This is... ummm. Well...

Hell, those passages remind me of cheap porn paperbacks from the '70s. What are they cribbed from, BeeLine books, rewritten for MM audiences? And WHY is this considered literature suitable for a teen audience - even one that's 'advanced'?

And would they consider MF or FF characters in the same sort of scenario? Somehow, having two guys turns this into 'literature', or maybe even 'art'? My guess is that it wouldn't even be considered for the list if you had two babes or a man doing the same thing to a woman.

You know something? I'm really getting tired of being beaten over the head with the 'gay club'. I don't NEED to know. I don't CARE to know. I know which direction MY plumbing points - and if yours points in a different one, that's entirely YOUR business and I don't appreciate you feeling like YOUR life isn't complete unless you take out your sexuality, wave it in my face, and force me to pay attention to your shortcomings.

Now as a former teen-ager, constantly thinking about sex - I think something like this is really, really over the top. If you're gay - fine. Again, that's YOUR business. Here the school is pushing it, and it doesn't make sense to do that, unless you've got an agenda. Tolerance? Yeah, that's all well and good. THIS, however, goes way beyond that.

My guess is - if it weren't for the guys rump-bumpin' in this, it wouldn't have even made the list. As it is - I've already got the little guy in a private school because our state sucks in the national ratings and the school we were zoned for sucked in the state ratings. Something like this confirms that decision.

Yeah, but at least those are credentialed teachers.

Good thing those kids aren't home-schooled. Who knows what they'd learn.

I served on our school boards literature review panel and it was interesting to listen to the pro and con arguments about the suggested reading. I would suggest that as many conservatives as possible should volunteer to look over what they want our children to be forced to read. Once it gets on the "required reading" list the only way to opt out is to take a hit on your grade.

I would like to say that the students of this class were given a choice in reading Angels in America. A choice. Deerfield High School has an opt out policy and the students were given the opportunity to discuss whether reading the book was appropriate for them with their parents. They were also given an alternitive book instead of reading Angels in America. Who are you to question the decisions of other families?

I'm really getting tired of being beaten over the head with the 'gay club'.

Well, you could just stay home some nights.

Elle -

Who knows whether they did discuss it or not? As Cassy said - "The district made 14-year-olds attend a seminar on homosexuality, and were told to sign a confidentiality agreement promising to not tell their parents about it."

Yeah, that makes me think they want the parents involved.

Amntis -

LOL. Okay - my phrasing could have been a bit better on that.

Anyhow - there's a wide range between -phobia and -philia, and I think I'm more or less middlin' on the subject. I don't care what they do (hetero/homo or trisexual) - I'm for gay marriage (since it's a heavily untapped market for divorce lawyers) and don't see anything wrong with it - but that doesn't mean I want to be exposed to it 24/7, or think it's appropriate for kids still trying to figure out normal relationships to be given something as raw as that.

That should have been for "Mantis". Got a new keyboard, and it ain't trained yet...

Hell with it. Time to catch some zzzz's.

This school district sure is obsessed.

Elle- "Who are you to question the decisions of other families?" Does this apply to homeschooling in California? or just to the families that you want it to. No need answer.

The school board thought it was a biography of Gov. McGreevy. ww

Sooooooooooooo glad my kids aren't in the government indoctrination camps any more.

To quote the Emperor and Kim--

Rope. Tree. School Board.
Some assembly required.

Elle:

Are you arguing that a play, replete with pornography (of any kind) and explicit language, is an appropriate teaching tool for our educators to use for teenage students?

Do you really think that addressing the concerns of parents over sexually explicit material offered to their children by implying that if some parents think it's okay they should allow it to be offered to their own children is a good argument?

Must the "educational value" of interpersonal forgiveness and acceptance be taught with graphic depictions of raw sex?

Is there no other work of literature out there that teaches the lessons of compassion, forgiveness, acceptance and courage without explicit sex?

Wouldn't a story similar to "Philadelphia" be a good story to teach about the "plight of those alienated from American society"? (As the proponents of the play claim is the basic message); particularly those who suffer from AIDS? You know, something more suitable for adolescents than "I want you to f*ck me, hurt me, make me bleed."

It is no surprise that Barney and Mantis would approve of and encourage this tripe; It is such an effective tool for grooming the future leaders of the Democratic party.

The required reading sample certainly puts truth to the lie of "values neutrality."

I never said I approve of anything. I haven't read the play.

