Diversity Video Shown at School; Parents Upset

re: Diversity Video Shown at School; Parents Upset

Peter — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 07:52:03 GMT

I think both aaustin and wksocmom are right -- there's too much vid-u-cation going on, but there's too little education on subjects of social importance. It seems like all the fights are about videos these days, like the Washington State fight over showing "An Inconvenient Truth." From the news reports, it almost seems like school has become little more than video screenings and naptime.

re: Diversity Video Shown at School; Parents Upset

nkygal — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 02:30:02 GMT

I agree. I think there are a lot of parents out there that need to watch that video. I think it is great that the school is educating these students and recognizing a growing group of parents.

re: Diversity Video Shown at School; Parents Upset

Andy — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 22:10:42 GMT

I couldn't agree with you more. Both kids and parents should be exposed to the fact that families come in every size, shape and color.

re: Diversity Video Shown at School; Parents Upset

wksocmom — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 21:39:24 GMT

Those are good points aaustin makes, but lets face it, there is not nearly enough diversity or diversity education in our schools. In a perfect world parents would be teaching it, just like they'd be helping their kids learn everything. I'm all for teaching about diversity (won't comment on the best way), and parents can either support it at home, or maybe get educated by their kids.

re: Diversity Video Shown at School; Parents Upset

aaustin — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 20:41:46 GMT

I am all for diversity - I've had many, many friends in my lifetime who have been gay, and I have a gay brother, but to be honest, I really wish that the schools would stick with reading, writing, math, and science, and leave the social/religious education to parents.

If we were competitive with other countries on math and science, I might say, "Sure, show all the diversity videos you want!" But our education system is broken, and we should spend what little instructional time there is on INSTRUCTION, not INDOCTRINATION.

I think schools could save themselves a lot of time and trouble, AND could do what they're supposed to do better, if they would shut up and teach, already.

If they must teach about diversity, how about doing it within the context of math, science, reading, history, or grammar? How about reading books about diversity and writing responses to them, instead of watching a video? Videos are almost useless as an instructional tool. Kids watch enough TV at home.