AMEN!!!!!

"In both studies, Finland, Australia, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Netherlands and the United Kingdom beat the United States, while the Asian nations of South Korea, Japan and Singapore ranked first through third, respectively.

The TIMSS study is a comprehensive study done on a four-year cycle that measures the progress of students in math and science in 46 participating countries. It evaluates fourth, eighth and 12th-graders through questionnaires, tests and extensive videotaping of classroom environments.

The TIMSS results reveal a lot about the weaknesses of the U.S. education system, said David Marsh, a professor at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education.
“In fourth grade, American kids do above average internationally. By eighth grade, they slip a bit, and by 12th-grade, they’ve slipped a lot,” Marsh said. “We’re the only country that slides down that much from fourth to 12th grade."

Let's teach the children about Harvey Milk day and fall even farther down the list on good education!

I watched a program on PBS the other night that addressed the same issues-my 11 yo daughter watched with me and is very happy to be home schooled. One of the topics discussed was on how American kids are not proficient in geography, the first thing my daughter said was she was glad we do a lot of geography. We study Math, History, Social Studies, Spelling, English, Art, Music and Science and maybe if that is what the schools would stick to our children would be more prepared for life when they graduated from High School. My daughter is currently reading "Daniel Boone" by John Bakeless an adult biography. What an interesting life Daniel Boone had. With this book she is learning all about Daniel Boone and what an incredible man he was not just half a page in a dry textbook. It is this type of learning that creates life long learners, not just students that learn how to pass a test and are glad to be out of school and never crack open another book. That is what schools are turning out nowadays. So sad.  :o(

I am not at all clear on why you think teaching children about Harvey Milk necessarily includes teaching them about sex.  It seems obvious to me that a day honoring the life of Harvey Milk has nothing whatsoever -- except in the most narrow sense -- to do with teaching sex to 7 year olds. If otherwise, the same could be said for a day honoring the Lovings (the couple who won the right to interracial marriage across the United States in 1964). Honoring Harvey Milk's life is about honoring a person who stood for equality and justice for all people. It's about honoring the American tradition of standing up against the entrenched establishment when that establishment is oppressing its people. Just as no one needs to teach 7 year olds about heterosexual sex acts when discussing people like the Lovings, no one needs to discuss homosexual sex acts when discussing the lives of gay and lesbian activists. Children, clearly, can learn about justice and equality and fair treatment at an early age.

As for the previous commenter, I completely agree that our school systems needs improvement.  My own children (3) were home schooled and got through college with flying colors (and scholarships).  However, it is unreasonable to expect that the results of home schooling (where class size is usually below 30 students or more) is comparable to results of public schools (with large class sizes and wide ranging levels of ability).  Moreover, only a privileged few have the resources to home school.  Aside from all that, I disagree that pausing during the school year to look at the history of one's state through the eyes of one of its citizens who lived and died to make it a better and more fair place, is a step backward.  I believe it is an enhancement and not incompatible with better instruction in the basics.

Not too surprising the perverts in the state legislature would want a day to honor one of their own. But proposing this abomination in the schools is really asking for God's attention to be paid in my opinion.

If someone had said Harvey Milk before I read this blog, I wouldn't know who they were talking about. I recall the murder, but if I can forget the name I'd venture to say most other people have as well. I am not clear why this particular murder victim would be comemorated in public school ceremonies. Would he get the same attention if he were not a homo? I doubt it.

As to "teaching" elementary kids the birds & bees and sexual deviance, ever eaves-dropped on kiddies in the school yard? Their first source of info about sex is from other kids. That's also alot of misinformation, which is why I favor sex ed in the schools.

However, what makes me angry is not the sex ed controversy or that deviance is a class subject. We have an state assembly and senate that cannot get a budget on the governor's desk but seem to have the time to debate and pass bills celebrating dead homosexuals. Dare I ask just what are these elected people doing in Sacramento? I'd probably get told it's none of my business.

Thanks Cat for the common-sense response--legislators who fail at making a budget but have time to waste on the creation of this day. 

My kid's English teacher told parents there were 19 days of required testing during the school year, the exact number of school days in the month of November.  Like wiping November off the curriculum.  Jeez, let's just stick to what the kids really need to know. 

