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notcaffeinefree t1_ix4n2ge wrote

Reply to comment by DaFish221122 in Paramore Had Lots Of Fun Protesting The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law At Their Florida Show by [deleted]

This is really, at best, blunting the impact of the law and at worst, being misleading.

It's not just "sexual topics". If little Bobby asks why his friend has two moms, or why his brother's friend has a boyfriend instead of a girlfriend (or vice versa), the teacher cannot give an answer.

Kids are naturally curious. They ask a ton of questions. You are not helping them by ignoring reality or by trying to shield them from topics you don't like. They will ask questions about what they see and hear in the world. It's not harmful to answer them.

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DaFish221122 t1_ix5fnm0 wrote

I promise you that most kids are not interested in sex. Being gay is usually something that you find out later in life and certainly not before puberty.

The law was made to prevent schools to prevent discussion of things like sexual practices and telling little girls or boys to transition. Which these things do happen and I've literally seen them with my own eyes at previous schools of mine. I was in Arizona which is a pretty moderate state

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DoppelGangHer88 t1_ix4ob6m wrote

That's not true. The law bans curriculum or classroom instruction about sexual orientation, not answering basic questions.

They just can't go into full teacher-mode about what it means or what it entails. They don't need worksheets about why Susie wants to be with Sally. The law makes it so that they have to stick to academics.

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notcaffeinefree t1_ix4p4c6 wrote

That's not entirely correct.

It bans "classroom instruction". The problem is that the bill doesn't define what "instruction" means.

Is the teacher "instructing" a student if they explain why a man might date another man? Without a clear answer, if you're a teacher, are you willing to risk your job to answer such a question? Is a school district going to risk lawsuits by allowing teachers to do so?

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DoppelGangHer88 t1_ix4rapq wrote

What do you mean? Instruction already has a concrete definition: "detailed information about how something should be done or operated. Teaching; education."

The bill explicitly does not prohibit students from talking about their families or bar classroom discussions about LGBTQ history. The bill states that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur.”

Answering a question with a direct answer is not equivalent to having a classroom discussion or instruction about the subject.

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