Ms. Denton challenged Ms. Hunt”s letter to the Record-Bee. It is amazing that two people could be such diametrical opposites, and both be wrong.
Hunt”s emphasis is that the outcomes of The FAIR Act may be increased venereal diseases. Denton states that “teachers will no longer be able to dodge the subject of equality,” meaning that LGBTs will finally be recognized for their contributions ? that is, to culture, not the spread of STDs.
Both writers miss the point.
For a teacher to mention that a poem of Dickinson (hard to mention a title since she didn”t give any titles to her poems) was written by a lesbian is silly.
What do today”s students care about a long-dead poet, who could be construed as either a lesbian or an asexual spinster?
On the other hand, the person sitting in the next seat, who may not exhibit the same sexual orientation as everyone else, is of great interest. And because LGBT students are targets for teasing and harassment, it is imperative that the educational apparatus of the State be employed to teach tolerance. And contrary to both Denton and Hunt, the solution is not a unit in a history course, advancing either of their arguments, but a class taught at the seventh grade level (when most male children reach puberty) on tolerance.
Furthermore, this class should be taught by professionals in psychology since teachers have no background in this area.
Charles Moton
Lucerne