This is the 3rd time in history I agree with Marylee, but only on the "let's not make it a special day" aspect.  The rest of her reasoning usually frightens me.

I see the narrowminded crowd has spoken. I overheard someone talking about this the other day and couldn't figure out why she was so outraged. It's clear to me now. Our society is so freaked out by gay people that the mere mention of someone who was the first openly gay politician rattles them up so much they can't think straight (no pun intended).

It's hard for some of you to understand why kids should learn about what gay means and to help them understand the gay rights movement. Guess what, they already know what gay means. What our society needs to do is not make children who are gay feel like they are wrong for being themselves. So many young gay kids have committed suicide because of how society treats them. It saddens me to think that people that call themselves pro-life have so little regard for those that are different that they would use words like perverts and call them an abomination. I learned about Harvey Milk a long time ago in school. I am not gay, and it didn't make anything in my life different, except to understand how someone could hate another person so much that they would kill them. Harvey Milk was killed by Dan White not because he was gay, but over political differences.

This is also a great opportunity for the kids to learn about the Twinkie Defense, and the horrible Briggs Initiative that Milk helped defeat. The Briggs Initiative was so discriminitory, not even conservative Ronald Reagan supported it.

If we are to continue to try to hide interesting parts of California history like this from kids rather than teach them about our history because of fear, we will always be behind the rest of the world in education and socially inept.

I've included hyperlinks so some of you can educate yourselves about who Harvey Milk was.

Harvey Milk is famous for no other reason than for the way he liked his sex.  Period.

Marylee, did you write this yourself, or did you just gussie-up a press release from the 'Yes on 8" folks?   First off, no one really notices State "Days", except for the ones where they get off work or school.  This isn't one of those.  Secondly, you will notice that the word is "encouraged" rather then "required".  It is up to the individual school districts to decide, what, if anything, they will do on May 22 to commemoriate Harvey Milk, and how to handle the matter in an "age appropriate" matter.  As long as your friends Chad Vegas and Ken Mettler sit on the Kern High School District Board, it is certain that the District will not be doing anything.

Which is a shame because Harvey Milk was a significant person.  Time Magazine named him one of the "Time 100" - a list of the 100 most important people of the 20th Century. Here is the link:  http://www.time.com/time/ti...  You can argue with the listing, but don't pretend that his life was insignificant.

His movie bio is coming out this fall starring Sean Penn and directed by Gus Van Sant:  http://www.imdb.com/title/t...

The movie is rated "R", but a lot of high school kids are going to want to see it, if for no other reason than the fact it co-stars Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Lucas Grabeel.  

Harvey Milk was important. He was a leader; he was a pioneer for gay rights.  If it wasn't for people like Harvey Milk, gays would still be fighting for the right to have a quiet drink in a corner bar without being rousted by the cops instead of fighting for Marriage Equality.  If it wasn't for people like Harvey Milk, Barney Frank wouldn't be Chairman of the House Finance Committee.  If it wasn't for people like Harvey Milk, gay teenagers wouldn't have school "Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs" to provide support during the most troubled times of their lives. 

If you ever bothered to read about Harvey Milk (check out "The Mayor of Castro Street") you would discover that - most of all - Harvey Milk was a uniter and not a divider.  The gay community provided his political base, but it wasn't big enough to get him elected.  His genius was to show a diverse collection of ordinary people that they had common political interests, that they could work for the common good, that they could fight "City Hall" and the fat-cat developers.  

Some people believe in the politics of unity - "the big house with room for everyone" - like Harvey Milk.  Some people practice the politics of division - like, oh yes, Marylee Shrider.  This column is a perfect example.  You have created an imaginary mountain of of a factual molehill.  You are trying to scare people into division - us versus them.  And, of course, you are displaying the smug superiority that so many readers of The Californian find so annoying, but that your reader base laps up.

I am not a psychic, but it is clear that in your mind Harvey Milk is unworthy of recognition because he was gay.  As far as you are concerned, no gay person, no matter how noble, can be a good as as you and those who think like you.   Well, there is such a thing as progress.  Every year there are more and more people who recognize gays as fellow citizens, entitled to equal rights, and every year there are fewer and fewer people who think like you, mentally consigning a significant part of the population to the outer darkness because of prejudice.

In summary, I will say something I haven't said in years:  "We're Here! We're Queer! Get Used to It!"

