Boston U. prof. Kevin Ryan: Close public schools rather than have then teach kids about homosexuality, which is Stalinist

Given the brute fact that the state can and does put parents in the slammer for not delivering up their children for the state approved and directed schooling, this new legislation has about it a distinct Stalinist odor. The odor is particularly strong in the nostrils of those parents who believe such grave matters as how one lives out their sexuality is not the educational province of the state bureaucrats who create the lesson plans for teachers.

It is tempting to dismiss this soon-to-be statewide curriculum as just another in a long line of outrageous and kooky, La-La Land events seemingly designed to keep the rest of us chuckling and mildly finger-wagging. However, the Sunshine State is the 800-pound gorilla of the textbook world and teachers and parents in Montana, Iowa and Georgia will surely be seeing the “gay agenda” in their next textbook adoptions.

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Another idea — and one which is receiving a great boost from legislation requiring a gay-friendly curriculum — is to eliminate state-run public schools. That is, make a transition to one of the many school choice options that put parents back in charge of their children’s education.

--Kevin Ryan writing for the extreme right wing publication Crisis

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-columnist-eliminate-public-schools-stop-stalinist-lgbt-history-law

Such a ridiculous overreaction.  Is it Stalinist for schools to mention MLK was a Christian minister when they study him?  All this legislation does is direct schools to stop sweeping homosexuality under the rug and acknowledge that gays exist and that they have made positive contributions to society.  Given the invective coming from Christianists, and the schools' silence on the topic, a student may not even realize that people such as Leonardo de Vinci and Alexander the Great were gay.  Think of the message it sends to LGBT youth, who are often bullied in school, when schools pretend they don't even exist.  Think of what kind of message it sends to bullies who see adult authority figures avoiding this topic like it was the plague.