"Harvey Milk report censored by school"

Student's Harvey Milk Report Censored By School

Sixth grader Natalie Jones was surprised when she got called into the principal's office to discuss a Power Point presentation she'd developed for a school project. After all, her project was about a well-known state politician, an historical figure, in fact, whose May 22 birthday was recently designated a "day of significance" in California.

The problem? That figure was Harvey Milk, the first gay man elected to a political office in the U.S. when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.

Theresa Grace, principal of Mt. Woodsen Elementary School, which Natalie attends, decided that before Natalie's fellow sixth graders could learn about Harvey Milk's life and death, they'd need permission from their parents. She cited a district policy that requires parents give written permission before their children are taught about sex. But Natalie didn't want to teach her fellow students about sex, she wanted to share what she knew about Harvey Milk.

Ultimately, Natalie was allowed to give her presentation, but not in class. She shared it with eight of her 13 fellow students during a school lunch period. That decision drew the attention of the ACLU, which is considering suing the Ramona school district. "It's not about sex, it's not about sex education. It's a presentation about a historical figure who happened to be gay," says David Blair-Loy, legal director of San Diego county's ACLU.

The "zero tolerance" thing was the end of proper education. I can't describe how backwards the education system in this country is. Something very bad happened to our ability to educate children after 9/11. I mean that, too. Prescriptions of adderall and Ritalin went through the roof due to kids not being able to adjust to the new education system, but surely the pharmaceutical companies had a great reason for getting children hooked on drugs. When you actually sit down and think about who benefited from 9/11 (instead of talking about it non-stop), you will find some frightening, disturbing facts. But I'm not here to do your homework for you, so take a gander for yourself. Think for yourself.