Too bad Marylee had to ruin her argument by parading her biases for all the world to see. 

I agree that we don't need another "day" in our schools when the kids are having a hard enough time keeping up with the tests and curriculum.  We already have scores of "days" and holidays and observances and breaks and vacations.  Marylee missed the boat when she tried to appeal to the homophobic fringe to make her point.  There are plenty of unbiased people out there who just wish the kids could have a "day" of learning instead of all the other baloney.

What`s going to happen when Cheney comes out of the closet and the facts about the shooting his lover in the face become public? It was just a little drunken role playing that got out hand.

For anyone actually interested in the facts, AB2567 was introduced in February, and had its final passage on August 7th, well before the budget crisis reached critical proportions.  Lots of other ordinary bills were being passed at the time. The Governor still has to act on over 200 of them.

Here is the text of the amended statutes from the legislative counsel's office:

SEC. 2.  Section 37222 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   37222.  (a) The following days in each year are designated and set
apart as days having special significance:
   (1) The second Wednesday in May as the Day of the Teacher.
   (2) April 21 of each year as John Muir Day.
   (3) April 6 of each year as California Poppy Day.
   (4) May 22 of each year as Harvey Milk Day.
   (b) On each of the days designated in subdivision (a), all public
schools and educational institutions are encouraged to observe those
days and to conduct suitable commemorative exercises as follows:
   (1) On the Day of the Teacher, exercises commemorating and
directing attention to teachers and the teaching profession.
   (2) On John Muir Day, exercises stressing the importance that an
ecologically sound natural environment plays in the quality of life
for all of us, and emphasizing John Muir's significant contributions
to the fostering of that awareness and the indelible mark he left on
the State of California.
   (3) On California Poppy Day, exercises honoring the California
Poppy, including instruction about native plants, particularly the
California Poppy, and the economic and aesthetic value of
wildflowers; promoting responsible behavior toward our natural
resources and a spirit of protection toward them; and emphasizing the
value of natural resources and conservation of natural resources.
   (4) On Harvey Milk Day, exercises remembering the life of Harvey
Milk and recognizing his accomplishments as well as the contributions
he made to this state.
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the exercises
encouraged in this section be integrated into the regular school
program, and be conducted by the school or institution within the
amount otherwise budgeted for educational programs.
  SEC. 3.  Section 6721 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   6721.  The Governor shall annually proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk
Day.

I am sure that we have all been deeply influenced by California Poppy Day as well.

gopherbro--Your examples of  "California Poppy Day" and "Day of the Teacher" are exactly what I'm talking about.  While I believe every item you listed is important (including Harvey Milk,) I also know that our kids are struggling as it is to perform to the standards that the new testing requirements (and their nervous teachers) are holding them to.  I just think school should be about SCHOOL. 

Let me refresh a memory or two regarding Harvey Milk. Harvey Milk was the most dynamic political force  in the 1970s in San Francisco. He organized neighborhoods and fought for equal rights under the law for homosexuals. He brought together a diverse coalition of people within the City to change discriminatory practices for all citizens. He was murdered, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone by Dan White in 1978.

Dan White had been a policeman and fireman prior to running for office in a very conservative district of San Francisco. His campaign had been all about promising to restore "traditional" values to San Francisco. He openly campaigned to remove  "radicals, social deviates and incorrigibles." The job of Supervisor in SF at the time was a low paying part-time job. White found he could no longer support his family on a Supervisor salary and resigned. What White did not realize was that he was a swing vote between conservatives and liberals at the time. Conservatives begged him to go back and ask the Mayor to rescind the resignation, and promised him financial support for doing so. The Mayor, who was a close friend of Harvey Milk, decided not to allow White to take back his resignation, because they now would have a majority of Supervisors to push through the Moscone agenda. Enraged, Dan White entered the Mayor's office and shot George Moscone first in the chest, and then put one bullet to his head. He then met Harvey Milk in a City Hall corridor near the Supervisors offices and asked for some time alone with him in White's former office. One bullet to the chest and two bullets in the brain was the final result of the meeting.

The City went into shock. The outpouring of grief by a vast majority of the entire Bay Area community for both men surprised most conservatives at the time. Dan White used the "Twinkie Defense" of diminished capacity to avoid a murder charge and was convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter. He received the minimum sentence. He committed suicide a year after being released from Soledad Prison.

