>Forcing a child to subsume his or her >linguistic history in favor of English is wrong (I believe all children >should be taught english, of course, but they should also be taught and >encouraged to gain great proficiency in their native language or in another >language). I do think it's important that kids learn English. I also think kids have an advantage over others when they are bilingual or multilingual.
>While I think sex education should be taught once children >understand sex, I think sexuality education, ie acknowledging that there are >gays and lesbians in the world, should be taught as a rote part of any >lesson. Just as we talk about black, Jewish, whatever authors, we should be >able to tell our children that such and such a person was gay or lesbian. >Doing anything else again sets up the standard of the other. I agree to a point. There is a lot more to being gay than sex -- even though most of the focus and discussion about gays is about sex. There certainly are a number of major historical figures who were gay -- Richard the Lion Hearted of crusades fame for one. >Acknowledging and accepting that we are all different, that there is >strength in that difference, will enable us to come together with our >difference instead of inspite of our differences. We need to fundamentally >change the way that we educate our young people, the system we currently >use, in general, propogates systems that have continuously failed to erase >isms and phobias. In my experience, the best way to get over "isms and phobias" is to work with folks who come from different backgrounds and experiences. However, I think too much focus on calling someone "racist", "sexist" or "homophobic" when they make a statement is a rather "gotcha" mentality that doesn't really advance the cause of true understanding. It becomes more identity politics, and the tiresome game of "who is more oppressed" -- as if being "oppressed" is somehow a badge of honor. I think the most important message a parent can give to their kid is that if the kid works hard, and persists, they can succeed. From the studies I've seen, highly performing kids attribute failure on an exam to not having studied enough. Low performing kids attribute failure on an exam to luck. Maybe those who fought the revolutionary war, were fighting only for white male property owners. The words of the Declaration of Indepence and the Bill of Rights still are important to my life. I don't like villanizing people because they aren't perfect. Including the accomplishments and contributions of other cultures, doesn't need to mean putting down the accomplishments of people like Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry (of the Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death fame), Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and John Adams etc. Eva Eva Young Central/ 8th Ward _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
