Friday, June 08, 2007

Neutrality and Other Dimensions

The Washington Post this morning reported on the recommendation by MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast to the Board of Education that the new sex-ed classes should be implemented as they are.
Montgomery County schools Superintendent Jerry D. Weast recommended yesterday that new health lessons on sexual orientation and condom use be expanded to all middle and high schools in the fall with only minor revisions, based on the results of field tests at six schools this spring.

The lessons are the fruit of five years of debate on how, if at all, homosexuality should be addressed in sex-education classes. Approved in January and piloted in March, the teaching materials will reach all eighth- and 10th-grade health classrooms in the fall if Weast's recommendations are adopted Tuesday by the school board.

In a memo delivered yesterday to board members, Weast wrote that students and teachers seemed mostly satisfied with the lessons. He suggested no change to their content. New Sex-Ed Curriculum Is Urged for All Schools

Generally the testing went pretty well.

One difference from the usual was the fact that teachers were forced to present the script verbatim and were not allowed to answer questions about the course content. The school district is so afraid of letting a teacher say something wrong that they won't let them say anything.

There is an easy remedy for that.
Board members will have to weigh conflicting recommendations. Weast wants the lessons to go forward essentially as written, but a citizens advisory committee wants board members to add passages stating that mainstream medical and mental health organizations have concluded that homosexuality is neither a disease nor a mental illness.

Weast and his staff oppose adding the material and say they have sought to keep the lessons as neutral as possible. Members of the citizens committee contend that the extra passages would help students cope with their sexuality and help teachers answer their questions.

In January, a divided school board rejected adding such language to the lessons.

The citizens committee made those recommendations last winter, and the Superintendent's staff decided not to include them. The school board had a lively debate on the topic, and in the end decided to leave them out at that time, before the testing, but to wait and see if there were questions that teachers couldn't answer. There were.

Since the school district did not collect questions that were asked in class, we don't know how many there were, but from teachers' and students' comments on questionnaires and in focus groups it is obvious that these were significantly non-zero.

Upon being presented with the pilot test results this week, the citizens advisory committee again voted to urge inclusion of materials from the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatric, and the American Psychological Association. The original recommendation had been that there would be a handout for 8th graders and the materials would be available as teachers' resources in 10th grade, and this was reasserted in the committee meeting.

The committee members were unanimous, except for the CRC and PFOX members, who are on the committee as part of a legal agreement, and who unsurprisingly voted against including the AMA, AAP, and APA recommendations.

With these resources, first of all a lot of students' questions would be answered without them asking -- and there is a concern that students who most need this information may be the most reluctant to embarrass themselves by asking. Further, if teachers had the three articles available to them, they could answer almost all likely questions, giving answers that are supported by the authoritative organizations in medicine and mental health.

I want to go back to the word "neutral."

Neutral implies a midpoint on a continuum. In some situations it implies a balance. Generally, for a politician, the concept of neutrality is good thing, as it implies nonpartisanship, compromise, fairness. You're less likely to make enemies in the short run by being neutral.

There are times when it doesn't mean that. Sometimes it means that you're afraid to take a stand for what's right.

The medical and psychological establishments have investigated the question, and have made their statements. All three of these organizations have released very clear policy documents, easily readable by ordinary people, explaining their official position on sexual orientation, in particular homosexuality. They did that because, having studied the matter, they drew certain conclusions. They concluded there is no rational reason for trying to oppose homosexuality, which is not a choice anyway, and that homosexual people can have perfectly normal, healthy lives.

The neutral position between science and bigotry is not acceptable. It is not a compromise, it is a concurrence that the bigoted view has some validity.

On Tuesday, the school board will vote on this curriculum. As it is, it represents a baby-step forward. At least sexual orientation will be mentioned in the classroom, and some concepts will be taught. But hand-cuffing teachers and keeping students in the dark is not the goal we were hoping for. The school board has one last chance to make it clear that Montgomery County is not neutral when it comes to right and wrong.
Teachers and students who participated in the field tests chafed at the tightly scripted structure of the lessons, and teachers reported confusion about their authority to answer questions posed by students. Teachers were instructed to answer no questions that strayed outside the health curriculum and to refer such inquiries to "a trusted adult," such as a parent or counselor.

But they could easily answer those questions, with a few pages of articles from the medical and psychological experts.

30 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

"They did that because, having studied the matter, they drew certain conclusions."

No, they didn't. They made guesses about where the evidence is headed.

The neutrality is between those whose guesses are different.

All scientists agree that the jury is out.

