Should Public Schools teach the value of sexual diversity?
Sexual diversity should be acknowledged, but not necessarily valued. It is not the domain of schools to teach its students what sexuality to value. Teaching respect for homosexual individuals is appropriate and right. However, teaching affirmation of a homosexual orientation and behavior goes beyond tolerance, and violates the value systems of many families. But don’t gay-affirming school programs provide an important service? Without question, the aim of gay-affirmative counseling programs is humanitarian. They are responding to a problem of scapegoating which schools must acknowledge and address. But the problem is, these programs present a one-sided perspective, and they often misrepresent scientific findings. For example, one finding from the clinical literature, including NARTH’s own 1997 study, is that — contrary to public opinion — some homosexual men and women do change. Another scientific finding is that homosexuals are not “born that way.” Yet both myths have become firmly
