Last week, it was reported that Natalie Jones, a sixth-grader at Mt. Woodson Elementary School in Ramona, California, was unable to present a 12-slide PowerPoint presentation to her classmates without their parental permission.The principal, Theresa Grace, decided that the presentation on the historically gay politician fell under the category of “lessons dealing with sex,” and that she had to follow district policy and notify parents in writing. While you’d be hard pressed to find a politician with a totally clean slate, I can’t say that too many of their life stories would be categorized as a sex ed lesson. So, why Harvey Milk?
As Natalie’s mother, Bonnie Jones, points out, it’s because he just happened to be gay. The principal sent letters to parents alerting them about the "sensitive topic," and after they had received parental approval, Natalie was allowed to give her presentation during the lunch recess but not in class. Only a little over half of the class attended.
Now, albeit, I’ll be the first to be up in arms about equality and always stand on the side of LGBT issues, and I truly believe the principal was in the wrong; however, the real issue at hand is freedom, equality and sympathy. Natalie’s first amendment rights were violated, and although schools have some controls over these rights, she was simply trying to inform her classmates about the slain gay rights leader.
Natalie was treated different than the other students, and most importantly, through their actions the school communicated to the parents and children that being gay is wrong, by requiring permission to see the presentation. As Bonnie Jones said, "First my daughter got called into the principal's office as if she were in some kind of trouble, and then they treated her presentation like it was something icky." Imagine, as a sixth grader, your school, the place where you spend half of your waking hours, gives you the impression that living a certain lifestyle requires written permission. It sends a very negative message to the entire school.
Regardless what a positive historical figure’s gender, sexual orientation, religion or race is, children should be granted the right to speak freely and share their knowledge.
What was "sexual" about a presentation on Harvey Milk, other than his orientation? Would a presentation on, say, John F. Kennedy be given similar treatment? After all, he was, shall we say, an enthusiastic practitioner of heterosexuality, was he not?
ReplyDeleteGood points, Donna :) That's exactly what the Jones Family and the ACLU is trying to convey... Natalie didn't go in to detail about Harvey Milk's personal life, she just wanted to share his accomplishments as an activist and politician.
ReplyDeleteThis conflict will continue to occur so long as government controls schools. If this were to occur at a private school it wouldn't be an issue, if you don't want a Harvey Milk presentation then don't go to a school where he is covered. The presentation is available if you search google.com for "Natalie Jones Harvey Milk powerpoint" and while the presentation in my eyes is pretty milk toast, I think that some parents may object and that those parents who didn't object allowed their child to attend. Where is the problem?
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