BTW, professional associations are not authorities. The Surgeon General's office is the medical authority in these here parts.

June 08, 2007 11:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Surgeon General is a political appointee that requires Senate approval just like United States Attorneys (except for those the Bush administration snuck in without Senate confirmation under the now removed provision in the 2005 Patriot Act reauthorization).

The Surgeon General of the United States is the head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and, ex officio, is the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the U.S. government.The Surgeon General is nominated by the U.S. President and confirmed via majority vote by the Senate...The Surgeon General functions under the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Health...Because the office is not a particularly powerful one, and has little direct impact on policy-making, Surgeons General are often vocal advocates of unconventional, unusual, or even unpopular health policies. Vice Admiral C. Everett Koop and Vice Admiral Joycelyn Elders were two former Surgeons General who were well known for their controversial ideas, especially on sex education.

The U.S. Public Health Service was under the direction of the Office of the Surgeon General and was an independent government agency until 1953 at which point it was integrated into the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and later into the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgeon_General_of_the_United_States

June 08, 2007 11:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the U.S. government"

There we have it. Thanks.

June 08, 2007 12:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

the office is not a particularly powerful one, and has little direct impact on policy-making,

June 08, 2007 12:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Andrea- not anon

Gosh, anon, bet you wouldn't be pro the surgeon general if it was Dr. Elders.

June 08, 2007 12:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Andrea- not anon


"Sexual orientation is usually determined by adolescence, if not earlier (Bell et al, 1981), and there is no valid
scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed (Haldeman, 1994; APA, 2000)" from THE SURGEON GENERAL'S CALL TO ACTION TO PROMOTE SEXUAL HEALTH AND RESPONSIBLE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR.

How do you like that, anon? THe Surgeon General said it-so it's good to go now, right?

June 08, 2007 12:42 PM  
Blogger Priya Lynn said...

Anonymous said "All scientists agree that the jury is out.".

No anonymous, that's not the case. Much as is the case with global warming the vast majority of the scientists are in agreement that the totatlity of the evidence suggests that being gay is based in biology, not choice. While there may not be certainty there is concensus that this is almost certainly the case. For the most part the only people who dispute this are pseudo-scientists who are driven by anti-gay religious myths - people who by definition make decisions before looking at the evidence and who then rigidly stick to that dogma despite all evidence to the contrary.

Anonymous said "professional associations are not authorities. The Surgeon General's office is the medical authority in these here parts.".

The concensus of tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of doctors greatly outweighs the opinion of one person who bases his ideas on ancient myths rather than science. Holsinger's opinion on gays carries no more weight than my own, less in fact because as an LGBT I speek from an insider's knowledge of gays that he does not have and my opinions are evidence based rather than derived from factlless prejudgement dictated by ancient bigoted myths.

June 08, 2007 3:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said "All scientists agree that the jury is out.".

No anonymous, that's not the case. Much as is the case with global warming the vast majority of the scientists are in agreement that the totatlity of the evidence suggests that being gay is based in biology, not choice. While there may not be certainty there is concensus that this is almost certainly the case. For the most part the only people who dispute this are pseudo-scientists who are driven by anti-gay religious myths - people who by definition make decisions before looking at the evidence and who then rigidly stick to that dogma despite all evidence to the contrary."

First you say most scientists and, then, well, the scientists who don't think that aren't real, and, actually, are just acting on bias.

"Anonymous said "professional associations are not authorities. The Surgeon General's office is the medical authority in these here parts.".

The concensus of tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of doctors greatly outweighs the opinion of one person who bases his ideas on ancient myths rather than science."

Your conceit here is that he association's statements represent the consensus of tens of thousands. There's no proof that's true. Indeed, there is evidence when APA issued their 1973 statement, that they were at odds with most practitioners.

"Holsinger's opinion on gays carries no more weight than my own, less in fact because as an LGBT I speek from an insider's knowledge of gays that he does not have and my opinions are evidence based rather than derived from factlless prejudgement dictated by ancient bigoted myths."

So this is a guy so qualified that he is been nominated for Surgeon General and you think he is not a real doctor because of this one issue alone.

Obviously, if you define a doctor solely as someone who agrees with the gay agenda, all doctors are going to agree. It's a bunch of propagada and shows how dangerous the lunatic fringe gay advocacy movement is.

Reminds me of Bernard Goldberg's book where he noted that when liberal lawyers went on CBS, they'd be called "legal scholars" but when conservative lawyers went on they were called "conservative spokesmen."

Keep egging the Democrats on. This is great!

