The gutter politics of sex education in public schools

"As part of a conference on how to make schools more LGBT-friendly, Elly Barnes, a campaigner against homophobia in education, urged teachers to become more familiar with the language of the gay and lesbian community. "If it's all right for a girl to wear trousers, why should a boy not be allowed to wear a skirt. We should be giving them the option," she said. "[Teachers] need the confidence to embrace the new language, I don't think they'll have used the words 'lesbian' or 'gay' in a classroom. It is putting those words in an easy context. "LGBT bullying is as important as sexist and racist bullying. "If a pupil says 'my pen's run out, it's so gay', you should challenge it. 'My pen's so Jewish, my pen's so black', you wouldn't be allowed to say it." "Barnes, who is also an LGBT adviser with Birmingham City Council, told the Independent: "We can't ignore one part of the people who are around us. "There should be displays on the walls celebrating different families, that is a nice start. Some children have two mamas and some parents have two daddies - let's have that represented on the wall." "Recently, 100 teachers in South Gloucestershire went to work wearing t-shirts with the word 'gay' emblazoned on the front. The move was part of an initiative to challenge "casual conversations about someone's pencil case, trainers or choice of hairstyle being 'gay'".

"The "nondiscrimination" would apply to transgender students and teachers. "The Fairfax County School Board is scheduled to vote on the new policy, a revision of its existing non-discrimination rule, Policy 1450, on Thursday, May 7. "The "Gender Identity" or transgender policy is explained in a May 6, 2015 memo issued by Steven A. Lockard, the deputy superintendent of the Fairfax County Public Schools. "It states: "The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education is requiring that school divisions 1) revise their non-discrimination policies to include gender identity, and 2) hire a consultant to advise on revisions to regulations and, more generally how school divisions should handle individual cases of transgender students. If the School Board amends Policy 1450, we will be able to tell them that have already done the twothings that OCR is requiring." "If FCPS refuses to amend its policy, OCR has the right to recommend the termination of federal funding to FCPS," reads the memo from Superintendent Lockard. It then notes that the City of Alexandria Public Schools and the Arcadia School District in California were investigated by the OCR and had to enter into resolution agreements with the OCR over the transgender policy. "Given those cases, Lockard states: "We see no reason to conclude that OCR would treat FCPS any differently than it has Arcadia or Alexandria in its requirement to amend the discrimination policy to include 'gender identity.'" "The May 6 memo presents several basic questions and answers about the transgender policy."

"According to a press release from the Liberty Counsel, a non-profit public interest law firm, Humanities Professor Lance "Lj" Russum gave a student a "zero" on four separate papers because the 16-year-old did not "conform to his personal worldviews of Marxism, Atheism, Feminism, and homosexuality." The law firm has called for a full, private investigation of the professor and the course curriculum. "In this age of grade inflation it is difficult to earn a grade of zero much less four consecutive zeros. Professors who do so are likely to be sending a message." "The course description for the class, " Introduction to Humanities," claims that students "are under no obligation to agree with classmates, authors, or the instructor, in fact, the instructor will often occupy the space of 'Devil's Advocate' for the purpose of lively discussion." "The point of this is not to 'bash' any religion, we should NEVER favor one over another, they all come from the same source, HUMAN IMAGINATION and [sic] they demonstrate that humanity is one," a copy of Russum's class outline, riddled with grammatical errors, says. "We have much to thank of [sic] humans like Michelangelo who took a sacred space, a temple to god, and made it a HUMAN space, a space where humanism can meet with god and discourse," one course assignment read. "Finally humanity and the gods are on equal footing and that is what the myths of Hercules, Apollo and Jesus are all about--the divine becoming human and human being divine." "In her essay, the student, who Liberty Counsel identifies as "G.L.," argued that "it is a logical fallacy to make the assumption that Christian humanism's goal was to 'blend mythologies and make man the center' simply on account of Michelangelo's artwork or because Renaissance artists incorporate classicism." "The student apparently received a zero on that assignment. "Another assignment allegedly required students to discuss how "fortunate" Martin Luther was to be born in a historical moment that allowed him to "challenge the mythos of the power structure of the church." The assignment required students to write only about the humanism of Luther and his reformation--and students were instructed in bolded text to keep theology out of the paper: "WHAT YOU MUST NOT WRITE ABOUT: 1. This is NOT about Luther's theology "2. Any quotes from his sermons or writings MUST be about humanism and how the reformation is in the right place and right time in history NOT some divine providence of the gods "3. You must stay focused on the history of the humanism of Luther and his reformation IF You turn this into a theological debate or divine providence I will NOT read it and you will be given a zero." "She failed that assignment as well. "Another description on the course outline criticized Christianity as one of the "most violent forms of religion the world has ever seen," and bashed the religion for its "dominance by powerful men." The description, supposedly for a class centered on the role of religion in the Middle Ages, claims that today's major religions "STILL attempt to regulate the bodies of women." "One assignment supposedly required students to argue why "did Christianity, and its male gods, want to silence" a specific group of nuns. "SECOND, and this is VERY important, I DO NOT want you to write about how wonderful you think Christianity is now because women can do A, B, or C. History is history and facts are facts and your opinion on if it is better now or not is irrelevant for this discussion," the assignment, obtained by the Liberty Counsel, read. "This is a HISTORICAL discussion about the middle ages. If you really feel the need to express your opinion on how you think Christianity is now for women you may email me, you may call my office or I would love for you to stop by for a nice cup of hot tea where we can talk about it but it does not belong in this assignment. The pieces your are [sic] reading a [sic] from some of the greatest expressions of mythology by women ever, the question is to honor that voice in that moment of history. Christianity." "According to the Liberty Counsel, Russum's Facebook page--which appears to have been deleted or unlisted via the website's privacy settings--included photos of Jesus making an obscene gesture, and his email signature supposedly includes a quote from a Marxist. "These, along with the inappropriate course content, show that Professor Russum is seeking to impose his own values on students, in violation of the Constitution," the press release states. "In an email to G.L.'s parents, obtained by Liberty Counsel, Dean of Academic Affairs Donald Painter said that he had reviewed the materials presented in Russum's Humanities 2020 course and "believe[d] them to be appropriate." Painter apologized that the student and her family found the course materials to be "distasteful," but said the materials would not be modified. "Painter, who did not respond to an emailed request for comment from Campus Reform, reminded the student's parents in the email that they had signed an agreement with her dual-enrollment that acknowledged they were aware that some course material may be developed for "the adult student, age 18 or older."

" He used an example of a South Hills High art teacher who allegedly posted that the teens who had sex with teachers at that school should have kept their "stupid mouths shut and enjoyed it."

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