Anti-bullying effort gets push-back from evangelical groups
Anti-bullying effort gets push-back from evangelical groups
Some conservatives see inclusiveness as pro-gay
By Bonnie Miller Rubin, Chicago Tribune reporter
November 1, 2012
Mix It Up at Lunch Day - when kids are encouraged to interact with someone new at the cafeteria or on the playground - was held this week at thousands of schools nationwide.
But after 11 years, the anti-bullying program, sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has been entangled in controversy, following a protest by a conservative evangelical group that sees inclusiveness as affirming homosexuality. Some 250 schools have opted out, including about 10 in Illinois.
The event attracted the attention of a larger audience earlier this month when the American Family Association urged parents to keep their children home from school, calling it "a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools."
"We strongly oppose the bullying of all kids - including those who identify as homosexual," said Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute, a local affiliate. "But we have to address this in a way that doesn't imply to children that their moral disapproval constitutes bullying."
According to Maureen Costello, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project, it's the first time that the day has come under scrutiny. Elementary, middle and high schools register for the program online, and materials are free.
"We have literally never been asked to unregister a school before. ... That's because there's nothing inherently controversial about the program," Costello said. "This controversy was created."
The conflict is a microcosm of today's highly charged political atmosphere, where programs that teach once seemingly innocuous messages - such as inclusiveness and diversity - are viewed with skepticism. The same concerns derailed an anti-bullying bill in Springfield in May.
The American Family Association website says Mix It Up was designed "specifically by SPLC to establish the acceptance of homosexuality."
For its part, the civil rights group says it encourages students to "identify, question and cross social boundaries" by getting to know peers with whom they would not ordinarily mingle. It makes no explicit mention of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population, but the overall Teaching Tolerance curriculum does embrace "equal and respectful treatment" of all people, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation.
Since the flap erupted, the SPLC said an additional 400 schools have registered, bringing the number of participants to more than 2,800 across the U.S.
But several local schools sat on the sidelines this year, the SPLC said, including Vito Martinez Middle School in Romeoville, Conant High School in Hoffman Estates and Palatine High School.
Sarah DeDonato, the principal at Martinez, declined to comment, while Conant did not return calls. At Palatine, Principal Gary Steiger said via e-mail that his school did not opt out.
"We have not done Mix It Up Day for several years. We have a great program that we call Palatine's PROMISE that encourages acceptance and understanding of all people."
The SPLC says it received a request from Steiger to remove the school from the map listing participants on Oct. 4 - three days after the American Family Association campaign began. Steiger said a staff member may have signed up for Mix It Up Day "mistakenly."
Some administrators were unaware of the complaints - or felt that the larger lessons outweighed any negatives.
"As an administrator of an elementary school, it is vital that our children grow up respecting individual differences ... and ways of thinking," said Ronald Zeman, principal of Western Avenue School in Rolling Meadows, where color-coded cards were used to sit next to someone new. "There are so many things ... that tend to polarize us, and it's very important to impart these values early and often."
At Ludwig School in Lockport, Mix It Up Day is conducted twice a year. "It helps create a sense of awareness and acceptance ... and is a great activity for all students as they get the chance to engage with peers outside of their circle of friends and learn to accept others for who they are and how they differ from one another," said Kristin Grahovec, the school social worker, who said that in her four years, she has never had a parent object.
Higgins wanted to make sure her organization is not characterized as "pro-bullying" or a "hate group."
"You can't present only one side in the single most controversial debate in America today," she said. "If public schools want to deliver an anti-bullying message, they should use examples that have no moral implications - such as overweight, uncoordinated or Asperger kids. But we don't have to normalize homosexuality to end bullying."
Earlier this year, the debate surfaced in the General Assembly last session when conservatives opposed a bill that would have amended the state's policy on bullying in public schools after some critics said it promoted homosexuality, said one of its sponsors, Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago,, who plans to reintroduce the measure this year.
