First Gay High School
I found out about this story from moxieminx and thoguht that it was something that I should comment on. I will lj-cut the article in case anyone wants to read it, but the article is a fluff article, so don't expect to read anythign profound.
1st public gay high school set for NY
Mayor: H.S. to offer education without fear of harassment
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK, July 28 - New York City is creating the nation’s first public high school for gays, bisexuals and transgender students.The Harvey Milk High School will enroll about 100 students and open in a newly renovated building in the fall. It is named after San Francisco’s first openly gay city supervisor, who was assassinated in 1978.
“I THINK EVERYBODY feels that it’s a good idea because some of the kids who are gays and lesbians have been constantly harassed and beaten in other schools,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday. “It lets them get an education without having to worry.”
The school is an expansion of a two-classroom public school program that began in 1984. A gay-rights youth advocacy group, the Hetrick-Martin Institute, has managed and financed the program since its inception.
The new school’s principal, William Salzman, said the school will be academically challenging and will follow mandatory English and math programs. It also will specialize in computer technology, arts and culinary arts.
State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long criticized the creation of the school.
“Is there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there gay math? This is wrong,” Long said. “There’s no reason these children should be treated separately.”
The Hetrick-Martin Institute’s Web site says the school will give its students “an opportunity to obtain a secondary education in a safe and supportive environment. ... We believe that success requires the ability to respect and value the diverse human community.”
END OF ARTICLE
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I think that this new school for gay kids is wrong because it separates gay kids from other kids, and even though some people say it is being built to make them feel "safer", is it really making them safer? THey may feel safe inside schol, but when they leave, they will still be subject to the harassment that gay people receive everywhere else. I think that this is also bad, because it takes gay students outside of "the real world". They may be away from potential situations where they coudl be made fun of from the ages of 6-16, from the hours of 8am-3pm, but what about whent hey leave school? They won't know how to handle discrimination and that is doing them a greater disservice.
What about other minorities that are discriminated against. Minorities like Black people, HIspanics, Jews, white kids in a black neighborhood? Are we gonna make separate schools for them too? They tried separate schools in the South in the 1950s and that was called SEGREGATION! Black people, Hispanics, and other minorities in different areas face discrimination everyday, but they learn to live with it and deal with it and it makes them stronger. THe world is not a perfect place and no matter what, people will always be discriminated against. In the past 40 years, things have dramatically improved, but we will never be truly rid of discrimination.
I'm white and hispanic. IN Hialeah, a Cuban area, I was discriminated against b/c I was "the American" and I didn't speak good Spanish. THen when I moved to West Fort Lauderdale, I've been discriminated against by ignorant assholes who make racist jokes against HIspanics and Cubans. It pisses me off, but I just dela with it and figure that they do it b/c they're losers and have nothing better to do with their lives.
Jackie RObinson was the first black baseball player, and at that time, it was a big deal and controversial. Some teammates woudln't tlak to him and didn't want anything to do with him. Racists would send him death threats and ignoarant fans woudl call him the "n" word. What if people said, "We shouldn't have a black baseball player in a white league because he could be discriminated against?" Fortunately, that line of thinking didn't prevail and he was able to overcome those obstacles.
If anyone attacks or harasses a gay student, they should be punished according to the rules. It is a agaisnt most school boards' rules to harass anyone about their sexual preference. ANd if someone beats up a gay student, they should be punished to the fullest extent, whether that be suspension or even expulsion.
What are gonna be the educational standards of this school? Is it going to be below that of the public school level or above the public school level. If its below the public school level, then these gay kids are being deprived of a better education. If it is above the regular public school level, then won't straight kids want to go to this school to get a better education? And what do youhave to do to prove that you are "gay" anyways?
This is wrong because it assumes that gay and straight students can't get along. Many times, they can. Most people don't really care about someones' sexual orientation.
I think that a school enviroment should be a diverse environment with different peopel of different beliefs, ideologies, cultures, races, lifestyles, etc. That is the only way that we will go into the future and defeat any kind of discrimination, by having people from all different walks of life, in the same place and treated equally. When you treat people differently, it leads to hatred and discrimination. But when you treat people the same, regardless of race, religion, sexual preference, etc. everyone feels like equals.