June 08, 2007 3:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Andrea- not anon
Randi, anon won't be accepting the Surgeon General now either-since the Surgeon General website has posted information with which anon disagrees. Like Johnny Garza and his "WE LOVE YOU, BOE" , Anon no longer loves the SG.

June 08, 2007 3:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Andrea- not anon
Randi, anon won't be accepting the Surgeon General now either-since the Surgeon General website has posted information with which anon disagrees. Like Johnny Garza and his "WE LOVE YOU, BOE" , Anon no longer loves the SG."

Andrea, we all know Jocelyn Elders resigned in disgrace. She had the credentials but went kooky with power.

You know the world need more doctors. We can't afford to exclude everyone who isn't pleased as punch with the growing threat of the homosexual looney fringe. Things are getting out of hand.

Rock on, Democrats.

June 08, 2007 4:12 PM  
Blogger Robert said...

I repeat, Anonymous blogs here primarily to irk people, not discuss.

I agree with Jim that this curriculum is very much a baby step, with fairly minimal impact. The next step is mandatory inservices for all MCPS staff on the characteristics and needs of LGBT students; the step after that are trainings for the students; then, employeeing a teacher for LGBT youth concerns, or including them in the job description of a general diversity coordinator.

The real work of making schools safer and more accepting for LGBT people in MoCo is done by non-profits such as PFLAG. It's time that the public schools themselves stepped up to the plate. It's good as a first step that the MCPS BOE has not caved to PFOX (as did Fairfax), but they have a much broader responsibility.

I agree with Jim: half-way between fairness and bigotry is not neutrality; it's cowardice.

BTW, on Sunday I'm throwing a birthday party for myself, and inviting 300,000 of my closest friends. All are welcome. Noon to 6, Pennsylvania Avenue between 7th and 3rd.

June 08, 2007 8:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Andrea- not anon

Nutty anon et al- the statement I posted from the SG site was not by Jocelyn Elders. YOu were the one who painted the SG statements as "THE WORD". The APA is no good, the AMA is no good, now the SG is no good- I submit you proclaim something(THE SG is the medical authority) and then deny it when you don't like what the SG said.

Anon just Stifle.

June 08, 2007 10:08 PM  
Blogger Priya Lynn said...

Well, anonymous, however many people the concensus of the AMA represents its a great deal more than the opinion of one bigot.

Anonymous said "We can't afford to exclude everyone who isn't pleased as punch with the growing threat of the homosexual looney fringe. Things are getting out of hand.".

You sound panicky anonymous, the reality of bigotry like yours fading into the past with socially unacceptable concepts like racism getting a little too real for you? They said the language of the bigots would get more extreme as they realize they're loosing battle against fairness.

We certainly can afford to exclude mythology driven heterosexual supremacists from positions of authority. There are plenty of good honest people to choose from, there's no need to accept unqualified people who won't treat all fairly.

June 08, 2007 10:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I agree with Jim that this curriculum is very much a baby step, with fairly minimal impact. The next step is mandatory inservices for all MCPS staff on the characteristics and needs of LGBT students; the step after that are trainings for the students; then, employeeing a teacher for LGBT youth concerns, or including them in the job description of a general diversity coordinator."

We all remember when Robert mocked the idea that there is a gay agenda.

June 08, 2007 10:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"The APA is no good, the AMA is no good, now the SG is no good- I submit you proclaim something(THE SG is the medical authority) and then deny it when you don't like what the SG said."

I actually don't believe in the concept of infallibility. But if we're looking for an authority, as TTF alludes to, the SG trumps the AMA.

You idiots seem to think the fact that the SG position is controlled by the people invalidates it. What you don't realize is that the AMA is a political entity and that the constituency is actually narrower.

Anyway, we'll have a new medical authority soon and the gay agenda doesn't seem to find his favor.

June 08, 2007 10:40 PM  
Blogger Christine said...

Happy Birthday, Robert. See you there!

June 08, 2007 10:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Isaiah Washington has lost his job on the hit ABC medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," five months after creating a furor with his use of an anti-gay slur."

This guy loses his job. The nominee for Surgeon General threatened because he dared to speak the truth about the dangers of homosexual behavior once. A nominee for Federal Appeals Court threatened because he once joined an opinion which used the term "homosexual lifestyle".

It's easy to see that the gay agenda is seeking more than tolerance. They want anyone who doesn't believe in homosexuality to be excluded from our society.

Luckily, we're in a democracy and this is stacking up as a nice issue for the 2008 election.

June 09, 2007 1:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Happy Birthday, Robert. See you there!"

Yes, and be sure to post up some pictures from some of the sicker floats.

