Quote:
Originally Posted by This_person  Beaten? Of course. Harrassed? I guess that depends on what one would define as harrassment.
Society can certainly teach tolerance - by denying jobs, by choosing to not associate with people they don't agree with, etc. As long as we accept free speech, people will be "harrassed" by others who disagree with them. When schools are allowed to teach morals, then we need to step in and decide WHOSE morals. Being unable to agree on that (as this thread clearly proves), we need to shut up about morals and move on to things schools should teach. Teach the biology of homosexuality (once it's clearly defined), or teach that it exists in a sex-ed course, etc. Teach that discrimination or "beatings" are unlawful. But, don't teach that it must be accepted. Tolerated and accepted are two very, very different things. |
We're always going to teach someone's morals; that is unavoidable. In a case like this, I would like to see the schools simply teach that if you disagree with homosexuality, disagree. Maybe voice your opinion, and then let it be (as you said tolerance and acceptance are hugely different). The problem is that kids aren’t being taught by parents to conduct themselves in a civil manner and instead become violent towards or bully those with perceived differences, whether it is sexual preference, race or creed.
As for harassment, there is a big difference between saying, "I disagree with your lifestyle and here's why" once to a homosexual child (that is free speech) and the homosexual child being followed and being called inappropriate names every single school day. If someone was following your child daily telling them they're bigoted or close minded for not accepting homosexuality, it would be considered harassment. Once could be annoying or upsetting, but it wouldn't necessarily be harassment. Then again, people’s definitions are different. You see people on court shows claiming harassment for being asked to pay a bill TWICE.
I just don't want any kids to feel as if they don't want to go to school because they're afraid of being beaten or made fun of throughout the day. All kids deserve an equal education and if a gang of kids continually makes the homosexual child's life at school a living hell, they will be more likely to drop out and be forced to depend on tax dollars to feed, clothe, and shelter them. Maybe that seems like a huge leap, but I see it as a problem.
Whenever people bring up the "biology of homosexuality" you get people spitting fire on both sides of the issue. In the end, our knowledge of what makes up true science (biology) is socially constructed and influenced by the morals our culture/religion teaches us. It's definitely a very difficult decision to decide what we should and should not teach in public schools....I wouldn't want to make that final decision myself!