Oral Arguments in "Opt-out" Case

[RetiredGySgt]

All of mine spoke about spouses or kids at one time or another

It is normal

No, it isn't. There is absolutely NO reason to talk to your students about your spouse and family.

 

[rightwinger]

No, it isn't. There is absolutely NO reason to talk to your students about your spouse and family.

Why not?

 

[meaner gene]

No, it isn't. There is absolutely NO reason to talk to your students about your spouse and family.

All children are curious. Show me yours if I show you mine.

Applies to families also.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Why not?

adults have no business sharing that info with children, and the purpose of school is to teach the material.

 

[initforme]

Parents have the right to opt their kid out of any class. Heck if i wanted my kids to never take 1 history class i could have and for what its worth i saw nonneed for history classes as mandatory.

 

[meaner gene]

Parents have the right to opt their kid out of any class. Heck if i wanted my kids to never take 1 history class i could have and for what its worth i saw nonneed for history classes as mandatory.

The other side of that coin, is the school is not mandated to grant a diploma to people who have not fulfilled the necessary coursework to qualify for an educational certification.

 

[pknopp]

Actually, yes.

How about, instead, an answer from the teacher simply saying that it’s not illegal or generally seen as wrong in our society, but that some religions and some people believe otherwise.”

Because that would be a stupid, ignorant answer.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Nah - no reason our kids to be subjected to sexual perversion in our schools. The law is passed - a win for our kids and their parents.

The law won't stand.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

None of my teachers in grade school or high school or college ever talked about their marriage, it isn't needed and is not wanted. It serves no purpose that is present in school at all.

Not yer bidness, gunny.

 

[initforme]

We need to encourage more single adults, waiting until their 30s to marry.

 

[Unkotare]

Actually, yes.

How about, instead, an answer from the teacher simply saying that it’s not illegal or generally seen as wrong in our society, but that some religions and some people believe otherwise.”

One of the hardest aspects of the topic is to stop students from making jokes about each other.

 

[Unkotare]

All of mine spoke about spouses or kids at one time or another

It is normal

Students always ask about spouses, how old you are, where you were born, etc. Most of the time it's just a way to distract from the classwork at hand. The good news is that it works in reverse too.

 

[BackAgain]

Because that would be a stupid, ignorant answer.

No. It wouldn’t. It would be the only intelligent and honest answer.

 

[BackAgain]

One of the hardest aspects of the topic is to stop students from making jokes about each other.

They can be hurtful no doubt. But making jokes about each other has a long history and it seems possible that — just maybe — it isn’t always the duty of a teacher to insure that kids are safe from any such taunts.

 

[Unkotare]

They can be hurtful no doubt. But making jokes about each other has a long history and it seems possible that — just maybe — it isn’t always the duty of a teacher to insure that kids are safe from any such taunts.

It is the teacher's duty to encourage them to be respectful to each other.

 

[BackAgain]

It is the teacher's duty to encourage them to be respectful to each other.

It is the teacher’s duty to teach children the curriculum.

It isn’t the duty of a teacher to play the role of parent beyond that.

In order to administer the complicated requirements of “teaching” (writ large), there are rules and procedures which permit teachers and administrators to encourage civil behavior. That I agree with.

And although you and I might see it as highly problematical to refrain from answering a child’s question along the lines of established societal norms, nevertheless I maintain that it is outside the proper role of a teacher to substitute his or her opinion for that of the student’s parents on some issues.

The issue raised in this thread isn’t one susceptible of any easy answers. There are nuances and complications along the way.

 

[80zephyr]

Has nothing to do with sexual perversion, has to do with married couples

No, its shows there is a sexual perversion in gay married couples.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

No, its shows there is a sexual perversion in gay married couples.

No more than heteros.

 

[80zephyr]

No more than heteros.

perversion:
the alteration of something from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

perversion:
the alteration of something from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.

... which does not apply here. Same sex and marriage is not what you suggest. It is different than the majority but so what. Either god made it all, so it is fine, or we are the results of evolution, which is amoral, and thus unimportant.