June 09, 2007 1:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The political landscape according to Anon, the nightowl who wants to view "pictures from some of the sicker floats":

"It's easy to see that the gay agenda is seeking more than tolerance. They want anyone who doesn't believe in homosexuality to be excluded from our society.

Luckily, we're in a democracy and this is stacking up as a nice issue for the 2008 election."


Note how this is very different from the political landscape according to recent Pew polls as reported by George Will, Pulitzer Prize-winning, conservative American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060102177.html

"Recent Pew polling shows that a combined 48 percent of Republican voters say that Iraq (31 percent) or terrorism (17 percent) is their principal concern. Abortion? Seven percent. Gay marriage? One percent."

Get real. You are too swept up in your obsessions. Maybe your little cell of CRC supporters is as obsessed with denying LGBT people full civil rights as you are, but only 1% of Republicans agree. It's clear to all readers here who represents the radical fringe.

June 09, 2007 8:12 AM  
Blogger Priya Lynn said...

Anonymous said "if we're looking for an authority, as TTF alludes to, the SG trumps the AMA.".

Anonymous, have you been hitting the jack daniels again, or maybe you smoked a few of those joints you were talking about? The biased opinion of one mythologist certainly doesn't trump the the scientifically considered positions taken by many many docters.

Annonymous said The guy loses his job. The nominee for Surgeon General threatened because he dared to speak the truth about the dangers of homosexual behavior once. A nominee for Federal Appeals Court threatened because he once joined an opinion which used the term "homosexual lifestyle".".

Anonymous, Isaiah Washington had a pile of misteps that were weighing against him, the gay slur was just the last straw. The nominee for surgeon general has demonstrated his prejudice against gays and his inability to treat people fairly based on the best knowledge available. The term "homosexual lifestyle" is code for "being gay is a choice and all gays are promiscuous" - anyone misjudging gays like that is also prejudiced and incapable of treating people fairly based on the best knowledge available.

June 09, 2007 11:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"The biased opinion of one mythologist certainly doesn't trump the the scientifically considered positions taken by many many docters."

Remember Randi, all "docters", not just "many many", believe the homosexual lifestyle is hunky dory. If they didn't they wouldn't qualify as real doctors. Now that TTF has rewritten the dictionary, that's very easy to see.

Of course, Holsinger has had a pretty accomplished career at something, saving lives and all that. You might be interested to know that he fought against social conservatives to set up a health conference for lesbians back when he was the state health director in Kentucky. And, also, his paper about the health effects of misuse of the human body during gay sex is essentially correct.

What the heck. Now that the TTF dictionary says that doctors are defined as people who think gay sex is healthy, we'll have to think of a term for people like Holsinger. How about "future Secretary of HHS"?

June 09, 2007 12:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Note how this is very different from the political landscape according to recent Pew polls as reported by George Will, Pulitzer Prize-winning, conservative American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author:"

George is a bright and funny guy. We get our hair cut at the same place and I've had some occassional and fun conversations with him over the years.

Republicans are appropriately more concerned with Iraq and terrorism right now because they are more immediate threats. Gay marriage is not really a threat and abortion is widely considered immoral by most Americans, even those who support it's legalization.

Democrats offer no idea on Iraq but surrender and no idea on terrorism but appeasement. Won't work, guys. Even after that, we won't be safe.

While not concerned about the gay threat now, Hillary, Osama Obama and Mr 400-dollar haircut look like they want to help the Republicans get the electorate jazzed about it again.

Rock on, Democrats.

June 09, 2007 12:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Andrea- not anon
Every comment anon makes proves his ignorance and his bigotry. He is a cartoon of a person.

June 09, 2007 1:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

""Recent Pew polling shows that a combined 48 percent of Republican voters say that Iraq (31 percent) or terrorism (17 percent) is their principal concern. Abortion? Seven percent. Gay marriage? One percent."

Get real. You are too swept up in your obsessions. Maybe your little cell of CRC supporters is as obsessed with denying LGBT people full civil rights as you are, but only 1% of Republicans agree."

Beatrice is a demented old lady. Look at the logic here:

Only 1% of Republicans consider gay marriage their "principal concern" and this translates into they don't care about stopping the gay agenda.

News flash, B:

You can only have one "principal concern." All Americans realize the importance of getting a good resolution of the Iraq war and thwarting terrorism.

June 09, 2007 2:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Anon, the nightowl who wants to view "pictures from some of the sicker floats""

Oh, I don't want to see them. I just want them here on the site because they are the antidote to this idea that homosexuality is normal. I don't need the cure.

