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Gay concern bans mum and dad in classroom

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By Bruce Mcdougall, Education Reporter

April 17, 2008 12:00am

TEACHERS are being urged to stop using terms such as husband and wife when addressing students or families under a major anti-homophobia push in schools.

The terms boyfriend, girlfriend and spouse are also on the banned list - to be replaced by the generic "partner" - in changes sought by the gay lobby aimed at reducing discrimination in classrooms.

Schools are coming under pressure to provide lessons for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and stack their libraries with books and videos covering their issues.

Among the demands are the outlawing of homophobic comments by teachers or students in the playground and a requirement for teachers to receive "diversity training".

Education Director-General Michael Coutts-Trotter emerged as a leader of the school anti-homophobia campaign, opening a Government-backed conference on sexual diversity - That's So Gay.

The Federation of Parents and Citizens' Associations also weighed into the debate calling for "appropriate literacy materials promoting diversity in families".

The radical shake-up means that families with two mums or two dads are set to be accepted as a normal part of school communities.

Mr Coutts-Trotter said public schools had a responsibility to include children from same sex couples and allow no discrimination.

"Happy families come in all shapes and sizes," he said.

"We value diversity and include everyone in the life of the school...meeting the bare legal requirement is not enough.

"Public education has a responsibility to include...to strive to make all feel welcome."

Mr Coutts-Trotter said he was aware some teenagers felt "lonely and abandoned as they come to terms with their sexuality".

He said leadership from students in public and independent schools was an important weapon to support those facing discrimination and "combat homophobia".

"Our schools should be sanctuaries (for students)."

The Department of Education and Training said any attempt to stop same sex partners from attending a school formal in NSW - as controversially occurred in Queensland - was likely to breach anti-discrimination laws.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that the department is already spearheading a major push to win acceptance for gay and lesbian students in public schools.

"Teaching about sexual diversity, tolerance and anti-bullying occurs through the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) curriculum in all NSW schools - public and independent," the spokesman said.

"In Years 7 and 8 students learn about bullying, including anti-homophobia. This is reinforced in Years 9 and 10 in the anti-discrimination topics in the curriculum."

"Same-sex attraction issues" are included in students' lessons on relationships, diversity and discrimination.

A 25-hour course, mandatory for all Year 11 and 12 students in government schools, examines "issues relating to sexuality and sexual diversity".

The spokesman said schools chose resources that would "resonate with their students" and each community was different.

Debate over books used to teach young children about gay lifestyles has been a hot issue in the past.

Two years ago argument became heated over a push to have books such as Jed and His Dads and The Rainbow Cubbyhouse taught in Sydney daycare centres.

The Australian Association of National Advertisers announced major changes to its code of conduct banning future advertisements for kids' products from including sexual imagery or implying that children - classed as 14 or under - are sexual beings.

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Latest Comments:

These poor folks are really all screwed up.. I'm sure as glad as hell that I am not reising my kids in such a queer environment. I'll take mom amd dad, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and girls, lads and lassies any day over this BS that's being shoved down decent people's throats. Have a nice day :-)
Posted by: Michael Ferulano of Des Moines, WA USA 2:58pm April 19, 2008

I am glad I live and teach in Japan. In biology we are taught that humans require a man and a woman to have a child. And that this is the norm. We also have mums and dads, and they are respected for their hard work. Lu.
Posted by: Lu, Kang-Sung of Japan 2:19pm April 18, 2008

I only wish I had just a little bit of gay friendly guidance when i was growing up in the western suburbs of Sydney thirty years ago. All the entrenched homophobia was just shattering to a young person struggling to come to terms with the fact that they were gay. It's been estimated that about 80% of youth suicides in Australia is because of sexual identity and homophobia in society. We must finally sit up and listen to enlightened educators and stop all this needless homophobia to continue.
Posted by: Doug Patterson of Sydney 4:01pm April 17, 2008

What the ?????? has got it 100% right. Why should Heterosexual couples have their relationships diminshed just to make gays feel more comfortable. If gays feel so insecure in their relationship, maybe they should have a good look at themself and ask the question, "am I really?"
Posted by: GJ of Glenfield 4:00pm April 17, 2008

As a gay person I think this is STUPID PC! Why does Labour not get on with fixing infrstructure problems, health etc? People not being allowed to say mum and dad etc, what a load of over the top crap! How far will the PC crap go? I am all for schools having a more "open" learning environment where they learn about sexuality etc (Personal Development) and that people do have 2 mums and 2 dads. And a diversity course, for crap sake get on RUNNING NSW! People PLEASE vote for the Liberals at the next election, yes I am a gay Liberal! And for good reason obviously!
Posted by: What the? of Gay of Sydney 3:59pm April 17, 2008

An admirable change, presuming it goes ahead. I celebrate all parents, and hope that when my son goes to school it is not simply presumed that every child lives with a father and a mother, nor simply presumed that each child will want a heterosexual relationship of their own. While the majority of children will grow up with parents of opposite gender a fair number have either a single mother or father or two mothers or two fathers. Making these children feel excluded from the idea of family is sad and limited.
Posted by: Georgina Higinbotham of Sydney 3:43pm April 17, 2008

What a good idea to remove this annoying heterosexual bias in our schools so as not to offend some gay people. In a similar vein, I myself have been agitating for many years to get shoe manufacturers to sell single shoes instead of showing obvious bias toward people with two feet. Selling shoes in pairs is an obvious slap in the face to all 'leg challenged' people and should be outlawed immediately. Give me a break!!!
Posted by: Adrian Wollaston of Port Macquarie 3:43pm April 17, 2008

This lot haven't even abolished bullying yet, let alone introducing all this crap. There are many issues in schools that need urgent attention, i.e. being able to read and write would be a good start. There are students in Year 7 who can barely do either of these things. So for this load of hogswallop to be trotted out now is just so much left-wing rubbish.
Posted by: Sandra of NSW 3:21pm April 17, 2008

I am a gay 12th grade student from Sydney, and I totally disagree with a gay lobby group putting pressure on schools to avoid terms such as husband and wife. How ridiculous, acceptance does not come from using the word "partner" in sexual education. However, I must admit, there is absolutely no information out there. The fifteen minutes spent debating gay stereotypes in PDHPE classes can hardly be counted as "a major push" by the Department.
Posted by: Timothy Shields of Sydney 3:15pm April 17, 2008

It's called socialism people, when you vote Labor your voting for Socialism and PC is what you get and every knows (or should) that voting in Socialists you will see the minority get its way over the majority!!!
Posted by: Mickstar of Sydney 3:11pm April 17, 2008

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