Happy New Year: A Rare Appeal
2006 has been a great year for TeachTheFacts.org and Montgomery County. A new sex-ed curriculum has been written by the school district staff, and it was approved by the citizens advisory committee, who will pass it to the school board. The curriculum features a new condom video and accurate and fair treatments of sexual orientation and gender identity. The November elections really proved that our community supports the kind of progressive thinking that TeachTheFacts.org stands for.
It's nice to look back on our successes, but we can't sit around congratulating ourselves for long. For one thing, PFOX has already started taking advantage of the recent court ruling about sending flyers home in students' backpacks; for another, CRC has threatened to sue again if the new curriculum is implemented. Last time, MCPS lawyers dropped the ball; this time, we won't let that happen. TeachTheFacts.org plans to join other members of Montgomery County's activist community in protecting our public schools from attacks by the radical religious right.
Our 2006 forum on religious inclusiveness was a terrific success and widened our working partners to include clergy members of the Interfaith Fairness Coalition of Maryland. We have videotape of that event, and plan to edit it for a DVD, so we can share all the exciting ideas that were discussed with our larger community. Our candidate forum cosponsored with Equality Montgomery County was well attended and made candidates' positions on education clear to the voting public.
Remember, TeachTheFacts.org formed under the dark cloud of the 2004 elections, when the religious right was claiming that it had a mandate to impose its radical views on all of us. They exercised that alleged mandate in a million ways around the country, but they failed here, because the community fought for what's right. When they came for our school board, we stopped them cold.
This is a time of year when we ask you to think about making a tax-exempt donation of some small amount to TeachTheFacts.org. We are a volunteer organization, but it costs something to maintain the web site, to put on forums, to print documents and make copies, and all the other things we do. If you support what we're doing, please consider making out a check and sending it to:
TeachtheFacts.org, Inc.
9001 16th Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910-2144
or -- since you're here already -- go to the right side of this web site and click on the "Donate" icon. We appreciate it.
It's nice to look back on our successes, but we can't sit around congratulating ourselves for long. For one thing, PFOX has already started taking advantage of the recent court ruling about sending flyers home in students' backpacks; for another, CRC has threatened to sue again if the new curriculum is implemented. Last time, MCPS lawyers dropped the ball; this time, we won't let that happen. TeachTheFacts.org plans to join other members of Montgomery County's activist community in protecting our public schools from attacks by the radical religious right.
Our 2006 forum on religious inclusiveness was a terrific success and widened our working partners to include clergy members of the Interfaith Fairness Coalition of Maryland. We have videotape of that event, and plan to edit it for a DVD, so we can share all the exciting ideas that were discussed with our larger community. Our candidate forum cosponsored with Equality Montgomery County was well attended and made candidates' positions on education clear to the voting public.
Remember, TeachTheFacts.org formed under the dark cloud of the 2004 elections, when the religious right was claiming that it had a mandate to impose its radical views on all of us. They exercised that alleged mandate in a million ways around the country, but they failed here, because the community fought for what's right. When they came for our school board, we stopped them cold.
This is a time of year when we ask you to think about making a tax-exempt donation of some small amount to TeachTheFacts.org. We are a volunteer organization, but it costs something to maintain the web site, to put on forums, to print documents and make copies, and all the other things we do. If you support what we're doing, please consider making out a check and sending it to:
TeachtheFacts.org, Inc.
9001 16th Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910-2144
or -- since you're here already -- go to the right side of this web site and click on the "Donate" icon. We appreciate it.
posted by JimK at 11:30 AM
9 Comments:
"Remember, TeachTheFacts.org formed under the dark cloud of the 2004 elections, when the religious right was claiming that it had a mandate to impose its radical views on all of us. They exercised that alleged mandate in a million ways around the country, but they failed here, because the community fought for what's right. When they came for our school board, we stopped them cold."
I'm sure many people would like to support a cause but it doesn't seem like TTF actually did this. There was an approved curriculum ready to go and, not only did TTF not stop CRC "cold" from preventing the curriculum, TTF didn't stop them at all. CRC succeeded in preventing the curriculum from being implemented and the curriculum still hasn't been implemented.
Doesn't sound like traditional values "failed here". It sounds like they won.
Anon, you may have nearly set a record for misconstrual here. The Recall Group formed in 2004 to recall the entire school board because of the sex-ed curriculum. Did this happen? No, the community did not allow it. The statement you challenge is not one that was made here: nobody said that TTF stopped the CRC "cold."
Nice try.
JimK
"Did this happen? No, the community did not allow it."
Misconstrual city, baby!
There was division among a group of individuals who were otherwise like-minded about whether the school board should be held accountable for approving an unconstitutional sex-ed curriculum. The minority who wanted to recall the school board broke off and found the local legal procedures not easily amenable to recall.
The majority was able to defend the constitutional rights of the kids in court. Neither TTF nor the unconstitutional minority "community" they represent werre able to stop the Constitution "cold".
Anon,
If there was much support for your viewpoint in Montgomery County, then presumably BOE candidates would have emerged, publically and vigorously and vocally supported by people like Michelle Turner, Retta Brown, Ruth Jacobs, and Steve Fisher, whose platform would have included changing direction on health education.
Let's look at what happened in the four BOE races last year:
In the 3d District race, incumbent Pat O'Neill, a strong supporter of the BOE's approach, ran unopposed.
In the Fifth District race, there were three candidates, all of whom backed the BOE's approach.
In the First District, two candidates ran -- one a perennial candidate who provided ambiguous answers to the Equality Montgomery questionnaire and another who strongly supported the BOE's approach; the latter, Judy Docca, won overwhelmingly.
In the at-large race, a number of people ran. One perennial candidate who made it to the second round gave anmbiguous answers to Equality Montgomery; the candidate who won overwhelming majorities in both the primary and the general election was Shirley Brandman, a very strong supporter of the BOE approach.
Moreover, Jerry Falwell's Liberty Counsel did not sustain constitutional rights; rather, they ambused the Constitution. This will be vindicated in the next round, since this time the BOE ought to be prepared to defend itself.
"Neither TTF nor the unconstitutional minority "community" they represent werre able to stop the Constitution "cold"."
What a crock! First of all, as David points out above, the recent elections show exactly which group is the "minority" here in Montgomery County. Second of all, if Falwell's lawyers had such a slamdunk constitutional case, why did they decide to settle their differences with MCPS instead of going ahead with the lawsuit?
PTA
David,
As some of your friends have out, the public in Montgomery County simply rubberstamps the recommendations of the teachers' union. The reason are complex but there is no indication that the public supports homosexual education.
"why did they decide to settle their differences with MCPS instead of going ahead with the lawsuit?"
because they got what they were seeking from the defendants
"because they got what they were seeking from the defendants"
Here's what they settled for with their slamdunk constitutional case:
"Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to diminish or enlarge the legal right of MCPS to develop, revise or implement curriculum, including curriculum that provides information on sexual variations and promotes tolerance of others regardless of sexual orientation."
PTA
Coming soon to MCPS.
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