"What they want is an exception for bullying gay kids ... and that's just not going to happen."
brubin@tribune.com
Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune
Source
Some conservatives see inclusiveness as pro-gay
By Bonnie Miller Rubin, Chicago Tribune reporter
November 1, 2012
Mix It Up at Lunch Day - when kids are encouraged to interact with someone new at the cafeteria or on the playground - was held this week at thousands of schools nationwide.
But after 11 years, the anti-bullying program, sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has been entangled in controversy, following a protest by a conservative evangelical group that sees inclusiveness as affirming homosexuality. Some 250 schools have opted out, including about 10 in Illinois.
The event attracted the attention of a larger audience earlier this month when the American Family Association urged parents to keep their children home from school, calling it "a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools."
"We strongly oppose the bullying of all kids - including those who identify as homosexual," said Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute, a local affiliate. "But we have to address this in a way that doesn't imply to children that their moral disapproval constitutes bullying."
According to Maureen Costello, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project, it's the first time that the day has come under scrutiny. Elementary, middle and high schools register for the program online, and materials are free.
"We have literally never been asked to unregister a school before. ... That's because there's nothing inherently controversial about the program," Costello said. "This controversy was created."
The conflict is a microcosm of today's highly charged political atmosphere, where programs that teach once seemingly innocuous messages - such as inclusiveness and diversity - are viewed with skepticism. The same concerns derailed an anti-bullying bill in Springfield in May.
The American Family Association website says Mix It Up was designed "specifically by SPLC to establish the acceptance of homosexuality."
For its part, the civil rights group says it encourages students to "identify, question and cross social boundaries" by getting to know peers with whom they would not ordinarily mingle. It makes no explicit mention of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population, but the overall Teaching Tolerance curriculum does embrace "equal and respectful treatment" of all people, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation.
Since the flap erupted, the SPLC said an additional 400 schools have registered, bringing the number of participants to more than 2,800 across the U.S.
But several local schools sat on the sidelines this year, the SPLC said, including Vito Martinez Middle School in Romeoville, Conant High School in Hoffman Estates and Palatine High School.
Sarah DeDonato, the principal at Martinez, declined to comment, while Conant did not return calls. At Palatine, Principal Gary Steiger said via e-mail that his school did not opt out.
"We have not done Mix It Up Day for several years. We have a great program that we call Palatine's PROMISE that encourages acceptance and understanding of all people."
The SPLC says it received a request from Steiger to remove the school from the map listing participants on Oct. 4 - three days after the American Family Association campaign began. Steiger said a staff member may have signed up for Mix It Up Day "mistakenly."
Some administrators were unaware of the complaints - or felt that the larger lessons outweighed any negatives.
"As an administrator of an elementary school, it is vital that our children grow up respecting individual differences ... and ways of thinking," said Ronald Zeman, principal of Western Avenue School in Rolling Meadows, where color-coded cards were used to sit next to someone new. "There are so many things ... that tend to polarize us, and it's very important to impart these values early and often."
At Ludwig School in Lockport, Mix It Up Day is conducted twice a year. "It helps create a sense of awareness and acceptance ... and is a great activity for all students as they get the chance to engage with peers outside of their circle of friends and learn to accept others for who they are and how they differ from one another," said Kristin Grahovec, the school social worker, who said that in her four years, she has never had a parent object.
Higgins wanted to make sure her organization is not characterized as "pro-bullying" or a "hate group."
"You can't present only one side in the single most controversial debate in America today," she said. "If public schools want to deliver an anti-bullying message, they should use examples that have no moral implications - such as overweight, uncoordinated or Asperger kids. But we don't have to normalize homosexuality to end bullying."
Earlier this year, the debate surfaced in the General Assembly last session when conservatives opposed a bill that would have amended the state's policy on bullying in public schools after some critics said it promoted homosexuality, said one of its sponsors, Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago,, who plans to reintroduce the measure this year.
"What they want is an exception for bullying gay kids ... and that's just not going to happen."
brubin@tribune.com
Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune
Source