For me & my family this hate and intolerance stops at out door!

I can find nothing on the school districts site saying you can or cannot opt out of the education. However, if you're that against allowing your child to learn to treat others with respect you can simply have them miss that day of school. And there are sites out there stating parents cannot opt out of it, HOWEVER those sites are poorly informed about the lesson plans and spreading inaccurate information so I would have a hard time taking anything they say seriously.

I guess the best way to find out is call the school district itself. It doesn't matter to me, I don't live in california anyway. But you presented a strawman argument, or rather better put, a cornering statement. Why do you feel I don't wish to or haven't taught my children tolerence? I just feel somethings, like human sexuality, is better left to home and not in the school system, especialy at younger ages.

xfahctor, if you read the lessons and the original post, you'd realize that only the 5th grade lesson actually has anything to do with homosexuality. So your point is moot because it's wrong. The lessons cover acceptance and being kind to EVERYONE. It doesn't specify one group over another until 5th grade. I just don't know what else to do. I post a link to the actual school's website so that people can educate themselves on the actual lesson plan and yet they STILL choose not to and instead form an opinion without even knowing what their forming an opinion about.

yes, they could but unfortunately many do not...Far too many do not.

I think I know where you are coming from with this....doesn't have to be limited to homosexuals but people in general. Kids need to learn how to love and respect others and their differences whatever they may be. We didn't have a special class for that back when I was a kid....it was just incorporated in all we did in the class and on the playground as well as at home.

So, where do you draw the line? As far back as I can remember parents have been able to opt out when it comes to teaching their daughters (and now their sons) about going through puberty. I received a notice for both my daughters and my son when the time came to have the discussion. There was also a place on the notice where I had the choice to opt out if I wanted to. Virtually every girl has a period but not every girl is gay so why is it okay to opt out of this and not a class on homosexual tolerance?

This is a part of a 2nd Grade lessons: 3. Read And Tango Makes Three aloud to students. After the story is over, ask students what they liked best about the story. Then the discussion follows: ? How were Roy and Silo like other penguin couples/parents? ? How were they different? ? Were they a couple? ? Why do you think Roy and Silo built a nest? ? Roy and Silo were both male penguins. Were they good parents? ? What makes a “good” parent? This is a bit before 5th grade, wouldn't you say? Is this something kids really need to know? My son's first grade teacher was gay. He didn't know it and didn't need to. He thought she was the greatest teacher ever and still thinks of her that way. He didn't need to learn about her being gay. He accepted her as she was because that's how children are.

The lessons do not focus just on ONE group until 5th grade though. And if parents don't like the 5th grade lesson then they can just have their kid skip that day of school. But the rest of the lessons are about accepting EVERYONE. I'm going to e-mail this link to my step mom, a 4th grade teacher and ask her what she thinks. My son is in 1st grade, and after reading through the lesson it seems to be taught at the right level for his understanding. The same goes for the kindergarten lesson. I'll let you know what my step mom thinks of the other lessons for the older kids, and if they're insulting to the kids. But as for the k-1st grade ones they're about on par with other lessons the kids have.

I agree with irishidid. ALL little kids need to be taught is to be kind to others. Whoever thought this up is a complete jack sss. They have just singled out this group of people to try to make them look special in the eyes of children and all this is going to do is to separate the individuals even more. Kids think of everyone as equal, especially at 5 years old. If you start labeling people at this age you are going to cause more harm because then there is a reason for the children to dislike a certain group. If there were any child psychologists involved in this project I would like to know who they are because they obviously don't understand human nature or children. I can give you an example. My four year old came home from pre-k and told me someone's skin was dark. Then she said look I am turning the same color. Remember, this is coming from a sweet innocent four year old. There was a black child in her class and he was the sweetest little boy in the class, so she had made friends with him. I smiled at her and said that her skin would never be the same color because his pigment was different from hers. I explained pigment was what made people's skin different colors. She never asked about a "black" person again. Looking back that was the best thing I could have done. We moved to a majority black area in Alabama and she didn't see the difference in the children. They were all children with different pigment than hers. My point is had I told her they were different because they were black she may have thought of them differently and not been so accepting. People are people regardless of race, ethniticity, and regardless of seksual preference. I am sorry but I don't want my six year old asking me to explain what makes a person a lesbean and what makes them gaa. I haven't really discussed boy and girl body parts yet. This is something that should be up to the family to do. If you want to teach acceptance and tolerance you need to teach acceptance and tolerance of people in general. No specific type of person. If you are specific you are singaling the group out and that makes a child wonder why. Maybe there is something different... irishidid is completely accurate about teaching kids to be kind to others.