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[url=http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/146031865.html]Tevlin: DeLaSalle kids have a few words with archdiocese at marriage talk | StarTribune.com[/url] Interesting article on how the seniors reacted and how they defined what the real agenda was in only speaking to the seniors. Kind regards,Dickons
When DeLaSalle senior Matt Bliss heard rumors that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis planned to hold a mandatory school assembly to talk about marriage, and potentially gay marriage, he remembers thinking, "This is not going to end well."He was right. "The first three-quarters of the presentation were really good," said Bliss. "They talked about what is marriage and how marriage helps us as a society. Then it started going downhill when they started talking about single parents and adopted kids. They didn't directly say it, but they implied that kids who are adopted or live with single parents are less than kids with two parents of the opposite sex. They implied that a 'normal' family is the best family."
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What a mess. I'm proud of those seniors for respectfully asking questions and being horrified at what was being told to them. I get when you invite a religious organization to discuss marriage, it is a given they will discuss their opinion on gay marriage. But how in the world do you decide to bring in adopted children and children of single parents to the things they consider not-normal? I'm completely disappointed a high school even allowed that kind of presentation to any of its students and required it within school.
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As a social work student I found this article very interesting, and somewhat frustrating. Every person is entitled to their own opinion whether it is regarding church, adoption, or gay marriage. To require seniors to sit in on a presentation addressing each of these topics and only giving them one view, they were bound to meet some resistance. After students voiced their opinions they were told they were "rude" and "out of line" by a spokesman from the school, which I have a hard time agreeing with. If the school is going to have a presentations with such harsh material they need to be prepared for students to have questions and to want to voice their opinions.
Also, for a school to have a presentation that implies children from one parent homes or who were adopted are "lesser" is completely out of line. How did they expect the children in the school who fit into these categories to feel after hearing such harsh words? As an adoption social work intern this is one of the reasons we go to schools to educate them on adoption. There is already such a stigma placed on adoption and children should not have to worry about this when they go to school, this should be a safe place for them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, including the school, but in my opinion this presentation may have done more harm than good and the children have a right to speak out about it.