One of the reasons my essay is making me quite so angry

[nny]

In a book called 'Challenging Lesbian and Gay Inequalities in Education', regarding a chapter called 'Lesbian and Gay Equality Within a Whole School Policy':

"As noted in the introduction, this chapter was commissioned and written but, at the last minute, the headteacher of the school on which it was based withdrew permission for publication, although the school was not, in fact, named in the piece. This head is concerned that her school will suffer in the 'market' if it has a strong visible equal opportunities policy. Bearing in mind the school's long record of such a policy - and one which has included lesbian and gay equality for many years - this is indicative of a major loss in the ground by education for social justice."

-- Debbie Epstein, p117.

(Emphasis mine.)

Comments

[apiphile.livejournal.com]

Fantastic isn't it. It's like ... is that an accurate perception on the part of the head? Are parents really that fucking stupid, or is there a communication failure in progress?

[villainny.livejournal.com]

Some parents really are that fucking stupid, and the worst of it is reading the history of a government scrambling to take account of and pander to those parents. Things are genuinely improving now, but there is still the option available to parents of withdrawing their children from sex education if they don't agree with what is being taught which... intellectually I can understand why that option might be necessary, but my gut is all about the fucking irresponsible parenting that is allowed and sanctioned.

(That's not even from a queer perspective, that's just thinking about teen pregnancy rates and rising levels of chlamydia and so on and on and on)

[apiphile.livejournal.com]

As wiser men than I have said, it's the parents who are likely to opt their kids out of sex ed classes whose children are the ones least likely to be getting sex ed at home, too. THEY NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS. Worst teen pregnancy rates in Europe ... yeah, that'll be solved by NOT LETTING PEOPLE TEACH KIDS ABOUT CONTRACEPTION.

[forest-rose.livejournal.com]

*snarls*

This makes me even more determined to sign up for the project at uni where we go into schools to teach sex ed to teenagers. Maybe the more we talk about it, the more acceptable it'll become. You must be the change you wish to see in the world, and all that.