I found this article perplexing and almost view it as segregation of the 21st. Century. Why would you need a separate school that teaches about Gay heroes? Shouldn’t gays be included in all the curriculum like any other hero regardless of sexual orientation? What does it matter if heroes are lesbian, gay, or bi-sexual? A hero is a hero!
Amazingly they think they are doing a great justice to LGBT people by offering them “their own school”, almost like they are lepers. They already feel like they don’t fit in, especially as teens. The article is quoted:
Many teens should be attracted to the school’s college-prep curriculum and message of “social justice” and “tolerance,” Duncan said.
I hate to say it but this is the responsibility of every US public school, not just the LGBT school. This could be one of the problems with our society today, social intolerance. After you read the article let me know what you think.
‘Gay-friendly’ school proposed for Chicago – UPI.com.
Arne Duncan is the Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer and appears to be trying to make some positive changes to education. Which I will agree are long overdue.
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I think one of the saddest things in our country is that we have to use labels for anything. Does it matter what a person’s sexual prefrence is any more does it matter the color of their skin? Doing great things is doing great things no matter who it is doing it. You can say someone did a great thing without mentioning they were gay, unless that great thing was pertaining to something like advances in gay rights.
You said it sadly you make some really good points.
i believe a “gay-friendly” school is needed in our country.
sadly, there a huge number of school board members in the united states who are on the school board to keep GLBT issues out of public schools (and push abstinence programs and many times to keep evolution discussion out of science classes too).
of course it would be better if all school were gay friendly. but, it the United States *still* today, GLBT people are discriminated against and many of those discriminating against them do so under the umbrella of religion (thankfully, not all religious folks subscribe to that hatred, but really the vast majority of the discrimination does *ironically* come from Christians).
As I mentioned already on twitter, this seems to be a step in the wrong direction to me. In this day and age, we should be working toward equality and acceptance, not further segregating people based on their “labels”. Would it not be better to weave gay and lesbian “heroes” into the curriculum of all public schools? After all, it is not the sexual orientation of said heroes that matters, it is the heroic deed for which they are being celebrated. I do understand the wish to create an GLBT friendly atmosphere. I truly do, however, an atmosphere of equality should be pushed in every school, not just for GLBT teens, but for every teen. Junior high and high school is tough, if anything makes you stand out from the average norm, be it sexual orientation, looks, handicaps, learning disabilities, educational giftedness, emotional sensitivity… anything that makes you noticeably different, makes you a target. We try to teach our kids to be individuals, the educational system supposedly promotes individual questing, yet the very same system brings down anyone who stands out. I suppose I am being a little unfair. The responsibility lies within the attitudes and abilities of those charged with educating and managing the masses of children and teens in the public school system. Although I do like the idea of a gay-friendly school, I hope that this is a temporary solution, a stepping stone so to speak, into integrating this attitude into other public schools.