One of the Supervisors at the time of the slayings was Diane Feinstein. She was actually the President of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco at the time of the killings. Feinstein had twice run for mayor and lost, but as a result of the murders became the mayor by succession due to her position on the Board of Supervisors. She became an instant national figure during the City crisis following the deaths of Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk.

Harvey Milk had made San Francisco one of the most visible and progressive cities in the world at the time of his death. He showed all people that change could happen through hard work and organization. He worked to end discrimination in all forms and pressed for equal rights protections under the law for all citizens. This what his memorial is all about. It is about the sacrifice made to uphold ideas and principles that we honor as citizens of the United States.

Only a pervert would suggest that a day in Harvey Milk's honor would have anything to do with sex. Please show me, and the entire community where any mention of sexual behavior is to be found in the state legislation honoring Harvey Milk. In Section 2, Part 4 of the bill it reads: "Harvey Milk Day, exercises remembering the life of Harvey Milk and recognizing his accomplishments as well as the contributions he made to this state."

I cannot find one mention in this bill or any insinuation, reference, hint or guide concerning the mention of sexuality to students in honoring Harvey Milk, other than the brief description of his achievements in championing equal protections under the law.

This column that appears in today's Bakersfield Californian is without equivocation the most vile and reprehensible column I have ever read. Someone in charge at the paper should have read this and known better than to allow any columnist to so misrepresent a small public remembrance of a great man as act of perversion. 

But the guy was blown away 30 years ago. Geeze, why get around to him now? I can't help but get the impression the homosexual community is desperate for attention and this guy's pure-of-heart idealism is less a consideration than his sexual identity. C'mon, this isn't about  civil rights martyrdom; it's about singing praises of sex deviance.

He was the first openly gay man to be elected to a public office.  Why wouldn't we celebrate his birthday.  We celebrate other people who have enough courage to be  "first" at something.

Is it because of his sexual orientation?  

audrey: Yes it is. If he were not queer, this blog wouldn't be a topic.

I keep on hearing people describe gays as sexually deviant. How do you determine what is sexually deviant? There have been gays for thousands of years. There are records of ancient Greeks engaging in same sex relationships. When I learned about Harvey Milk a couple of years ago, I knew it would interest students about California history and promote treating people with respect who are different from them. 

School should not be about religious indoctrination (unless you wanna fork over the extra bucks to send your kid to private school.)  Keep prayer outta schools.

Schools should not be about forced patriotism.  I always thought it was weird as a kid to spend the first 15 minutes of every class day singing about how great the country is (and then ironic when we did the "duck and cover.")

Schools should not be about protecting little minds from icky issues like sex--we should teach kids to protect their little bodies with as much information as possible about an issue is life that will crop up whether we like it or not.  Sex Ed is safer than No Ed.

If Harvey Milk is truly an historical figure worthy of note in the classrooms, then he will be (and should be) in the history text books.  The children will then learn about an important historical figure in the proper place--History Class.  I agree Civil Rights leaders are as important as political leaders in our country's history and they should be well represented in the history text books, but why have an observance about "poppies" and "teachers" and even John Muir in a setting that is already rife with political dogma.  That goes for Harvey Milk, too.  If he's in the history books, great, if he's not, change the history books.

Our children are already being outpaced by most of the other industrialized countries of the world in education--particularly mathematics.  How is a day of observance about Harvey Milk going to improve their chances of competing on an even scale with children from other countries in a global marketplace?  More importantly, how is a day of observance about POPPIES and "Day of the teacher" gonna do that?

And for moms and dads still operating under the belief parents still have a say in their children’s sexual education, they never will be.

Marylee, have you ever been in a highschool classroom? Sex comes up. It can come up in biology regarding animal reproduction, human reproduction and STDs in health class, and even history.  I just showed a movie on the French Revolution that included how King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's subjects gossiped about King Louis inability to perform on his wedding night due to a medical condition.  King Louis medical condition led the people to disrespect him and portray Marie Antoinette as a whore, who got action from other men.   

J. Edger Hoover liked to wear womens underwear too. That's not in the History books either. Ya' know why? Because it didn't matter in what he did for a living. He kept that crap in the closet and ran the FBI. He never came to work in a dress and lipstick. Who cares about Harvey Milk?

