What kind of Alternative Schooling is acceptable?

[Liberal Veteran]

Generally speaking, alternative schooling has been around for a number of years. The entire idea behind those alternative is to provide address the needs of youth that are at risk of falling through the cracks and dropping out or failing the mainstream schools.

There are alternative schools for pregnant teens, teen parents, disruptive/disturbed teens, physically challenged children, mentally challenged children, exceptionally gifted students, artistically gifted students, students involved in the legal system, and adults trying to drop back in.

Not too many people have a problem with these safety net schools, but the mere mention of the Harvey Milk School which deals with *gasp* students at risk because of the issues surrounding sexuality starts a firestorm.

This isn't a new concept and this specific program has been in existance for almost 20 years with a great deal of success apparently.

I guess I am at a loss to understand why this one particular type of alternative schooling is so reviled by so many otherwise compassionate and open minded people.

[roughsatori]

1. Thanks for making that point

I was thinking the same yesterday, but was too depressed to respond. The main difference in the many arguments here and at the Freakrepublic were in the way they were expressed, but ultimately, they were the same thrust--"Not with my public tax money.". I was in a "gifted" program, my sister's kids are in "gifted" programs, my brother's son is in a "special ed" school; all public institutions--yet I have never heard a peep of indignation from anyone here or in my family, until yesterday's news of a school for Gay children.

Then again, over the last year I have read more posts here then I thought possible regarding "civil rights" not being something the Dems should be so public about. Of course, these DUer's couch their opinions in the lingo of the right using "gay rights" as if it means "more rights than heterosexuals get" as opposed to equal rights.

[Dob Bole]

2. Well...

I never heard of them being called "alternative schools." Alternative schools are where people with a criminal history go. However, there are "magnet schools" for people with certain problems, gifts, or circumstances that are funded with public money.

I think the debate centers around two things. First of all, Rick-Santorum-type people are not going to like the notion of a gay high school anyway. I doubt there are many of those on this board. The second debate centers around whether the school is truly a magnet school or a "separate but equal" school. Segregation may not be the answer.

[MissouriTeacher]

3. Confused

I never actually read the article about the gay high school. To be honest I don't understand how it would work. Is it for gay students only? How can they justify that within a public school system?

As for schools for preganant teens, and other at-risk students. I don't know of any actual schools for these types of kids, but rather special programs within the public school system.

[bowens43]

4. You really don't understand our objection.

it has nothing to do with '*gasp* students at risk because of the issues surrounding sexuality'. It has to do with masking the problem by moving these kids out of the environment in which the problem exists. The answer isn't to move the kids who are being harassed, the answer is to remove those doing the harassing and permitting the harassment. IMO YOU are the one who lacks compassion. Instead of solving the problem you want to sweep it under the rug, out of sght out of mind . Should we condone all black or all white schools because one or the other feels threatened in a prticular enviornment? No. Of course not. We need to go after the haters not the victims.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. You have no right to make these kids pawns....

...in your personal idealogical struggle and that's what I call lack of compassion and empathy. This is a last resort for the majority of these kids. It's this or quit school altogether for a lot of them.

And you know I agree with you that we need to go after the bigot, but almost all attempts to bring an end to bigotry based on sexual orientation in school through diversity training is met with resistance if not outright hostility. You cannot deny the reality of this.

I think we both want the same thing here, but I am not willing to allow children to continue to be victimized or fall through the cracks in between getting to point A (where we are now) to point B (the ideal).

Keep in mind also, Affirmative Action is program designed to do something very similar. It is designed as a stop loss measure until we evolve to a level that the color of one's skin is meaningless. Things like affirmative action and these school are very much the result of where realism meets idealism.

[roughsatori]

6. Some posters don't realize

That in some school districts, sensitivity trainers, ARE NOT PERMITTED to teach that being gay is "ok." The new argument is that stopping "Christain" kids from picking on gay kids is religious discrimination. Bullies are an indication of society's problem, they are not THE problem. In the area where I live, the Christian Right acually argues in favor of bullies who taunt gay children by telling them they are "evil and going to hell." As one "Minister" put it at a school board meeting "you are taking away my child's right to free speech and religion if you punish him for speaking the truth."

The high level of suicide among gay teens must be delt with. And stopping the bullies of gay children sounds good, but is really pie in the sky in our culture.

[Liberal Veteran]

7. Exactly.....

We all want the same thing here, but I am not opposed to a few stop gap measures while the real issue (bigotry in the mainstream schools and society itself) is addressed.

Mostly what I am seeing is a kneejerk reaction that this is a "separate but equal" situation, but what people are not looking at this in context. It's existed for 20 years and has done some good work at giving these kids a chance in life.

I fully agree that we must address the root of the problem but the idea of forcing kids to "suck it up" while society gets it's head out of it's butt on this issue reminds me in a lot of respects of the movie "Citizen Ruth" (a satire about a woman who is trying to be used as a pawn in both sides of the abortion debate).