Re: “Elementary schools shouldn’t be teaching homosexuality,” Aug. 17 Al Knight column.
Al Knight is frighteningly off-target in his complaint about teaching homosexuality in elementary schools. No such thing is happening or planned.
The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is a national organization working to ensure that every child has a safe, respectful learning environment in which to reach full academic potential. Amazingly, Knight finds our goal of creating “a more ‘affirming environment”‘ for elementary students “appalling.”
More appalling is that children are discriminated against because of who their parents (or other family) are. Does Knight honestly think we are targeting gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender first-graders? GLSEN Colorado knows that learning about families is an important part of elementary education – it is indeed “content-based.”
Education about differences helps prevent problems when authority is not present. The goal is to teach acceptance of all children so that they can learn in a positive environment.
Nan Kratohvil and Tracy Phariss, Lakewood
The writers are co-chairs of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network of Colorado.
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Re: “Discussing homosexuality in public schools,” Aug. 19 Open Forum.
Did letter-writers Sergio Gonzales and Raishel Wasserman read the same Al Knight column as I did? If they did, they did not read it very carefully. Knight was not preaching intolerance; rather, he was asking whether a book called “Who’s in a Family?” is appropriate material for elementary school children. I don’t believe it is. Elementary school children are not even thinking about how a family is formed, not even a straight one. This is the furthest thing from their minds. All this will lead to is many questions from these children, requiring answers they cannot completely grasp.
Knight clearly stated that he can accept this material at the high school level, where at least the answers to some of their questions can have some meaning rather than cause confusion.
The point of Knight’s column was not about being anti-gay, but rather asking whether these children can handle this material at their age.
Ryan Dotson, Denver
Building a bridge to Middle East peace – in Colorado
Re: “Embracing peace; Amid Gaza conflict, Israelis and Palestinians build a bridge of peace in Colorado,” Aug. 16 Scene story.
Colleen O’Connor’s article about one of the 14 North American camps for the Middle East public peace process was inspiring and realistic.
O’Connor perfectly described fear among Palestinians and Jews alike – not just of the “enemy,” but equally of judgment and rejection from one’s own people for reaching out toward the “other.”
What courage these teen women have, going home to lead their peers and communities with new weapons: unprecedented compassion, communication and sustained relationships.
We’re encouraged that your exemplary 11-year-old Building Bridges for Peace in Colorado has joined others continent-wide – groups with names such as Creativity for Peace, Peace It Together, Hands for Peace, Peace Camp Canada and more.
In California, we’ve taken another step with the Family Peacemakers Camp, called Oseh Shalom-Sanea al-Salam, now in its third year. This September, we’ll host our largest group of youth and parents from Palestine and Israel, to join American Jewish and Palestinian families learning a new quality of listening and realizing that an enemy is one whose story we have not heard.
Inas from Building Bridges, who was featured in your story, will be here, this time with her mother and brother. On the phone from Palestine, Inas told us: “I got The Denver Post as I was boarding the plane for Israel. I showed the camp story to everyone on the plane – people I didn’t know.”
Thank you for your story. It mattered and will continue to do a lot of good.
Libby Traubman and Len Traubman, San Mateo, Calif.
The writers are co-founders of the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue.
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