Here in Tennessee, they don't study John Muir or Poppies. The reason is that they're not a local thing. They study local people and things, just like school kids all over the country. You don't get into the real difference makers until you go to College.

Anyone answer: What was THE LARGEST migration in the history of the United States? When you answer, please tell where and/or how you learned this. Everyone feel free to post an answer. Maybe I'll be able to make my point. It's not intended to make anyone feel bad, just to understand what I'm saying.......

tonyh: According to news sources my first guess would be illegal Mexicans. Only have 11 or 12 million residing in the US now.

hotand foggy: You are rephrasing the "who's to say what's normal" question. Normal people have some input.

adampayne: TBC would print something vile and rerehensible? What a shock. Now you know why I dropped my subscription decades ago.

Make arguments based on logic, fiscal responsibility and what is best for the state/country. Not on hate or religious rhetoric.  Do we need another day honoring someone? Not particularly.  Is Harvey Milk someone who could be profiled in a lecture in high school? Sure why not, he was a polarizing political figure. It helps fuel talks concerning how we divide ourselves on controversial topics.

Please MaryLee, don't cling to homosexual as a sex thing.  There is a love component there too.   Hetero/Homosexual is who you have sex with by your definition.  Therefore, anyone who mentions a married straight couple in school is assaulting kids with the image of sex. Fallacy argument.

Tonyh, you a member of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and plan on doing some spotting this fall?

Bg, what hate or religious rhetoric were you referring to? I included no religious references in this particular column, despite the fact I believe faith-based arguments are as valid as those you may make based on your choices, emotions or cold, hard logic. And, if it's okay with  you, I think I'll base my arguement on what's best for our children.

The homosexual "sex thing" isn't my definition, bg, but it is the dictionary's, or at least it is in the Merriam Webster on my desk. If teacher sare forced to "celebrate" Harvey Milk, what are they going to talk about - his camera store? His voting record as supervisor? Of course not. As stated in the bill (yes, I've actually read the bill):

"Harvey Bernard Milk...was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in a major city of the United States. Perhaps more than any other modern figure, Harvey Milk's life and political career embody the rise of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights movement in California, across the nation and throughout the world."

That is what this bill expects teachers to celebrate in their classrooms and, should they do so, they will obviously have to define these terms for their students. And they would naturally be required to teach the topic in a manner that indictates that these behaviors are perfectly healthy and acceptable lifestyles - even if it directly contradicts the students'  family or faith beliefs.

If this bill doesn't qualify as forcing one's beliefs on others, I don't know what does.

If this bill doesn't qualify as forcing one's beliefs on others, I don't know what does.

Like prayer in school.

We celebrate the fact that you can no longer discriminate in the workplace, in the public school system, in the housing market, in the financial markets, in hospitals and in civil unions based on gender or sexual orientation. Harvey Milk was a catalyst for making these monumental changes in California, and should be celebrated. This legislation is not forcing anything upon children other than a recognition of a man who worked to elevate all people. This bill is not forcing ones beliefs on anyone. It is unfortunate that ignorance and intolerance are still so prevalent, and especially in your columns. What you acknowledge is that you cannot accept any part of the gay lifestyle, or a champion of equality under the law. Your column demonstrates your belief that equal rights should not exist for those of us who do not think or act like you do. Thank you for clarifying your hateful position.

I hate to break this to you Marylee, but there probably isn't a 10 year old in the United States who hasn't watched a least a few episodes of "Will and Grace".  "Ugly Betty"  in on at 8p.m. on Thursdays, and, if you haven't noticed, it has more than its fair share of gay people.  Perhaps you and all of your friends have your televisions set so that they only receive Fox News and TBN, but most people don't bother.   In the scheme of things Harvey Milk Day will not make a significant difference regardless of whether the Governor signs the bill and regardless of what the schools choose to do if the bill is signed because kids pick up social attitudes through osmosis, and the prevailing social attitude among the youngsters is that gay, if not "good", is at least O.K. 

The upcoming movie "Milk" will have more impact than 100 years of "Harvey Milk Days".  It will be seen by millions either at theaters or on DVD, Payforview, etc.   Gus Van Sant is an inconsistent director, but this film is more likely to be the equivalent of "Good Will Hunting" than "Psycho II". 