Are you arguing that a play, replete with pornography (of any kind) and explicit language, is an appropriate teaching tool for our educators to use for teenage students?

Are you arguing that A Midsummer Night's Dream is not?

Need anymore reasons for home schooling and end this gay indoctrination popycock

I will learn your young ones well..

This is not acceptable reading material for minors. Gay, Lesbian, Hetero or whatever, pornography, even for "educational purposes" should not be introduced into the curriculum.

AMND?? Your're kidding, right?

Exactly which version has "I want you to F*** me, make me bleed"?

I mean Billy put part of an ass & faeries in, but I missed the porn. Must've been one of those Papp productions back in the day.

J

Take a look at the Deerfield High School ranking in Illinois. On average it is ranked 6th. They must be doing something right.

Iris,
Check the other thread. We did look at their rankings, and in English 85% of their students meet the state standards! What an amazing accomplishment.

Yikes.

J

Jess,
Mantis is confusing Shakespeare's version with the lesser known film "A Midsummer Night's Cream" - a common mistake among the new educated class.

bin Ladin: What do you want?
Mantis: I want you to f*** me, hurt me, make me bleed.
bin Ladin: I want to.
Mantis: Yeah?
bin Ladin: I want to hurt you.
Mantis: F*** me.
bin Ladin: Yeah. You been a bad boy?
(They begin to f***.)
(Mantis slips his hand down the front of bin Ladin's pants. They embrace more tightly. Mantis pulls his hand out, smells and tastes his fingers, and then holds them for bin Laden to smell ... they kiss again.)
...
bin Laden: I think it broke. The rubber. You want me to keep going? (Little pause) Pull out? Should I -
Mantis: Keep going. Infect me. I don't care. I don't care. Infect me with your anti-American spunk!

Mantis fell to the floor, knees weakened by unbridled lust and passion. But bin Laden was not yet finished. BarneyG waited in the next room.

Satiated for now, Mantis pondered how much he enjoys gay sex. "I enjoy it so much, I think everyone should be subjected to it in as graphic terms as possible," he thought to himself. Mantis and BarneyG convinced the federal government (also known as the gay man's strap-on) to abduct minors from their homes at gunpoint, then send them to reindoctrination camps.

The parents objected strongly, but where overruled based on the premise that they are not properly "certified" to teach gay sex.

Once properly secured, Mantis raped each child in succession while BarneyG held them down.

"I think the prophylactic of family values has ruptured," complained one child.
"Good! It's just like Shakespeare! It's painful at first, but you'll learn to appreciate it!" Mantis callously explained.

Class: "Why are you doing this to us?"
Mantis: "It' required."

Afterwards, the class sat whimpering, relieved that the horrible experience was finally over.

"Oh, it's not over. Charles Darwin, Richard Dawkins, Al Gore and the ACLU are all waiting in the hall for their turn!" laughed Mantis.

"Are you arguing that A Midsummer Night's Dream is not?"

Did I present an argument about A Midsummer Night's Dream? Let me check again ...

No, I didn't. But I'll get back to you when I've read it. It wasn't offered to us when I was in school. We read Great Expectations and a few other classics. And you know what? None of them had explicit sex or the word "fuck" in them.

Okay I have had enough and I have to put in my "two cents worth". Pornographic content in schools is wrong. PERIOD! Not too many years ago people were up in arms about "classics" being pulled from public school libraries because of their "suggestive" content; but, now explicit content is given as a student/parent's choice. Give me a break. What choice? They have to be exposed to it to decide. Public school systems across this country were turned into propaganda machines years ago. Schools should first teach children how to read, write, and do basic math. Then they should expand that into teaching, science, history (truthful history, not edited for political agendas), geography, and so on. The morals, religious, and sexual education of children is, and should be, the responsibility of parents. I am a homeschool dad. I do not incorporate religious, moral, or sexual education into our daily "school time". I use the time required by law in my state to homeschool my kids in general education related subjects. I do teach my children about our Christian faith, what is right and wrong, good character fundamentals, and sexual responsibility (abstinence before marriage) separately as I would if my children were in a school program elsewhere. For the people who do not believe that such material as this "porn" being taught above basic education is wrong consider this; The US is getting our butts kicked across the world in educational standards. Japan for example does not teach anything outside of the basics in public school. Bought a truly American car lately? Who built the majority of the chips in the computer your reading this from? Time to get back to basics and keep schooling in the business of education and not assimilation.