Washington Post, page C12, has a picture from 2004 float sponsored by the "Radical Faeries". That's one of the tamer groups. Just take a look at what all the pride is all about.

June 09, 2007 3:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Anon, the nightowl who wants to view "pictures from some of the sicker floats""

Oh, I don't want to see them. I just want them here on the site because they are the antidote to this idea that homosexuality is normal. I don't need the cure.

Washington Post, page C12, has a picture from 2004 float sponsored by the "Radical Faeries". That's one of the tamer groups. Just take a look at what all the pride is all about.

June 09, 2007 3:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Anon, the nightowl who wants to view "pictures from some of the sicker floats""

Oh, I don't want to see them. I just want them here on the site because they are the antidote to this idea that homosexuality is normal. I don't need the cure.

Washington Post, page C12, has a picture from 2004 float sponsored by the "Radical Faeries". That's one of the tamer groups. Just take a look at what all the pride is all about.

June 09, 2007 3:03 PM  
Blogger Robert said...

Silly anon said:

"We all remember when Robert mocked the idea that there is a gay."

Silly anon: this is not the gay agenda; this is my agenda; i.e. these are my ideas and my suggestions for the steps that MCPS should take.

I assert again, you don't blog here to discuss, convince or learn, but entirely to irritate people. As patient as I am, sometimes you irritate even me. Kind sweet gentle man that he is, sometimes you irritate Jim and he chastises you. Do you not realize how immature and basically non-productive this behavior is? You seem to get a kick out of pestering other people and being disdainful of them. Stop, it's not good for you, it leaves a stain on your soul. Go out of your house, get away from your computer, do something nice for someone. Help an old lady across the street, give money to charity, be a big brother, call your mother and make her day. The people whose floats you disdain raise hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for charities each year. They make the world a better place. What good do you do by existing in this world?

Poor silly anon. So lonely, so sad. As Nietsche said, that which doesn't destroy us makes us more bitter.

I remember my first pride festival. I had left the ex-gay therapy a few months before, it was my 35th birthday. I went dancing all night, then went to this fabulous festival with hundreds of thousands of people. We went swimming in the fountain outside the National Archives with these outrageous drag queens. Without a doubt the most joyous day of my life. Instead of feeling conflicted and unloved by God, as I had for all my years in the programs that CRC and PFOX try to sell to children, I felt loved and accepted. This is the gay agenda, bringing that sense of belonging and community to all LGBT people. Pride is an example of the Kingdom on Earth.

June 09, 2007 7:18 PM  
Blogger Orin Ryssman said...

Anonymous writes,

Luckily, we're in a democracy and this is stacking up as a nice issue for the 2008 election.

To which Aunt Bea responds,

Get real. You are too swept up in your obsessions. Maybe your little cell of CRC supporters is as obsessed with denying LGBT people full civil rights as you are, but only 1% of Republicans agree. It's clear to all readers here who represents the radical fringe.

I would have to agree with this assessment. I saw all of the GOP wanna-be's this last week and the only one that really stood out was Giuliani. As a social conservative I can't stand him one bit; I find even less to like in him as a fellow Catholic. But next year's election is principally about which person can prosecute the war against Islamofacism (AKA, World War IV; there was WWI & WWII, and then WWIII, also known as the "Cold War"). Giuliani was the ONLY Republican candidate that did not back away from Iraq.

I thought I would not have to confront this reality, but the instinct for survival has a way of clarifying the choices.

June 09, 2007 11:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Beatrice is a demented old lady. Look at the logic here:

Only 1% of Republicans consider gay marriage their "principal concern" and this translates into they don't care about stopping the gay agenda."


So, Anon is putting words in my mouth and is once again unable to resist stooping to the personal insult. We should call him "old faithful" since he is reliable like a geyser that spews constant and predictable eruptions of heat without light.

I didn't say Republicans "don't care" about gay issues. I simply pointed out that denying LGBT people full civil rights is *not* "stacking up as a nice issue for the 2008 election" as you claimed.

Thanks Orin. I appreciate you taking a moment to note your concurrence.

I agree that Americans want a leader who is willing to take a hard look and make realistic assessments about where we are and where we are headed with our troops in the Middle East. I also think Americans will be seeking a leader with a realistic view of Earth's changing climate. These two issues are matters of life and death for many people.

Marriage equality is not such a high priority to most of us because Americans are freedom loving people who don't want the government snooping around in our bedrooms any more than we want them snooping around our computers, gun purchases, library records, etc.

June 10, 2007 8:05 AM  

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