just undergone a shift in leadership. Most observers feel that this will be a vibrant, progressive Board of Education, one that dares to do the right thing. This might be the first test of that.

It's up to them now.