Wise Words from a Former Student

Today I begin 7 days of optimism and hope. I will think only positive thoughts and send good energy about the election into the universe. Will you join me?
I will start by sharing the very courageous words below from a former student of our program.

Dear friends and family,

On Friday, I received the email attached below concerening Prop 8 in California. After immediately responding to the person who sent this email to me I still could not shake how bothered I was by it. It is attached below so that you can have some context to what I have to share. I woke up this morning realizing the importance of my voice being heard on this matter.

I am a teacher. I have been a teacher for almost 7 years now. So this email attacks not only what I do everyday but also takes it completely out of context. As a teacher, I believe that not only do I teach subjects like math, science, reading and writing but I also teach something called 'social studies'. In elementary school it is not history but rather the study of social interaction over time. It starts off small and spirals over the years... Kindergarten focusing on family... 3rd grade moves on to local, and 5th is US. I am 4th grade so my focus is California. A large part of what I teach however is 'social skills and work habits', yes I teach tolerance everyday in all ways.

Part of what makes our country so beautiful in my eyes is that every person has the choice to be whoever they are regardless of race, religion, family up bringing, etc. As a teacher, my most important job is exposing them to as many topics as possible in order to help them feel comfortable to embrace whoever they are. It is important to note that everything I teach is developmentally and age appropriate. For example, if a student asks me what it means to be gay, I tell them it is when a man loves a man or a woman loves a woman. I do not share with them the sexual lives of gay people because frankly at this age they just aren't interested in anyone's sex lives gay or not. However, if they asked I might tell them that they express their love like all human beings through kissing, hugging, living together etc. To me this is not a scary or taboo topic and whatever their family beliefs may be I would simply explain that different religions hold different beliefs on this topic and you should talk to your family as to how they view the topic.

What gets me the most about all of this is why it even matters. I do not have to send home a letter 'warning' parents that I will be teaching about civil rights, lessons that deal directly with discrimination, so why should I have to send on home when we discuss what it means to be homophobic? Again we are just discussing another type of discrimination that is relevant to not only California history but current events. 'In 1948, the California Supreme Court became the first state court in the country to strike down a law prohibiting interracial marriage.' (from wikipedia- Prop 8) I ask you... how does what we are going through now differ from this? We talking about basic human rights here.

Furthermore, I teach children whose parents are gay. I experience first hand the loving and supporting families that these children live in. Families that are no different from children who are raised by heterosexual couples. Can I emphasize the word 'family'... there is so much beauty in this world and what underlies all of this is love and the recognition and acceptance that when love exists between two consenting adults in whatever form that may be it should be recognized, valued, honored and celebrated.

I went to www.protectmarriage.org to find out what exactly it is they are fighting for when they say Yes on Prop 8. Here is what I found (my response in bold follows each statement):

Voting YES on Proposition 8 does 3 simple things:
It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and what Californians agree should be supported, not undermined. 61% of voters passed Prop 22 in 2000 to formally define marriage as between a man and a woman. 61% is not the VAST majority and I would hope that in the last 8 years at least some of that ignorance has been disspelled.
It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people. Those Supreme Court Judges found 'that the statute enacted by Proposition 22 and other statutes that limit marriage to a relationship between a man and a woman violated the equal protection clause of the California Constitution' (wikipedia- Prop 8)Is it outrageous for them to do their job?
It protects our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage, and prevents other consequences to Californians who will be forced to not just be tolerant of gay lifestyles, but face mandatory compliance regardless of their personal beliefs. This is where I just want to scream, 'forced to be tolerant' ugh! Are we really still in this place. Is love between two consenting adults not love? And what does 'mandatory compliance' mean? Children are already exposed to a myriad of relationships in a variety of ways... so who answers their questions and helps them navigate these waters... their parents and teachers... duh!

As an adult I struggle with my sexuality. I grew up in a world where gay was not accepted... jokes were made often and until maybe 6 years ago I could have been conidered homophobic based on thoughts and ideas that over the last few years I have worked to rid myself of... Now at 29 and single I sometimes wonder 'Am I gay?' What did I suppress based on my experiences as a child and young adult? I have spent much time exploring this topic. I don't think that I am but would it really matter if I was? I recognize that I won't really know until I truly fall in love and find the person I want to spend my life with. Why place this same confusion on children today with all that we know. Why not love and support them and teach them about the different ways that people live their lives.

I do not believe that 'tolerance' is the right word. I am teaching 'understanding and acceptance'. And if you walked in my classroom today the first thing you would see hanging outside my door is a sign that reads 'Respect Everyone. Degrading Racist, Ethnic, Sexist and Homophobic Remarks Not Welcome Here. Be an Ally'

I urge you to ask yourself does a gay marriage really effect you in a negative way? Does it change the way you live your life? Does it hurt you? I suspect that the answer is no.

Please join me in voting 'NO on Prop 8'. Protect the rights of fellow human beings and continue to stand up against discrimination whenever it rears it's ugly head. We are all in this together and it is time that we stop fighting against one another.