I don't know whether the Governor will sign AB2257 or not.  Either way, the matter is of limited importance in the grand scheme of things.  It is not a battle, it doesn't even qualify as a skirmish.  The day Jack McFarland first appeared on a television screen is the day you and those who think like you lost this particular cultural war.  You're fighting a rear-guard action. You just don't know it.

 J. Edger Hoover liked to wear womens underwear too. That's not in the History books either. Ya' know why? Because it didn't matter in what he did for a living. He kept that crap in the closet and ran the FBI.

It should be in the history books. I would have remembered learning about J.Edger in high school. It is extremely relevant because he ruined gay people's lives by outing them, when he himself was in the closet.  It shows what a hypocrite he was.

The saddest part is that Marilee is basing her opinion of gays from a book. The printed word, just like the vile filth she makes a living from.

They're just words Marilee, and you have and will continue to use those words to discriminate against not only your fellow man, but your fellow American. Maybe someday you'll join those of us that wish everyone to be free.

"just like the vile filth she makes a living from."

"Maybe someday you'll join those of us that wish everyone to be free." 

Talk about drama queen, you wear the crown.

Wishing everyone to be free - all part of the slippery slope this bill helps to grease. Sliding right down to your desire to see pedophilia accepted, perhaps?  No. Of course not...yet, anyway. 

catpaw: The largest migration in the history of this country was that of black people in the deep south, migrating north of the mason dixon line. It was like a mass exodus. Good luck finding THAT in most history books. They only begin discussing it in College history classes.

adampayne: No, not officially, but every year we watch the bird migration and look for different types that we hadn't seen in past years.

The largest migration in the history of this country was that of black people in the deep south, migrating north of the mason dixon line.

Was that in the 1940s?

MaryLee:
 

You state the dictionary makes this a sex thing.  Please look up heterosexuality in the same dictionary. It makes it a sex thing.  It is discussing sexuality.  Any technical definition of anyone's sexuality will include sex.  However you negate completely any possibility of love, support and family.  Should we negate that with heterosexuality?  Ever eavesdropped on a group of straight men for more than an hour?

Traditional values aren't a stable argument as that interracial marriages violated those for a long period of American history.  In general, I believe this country is better for supporting healthy committed relationships, allowing freedom of religion and encouraging everyone to be proud of themselves in order to produce Americans who are happy, working and kind towards each other.

We all teach things that we may not believe.  I discuss Pangea in my classroom and precursor the kids to know that some religions don't embrace it and that's okay.  Schools teach manners, kindness and socialization.  Kids will have to socialize with gay people.  They will need to treat them with respect, as anyone deserves. 

I understand that the majority of Christians in this country are anti-gay.  That's fine.  Discuss it in church and with your families. Please understand that we as teachers have to deal with everyone. Every religion, every lifestyle and every socio-economic status.  I want my kids to understand fundamentally that as a country, we care and support every American.  That racism, bigotry and hate have no place in our lives.  That fundamentally, we are all human beings.  Lastly, that homosexuals, whether your religion says so or not, are trying to pursue the same American dream as the rest of us and deserve the opportunity without the immediate label as less than.

I don't recall how many columns this year have been on homosexuals and their rights, but its been a few.  Economy?  War? 

Tonyh, cool! We're getting set for the

turkey vulture

migration here. Last year it was spectacular! Keep those lenses clean!

drillnliftcrude, only you could make a comparison between people that are in a consenting relationship and people that prey on children. That's no slippery slope, that's a giant leap of false logic. Calling me or anyone else names doesn't make you any more right.

You could apply this comment of your's to this situation and we could agree.

"Harvey Milk was famous as a popular leader in San Francisco and California whose career was tragically cut short when someone shot him, along with the mayor of San Francisco, George Moscone, many years ago.  If he had not been shot you might be learning about him as a Senator or Governor today." 

See?  No need to discuss sexual orientation at all.  (Of course, if a kid asks about it, the teacher could say, "Yes, he was also gay.")

It's not like they're demanding a day off from school.  I suspect MaryLee's getting *VERY* nervous about the Hate Amendment going down to defeat. 

Marylee's also nervous about how to spin the amendment's defeat in the face of her usual lines about how "the will of the people" was unjustly trampled by the "liberal" CA Supreme Court decision.  When November rolls around and "the will of the people" indicates that we're not quite so freaked out by gay marriage as she thinks we are, her head will explode. 

