California lawmakers pass bill to teach gay history

[garbon]

http://news.yahoo.com/california-lawmakers-pass-bill-teach-gay-history-012938470.html

A bill to require California public schools to teach the historical accomplishments of gay men and lesbians passed the state Legislature on Tuesday in what supporters call a first for the nation.

Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, has not said publicly whether he supports the bill, which he has 12 days to sign or veto once it reaches his desk later this month. If he takes no action, the measure would become law automatically.

The bill gained final passage from the state Assembly on a vote of 49-25, without a single Republican supporting it. The measure cleared the state Senate in April.

California already requires public schools to teach the contributions made to society by women and by racial and ethnic groups that were historically discriminated against, such as blacks, Latinos and Native Americans.

Supporters of the latest bill said it would simply include gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals in that existing requirement, making it part of the curriculum in history and other social studies classes.

"It's unfair to leave out or exclude an entire portion of our population from history," said Carolyn Laub, executive director of San Francisco-based Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

The group, which supported the bill, said no other state has passed similar legislation requiring the teaching of gay and lesbian contributions to society.

In fact, Laub pointed to a bill that passed the Tennessee state Senate this year that would prohibit the state's schools from teaching about homosexuality before secondary school.

The Tennessee proposal, which detractors have nicknamed the "don't say gay bill," has still not passed the state House of Representatives.

California Assemblyman Donald Wagner is one of the Republicans who opposed the state's bill requiring teaching about the accomplishments of gays and lesbians.

"Writing these provisions into textbooks will further an agenda rather than teach facts," Wagner said. "When we do things, we politicize them because that's the nature of politics. We should leave education to the educators."

The bill was written by state Senator Mark Leno, an openly gay Democrat who represents San Francisco and surrounding communities.

Even if the bill is signed by the governor, it could be several years before California students start reading in textbooks about gay accomplishments.

The California Department of Education has said that, because of the fiscal crisis facing the state, the agency does not expect to adopt new textbooks until 2015.

[The Brain]

What is it about morons and forcing pet stuff to be taught in schools? You always get that. A person saying "... should be taught in school!" is always a moron.

[MadImmortalMan]

Awesome. Now about that budget...

[garbon]

Awesome. Now about that budget...

The California Department of Education has said that, because of the fiscal crisis facing the state, the agency does not expect to adopt new textbooks until 2015.

[Neil]

Has a transgender weirdo ever committed an act that would be historically significant?  I mean, maybe you could make an argue for a gay (although I can't think offhand of a gay who made a historically significant contribution to society), but lesbians, bisexuals and crossdressers are pretty low-quality.

Wasn't J. Edgar Hoover gay?  Although I doubt that he's the sort of person that the California hippies would want to laud.

[The Brain]

OTOH it is somewhat amusing that any legitimate historical impact of persons who also happened to be gay will be regarded as suspect since the persons will appear to have been affirmative actioned into the books. No one will take gays in history seriously. Just like women.

[Martinus]

although I can't think offhand of a gay who made a historically significant contribution to society

Alan Turing.

[Ideologue]

Every Greek, most Romans, a lot of Arabs, and David Bowie.

[Martinus]

Every Greek, most Romans, a lot of Arabs, and David Bowie.

I disagree. I don't think anyone before Oscar Wilde, or so, can be considered "gay". "Gay" is more of a cultural thing (it is not synonymous with homosexual).

[Valmy]

We already have minority and woman stuff so I guess this is just logical.  Of course I would rather kids be taught, you know, the basic facts of what happened before we tough on specific themes like this.  My experience is that generally the curriculum spends alot of time telling us the themes (freedom good!  Capitalism good!  Minorities are nice to!  and in Texas: Christianity is why American exists!) without actually teaching the history. 

[Valmy]

Alan Turing.

Poor bastard.

[Martinus]

We already have minority and woman stuff so I guess this is just logical.  Of course I would rather kids be taught, you know, the basic facts of what happened before we tough on specific themes like this.  My experience is that generally the curriculum spends alot of time telling us the themes (freedom good!  Capitalism good!  Minorities are nice to!  and in Texas: Christianity is why American exists!) without actually teaching the history.

I think (hope?) this is more according to the lines of having a lesson or two on the gay movement (like Stonewall etc.) which is also history, as much as Brown vs. Board of Education is. And telling kids so-and-so was gay, where it was relevant (for example Turing's sexuality was important, Newton's probably wasn't). I think it is more about not "white-washing" (or straight-washing) history than anything else.

[Agelastus]

Every Greek, most Romans, a lot of Arabs, and David Bowie.

I disagree. I don't think anyone before Oscar Wilde, or so, can be considered "gay". "Gay" is more of a cultural thing (it is not synonymous with homosexual).

So, apart from the aforementioned Alan Turing, it's going to be an awfully short section of the curriculum then...

Actually, if this does encourage more study of classical history, I suppose it could be a boon...although personally I'd guess (considering what "British history" taught in UK schools generally amounts to) that nothing before 1775 will get included*.



*British history in our schools tends to start in 1815... 

[Martinus]

Every Greek, most Romans, a lot of Arabs, and David Bowie.

I disagree. I don't think anyone before Oscar Wilde, or so, can be considered "gay". "Gay" is more of a cultural thing (it is not synonymous with homosexual).

So, apart from the aforementioned Alan Turing, it's going to be an awfully short section of the curriculum then...

Actually, if this does encourage more study of classical history, I suppose it could be a boon...although personally I'd guess (considering what "British history" taught in UK schools generally amounts to) that nothing before 1775 will get included*.



*British history in our schools tends to start in 1815... 

As I said in the post above yours, I don't think it's as much about "so-and-so was gay" as it is about teaching kids about the gay rights movement. Which I think is fair. It is part of the history.

Also, are you saying that the 20th century is not full of gay artists, inventors and the like?

[Ideologue]

Every Greek, most Romans, a lot of Arabs, and David Bowie.

I disagree. I don't think anyone before Oscar Wilde, or so, can be considered "gay". "Gay" is more of a cultural thing (it is not synonymous with homosexual).

No, that's generally correct, that heterosexuality/homosexuality as a cultural bifurcation is a relatively recent phenomenon.  That said, there would be no reason to exclude discussion, and every reason to include discussion, of how sexual mores were different in the ancient world (as well as in some of our crappier contemporary cultures) in the context of gay history.