No matter if you're a rationally thinking conservative, liberal, or moderate, one thing that everyone can agree on is that everyone should be treated equally under the law...
1st public gay high school set for NY
Mayor: H.S. to offer education without fear of harassment
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK, July 28 - New York City is creating the nation’s first public high school for gays, bisexuals and transgender students.The Harvey Milk High School will enroll about 100 students and open in a newly renovated building in the fall. It is named after San Francisco’s first openly gay city supervisor, who was assassinated in 1978.
“I THINK EVERYBODY feels that it’s a good idea because some of the kids who are gays and lesbians have been constantly harassed and beaten in other schools,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday. “It lets them get an education without having to worry.”
The school is an expansion of a two-classroom public school program that began in 1984. A gay-rights youth advocacy group, the Hetrick-Martin Institute, has managed and financed the program since its inception.
The new school’s principal, William Salzman, said the school will be academically challenging and will follow mandatory English and math programs. It also will specialize in computer technology, arts and culinary arts.
State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long criticized the creation of the school.
“Is there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there gay math? This is wrong,” Long said. “There’s no reason these children should be treated separately.”
The Hetrick-Martin Institute’s Web site says the school will give its students “an opportunity to obtain a secondary education in a safe and supportive environment. ... We believe that success requires the ability to respect and value the diverse human community.”
END OF ARTICLE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think that this new school for gay kids is wrong because it separates gay kids from other kids, and even though some people say it is being built to make them feel "safer", is it really making them safer? THey may feel safe inside schol, but when they leave, they will still be subject to the harassment that gay people receive everywhere else. I think that this is also bad, because it takes gay students outside of "the real world". They may be away from potential situations where they coudl be made fun of from the ages of 6-16, from the hours of 8am-3pm, but what about whent hey leave school? They won't know how to handle discrimination and that is doing them a greater disservice.
What about other minorities that are discriminated against. Minorities like Black people, HIspanics, Jews, white kids in a black neighborhood? Are we gonna make separate schools for them too? They tried separate schools in the South in the 1950s and that was called SEGREGATION! Black people, Hispanics, and other minorities in different areas face discrimination everyday, but they learn to live with it and deal with it and it makes them stronger. THe world is not a perfect place and no matter what, people will always be discriminated against. In the past 40 years, things have dramatically improved, but we will never be truly rid of discrimination.
I'm white and hispanic. IN Hialeah, a Cuban area, I was discriminated against b/c I was "the American" and I didn't speak good Spanish. THen when I moved to West Fort Lauderdale, I've been discriminated against by ignorant assholes who make racist jokes against HIspanics and Cubans. It pisses me off, but I just dela with it and figure that they do it b/c they're losers and have nothing better to do with their lives.
Jackie RObinson was the first black baseball player, and at that time, it was a big deal and controversial. Some teammates woudln't tlak to him and didn't want anything to do with him. Racists would send him death threats and ignoarant fans woudl call him the "n" word. What if people said, "We shouldn't have a black baseball player in a white league because he could be discriminated against?" Fortunately, that line of thinking didn't prevail and he was able to overcome those obstacles.
If anyone attacks or harasses a gay student, they should be punished according to the rules. It is a agaisnt most school boards' rules to harass anyone about their sexual preference. ANd if someone beats up a gay student, they should be punished to the fullest extent, whether that be suspension or even expulsion.
What are gonna be the educational standards of this school? Is it going to be below that of the public school level or above the public school level. If its below the public school level, then these gay kids are being deprived of a better education. If it is above the regular public school level, then won't straight kids want to go to this school to get a better education? And what do youhave to do to prove that you are "gay" anyways?
This is wrong because it assumes that gay and straight students can't get along. Many times, they can. Most people don't really care about someones' sexual orientation.
I think that a school enviroment should be a diverse environment with different peopel of different beliefs, ideologies, cultures, races, lifestyles, etc. That is the only way that we will go into the future and defeat any kind of discrimination, by having people from all different walks of life, in the same place and treated equally. When you treat people differently, it leads to hatred and discrimination. But when you treat people the same, regardless of race, religion, sexual preference, etc. everyone feels like equals.
No matter if you're a rationally thinking conservative, liberal, or moderate, one thing that everyone can agree on is that everyone should be treated equally under the law...