I'd say there will be many parents keep their children home from school on May 22nd.

Student:  Teacher, why are we having a Harvey Milk Day?

Teacher:  Because he was shot and killed while in office.

Student:   Teacher, do we have a JFK day?  Or an RFK day?

Teacher:  Uhhhhh

Student:  What makes Harvey Milks assassination different?

So tell me Ms. Shrider, where did you find Ms. Goree?

This is the same BS argument that McCain recently used against Obama. Obama supported an Il. law which taught kids how to avoid sexual predators, and McCain made an ad claiming that Obama supported teaching sexually-explicit lessons to kindergartners. Surely even Ms. Goree knows the meaning of the word "age appropriate". (Perhaps you should loan her your dictionary.)

How can you classify this any differently than celebrating Susan B. Anthony (who fought for women's rights), Frederick Douglass,  W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., or Malcolm X (who fought for African-American rights), or even Abraham Lincoln (who, among other things, ended slavery)? Seems to me the importance of each of those people could be explained without getting into the gruesome details of each of their fights (or could, depending on the maturity of those being taught).

I completely fail to see the distinction between homosexual rights and the rights of any other discriminated group. Those who didn't support equal rights always had their reasons, good or bad, for their opposition. From calling them "sub-human" to conflating any real or imagined distinctions between themselves and those they discriminated against, every bigot claims to have good reasons for their hatred and ignorance. Base it in the Bible (which all of the above-cited equal-rights fight had to address), base it in "studies" (which use nothing more than stereotypes to support their pre-determined conclusions), base it in "history" (that's the way it's always been), or any other equally stupid criteria, your reasons for discriminating against them today looks as foolish to people as the reasons people discriminated against women a century ago, or African-Americans two centuries ago. Thankfully people believing as you do are dying off in their own time, leaving the younger generations to look at wonder and awe at your bigotry, and shake their heads in shame and disgust.

(If you don't believe me, look at the racial attitudes of young vs. old voters in this election. To those under 35, it is taken as fact that African Americans are just as capable of being President as white Americans. But those older than the civil rights movement are not as fair-minded. Not to say all are bigoted, just as not all young people are not bigoted, but the studies I've seen make the argument in clear and stark terms. Most young people just don't see Obama's skin color, period. It doesn't register in their minds as something to take into account in their voting.)
 
(As opposed to many older people who do see it as a valid reason to vote against him. Just like "faith-based" criteria, a person could just not have "faith" that a black man could run the country as well as a white man.)

The problem with the phrase "age appropriate" could mean a different age to different people. My Grand babies 3 & 7 have been taught that no one is to touch their private parts. No Body! That is all they need to know at this age. Neither myself or their parents want anyone other than themselves teaching their children about anything sexual in nature. PERIOD! The Government is getting into all aspects of our lives. The Laws keep changing according to our politicians view point. How about using your own view point when it comes to things of a personal nature.

Funny.. the same people seem to always make the same mistakes of jumping to conclusions.

The only people that would support such a bill are the [edit.], go figure, puke puke! enuf said.

Wow, lots of ugly here.  BTW, how can we teach kids about Martha Washington without talking about George Washington being sterile?

How will the teacher explain what makes the JFK and RFK assassinations different from Harvey Milks?

 JFK, High power rifle, setting in an open car on a sunny day, blew part of his brains clear out of his head, you could see parts a flying from his head on TV.

RFK, Was done with a 22 ca. long rifle in a pistol at close range, it wasn't a large bullet so it was allowed to bounce around in his head til it did major damage. If it had been done with a 9 MM, a 45 cal., a 357 Mag. or any high caliber bullet, he may have stood a chance but seeing it was a small caliber bullet with less force power, it wasn't allowed to exit his head which allowed the bullet to bounce around for a spell doing him in.

Odd thing is, I was watching the TV as Both were done, I remember how most of the air time was taken up on TV with news and the funeral proceedings, seemed as if it would never end.

People keep bringing up the Greeks and the same sex "relationships" going on for thousand of years.  What does that have to do with deviancy?  Just because it was practiced back then, does that make it less deviant?

That's not a logical argument.

Deviant....  http://dictionary.reference...