I had a very surreal experience last night. It was Amanda’s back to school night. This is her first year in high school, and her high school was my high school. I’ve been in the building many times over the past 21 years. (Did I just type a number there????? Ignore that number!!!) But this was my first time in those classrooms since graduation. The halls and decorations have changed a bit. All of the administration and teachers have changed. But the most dramatic change that I was struck with came when I saw several posters on the walls around school. The first time I saw the poster, I actually stopped in my tracks. I had known that the organization advertised in the poster existed. In fact, I had discussed such things with my daughter over the years. Yet, walking through my old high school halls, now as a parent, and looking up at that poster, really made me understand the changes the years since I’d been in high school had brought.

So what was this terrible, horrible thing that shocked me so? Well, it was a very colorful, 8.5 X 11 poster for the Gay-Straight Alliance club meeting. Hum, I thought to myself. Now, I’m not naive. I’ve know that this club has been a part of the public schools for years. I also understand that the intention of the club is to promote homosexual awareness similar to an African American club might promote awareness to oppression, but is that really what it’s doing? Is high school really the place for this club?

I’m not writing to debate the writes or wrongs of homosexuality. That is not my intention in this post at all. But what struck me about this group is that it is a group designed around sexual orientation. Did you read that???? SEXUAL ORIENTATION! The entire reason (or perhaps need) for this group is because of an individuals sexual orientation! Our public school system is actually promoting sexuality by allowing a group in it’s system that is about sexual orientation! Is high school the place for such a group? Should this be supported by the school system with posters around every corner of the school? I don’t think so!

Homosexuality is a part of our society today. It is a hot topic in the political world. It is a painful reality for many (and even most homosexuals will admit that homosexuality is painful). But should we be supporting this group as a school sponsored organization? I think we are only promoting and encouraging sex (straight or gay) by allow such a group to exist. It sends a message that sexuality and sexual exploration is ok at the high school age. And I think that is wrong.

I strongly believe that NO ONE should be teased, oppressed, or treated differently because of their sexual orientation and I support discussions of that in the existing sexual education program that we are almost forced to put our children through in the public school system, but I do not believe we should be accepting sexuality at the high school level so boldly that we have a group designed strictly because of sexual orientation.