Listening to a report on the news concerning books that are required reading. The controversy is over some that are "pride" themed. These books are for younger readers, one is titled Pride Puppy and another is about a girl. Love,Violet is about a girl who falls in love with another girl. Parent groups are petitioning the school board to remove these books from the curriculum. The objection is being based on religious freedom while the supporters are using the first amendment and inclusivity as the basis for having these materials. The lawsuit was filed objecting to the board having these books as required reading without notifying the parents beforehand. They believe their rights as a parent are being violated. Additionally, they view this required material as influencing their children. The supporters are saying it raises awareness. Understand we are talking about kindergarten through third grade children.
All of that speaks to exactly what I was writing about yesterday. What we have is a cultural issue. It concerns raising our children to believe what we believe. That is the heart of the matter. Every parent wants their children to embrace the same core beliefs that they do. It should come as no surprise to anyone. It is just as I said, making private choices public policy. Should it be the policy of our educational system to teach very small children themes that adults struggle with? My issue is that this is required reading. I strongly oppose any book banning. At the same time, I fully support age appropriate access to books, films and social media. I wonder if the parents supporting this would also support the showing of X rated films to those children. If they don't, I want to hear the explanation for that. Is a five year old girl really ready to understand physical relationships? I don't think most are. I realize I'm quite old, quite backward, but I believe that is best left for children to discover. Then, having discovered this they can seek out whatever information they want. It's what I did. Granted I was influenced by my environment. I had two older brothers that hinted at secrets they knew, and I was attracted to certain girls on the school bus for reasons I couldn't explain, but later discovered what that was all about.
I, of course grew up with Dick and Jane. They were friends and played games together. That is all they ever were as far as I knew. The truth is I never thought of that relationship in any other way. Later I read Tom Sawyer and he had a girlfriend, Becky. He tried to keep her safe because that's what boys do. Tom also had a friend Huck Finn that he went on adventures with, there wasn't any talk of a physical relationship! These stories had moral lessons in them, although I believe the majority of us reading them at the time weren't aware of that. The majority of our favorite television shows and even cartoons had those moral lessons as well. It was only later on, perhaps in junior high, that we heard about physical relationships that didn't involve the opposite sex. Looking back, it makes you wonder, where did they learn that? I'm certain it wasn't from a book. Those folks must have discovered that on their own. And that, that is my point here. I don't believe there is a need for that type of material to be taught to children so young. Remember, this is being pushed as required reading.
I don't believe there are any children out there at five or six years old asking for reading materials about those themes. Those are being pushed into the curriculum by whom? Those that want their children to engage in that sort of activity. The truth, in my opinion is that the majority of parents would be concerned if their five-year-old started asking questions about any type of sexual contact. It certainly would have raised a red flag for me! It isn't normal or natural for a child of that age. It is something learned. There is the problem, that is something children should discover on their own. Then, having discovered that they can ask questions or read a book about that subject. That is how children learn. What Is that the goal of the educational system? Schools aren't parents! It is not the job of a schoolteacher to raise your child. The job of the schoolteacher is to teach the student the appropriate level of knowledge/skills to advance their position in the world. Isn't that what an education is for? Isn't that why we say, what do want to be? You want to be a ditch digger all your life or get a good job. You need to get an education. Makes me wonder why anyone could think those material is suitable for those under the age of ten. Leave the book in the library, available to those that seek that information, but it shouldn't be required reading in kindergarten. At that age it isn't educating it is indoctrinating. An age-old tactic used by other governments, most notably perhaps the Nazi's. They had their children turning in their parents for believing that all Jewish people weren't evil and the cause of all the world's problems. Worked really well too.
No comments:
Post a Comment