Exposing students to 'conflicting messages' is part of education
When I read Chris Ullery’s article “Could Central Bucks restrict teacher speech?” (Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022), to say I was shocked and disappointed would be an understatement. The proposed change to Policy 321 is wrong on so many levels, that I find it difficult to believe any CBSD board member would promote it.
As reported, the proposed policy "would prohibit teacher discussion or advocacy on sexual orientation, gender identity or religion unless relevant to a specific class, including banning 'stickers, signs, flags and other décor' that 'can communicate multiple and conflicting messages.'"
I can understand prohibiting advocacy, but prohibiting discussion and the communication of multiple and conflicting messages is absurd, and smacks of totalitarianism. If we truly are interested in educating our children, we should want them to be exposed to multiple and conflicting messages. How else can they develop the critical thinking skills they will need to become thoughtful, rational, creative adults? Would we rather they be automatons who unquestionably believe whatever they hear or read by some authority figure, TV commentator or newspaper?
If, as reportedly said by board member Sharon Collopy, the ultimate intent of the policy is “neutrality” in not giving preferential treatment to a particular group, then the proposed policy could essentially deny the existence of LGBTQ people, thus giving preferential treatment to all who are not LGBTQ.
It appears that the attitude of some people is that sexual identity is a political issue. It is not. People don’t choose to be LGBTQ. In an intolerant society, who would make that choice? There is general agreement among scientists that sexual orientation (including homosexuality and bisexuality) is the result of a combination of environmental, emotional, hormonal, and biological factors. In other words, many things contribute to a person's sexual orientation, and the factors may be different for different people. Homosexuality and bisexuality aren’t caused by the way children were reared by their parents, or by something that happened to them when they were young; rather it is the natural expression of the variability within the human race. Being LGBTQ is a natural result of many factors and LGBTQ people should not be ignored, denied, derided or shunned. They are every bit as valid and valuable human beings as anyone else.
It seems reasonable to, for the most part, confine in-depth discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity to relevant, specific classes. Therefore, perhaps curricula should mandate courses in Biology, where students will gain an understanding of human genetics; Human Development, where students will become aware of the myriad factors that influence who a person is at any point in their life; and Sociology, where students will learn about human social relationships and institutions. This would comport with Board President Dana Hunter’s stated desire to make our schools sanctuaries of learning, and not places of ignorance and denial. It might be a good idea for administrators, teachers and board members also to take these courses, so that policy discussions and debates can take place with some degree of common understanding.
James A. Morano lives in New Britain Township.
This article originally appeared on The Intelligencer: Exposing students to 'conflicting messages' is part of educating them
