Dozens of people have asked me about addressing the current dispute at Madison County High School. They are very upset over the creation of a Gay-Straight Alliance among students there.

I have been thinking about this from the time I first heard about it, and I have developed several impressions and conclusions.

First, as my regular readers know, I strongly hold that our civil and personal rights have to be protected by civil and personal responsibility. That includes the right of privacy. Unless we carefully guard our privacy, it will surely be taken away from us.

Among the areas where privacy should be most protected is our sexuality. Let me state this plainly. Whether I am heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, monosexual or asexual, sexually active or celibate is no body's business but mine and the person or persons, if any, with whom I share an intimate relationship. I think everyone should maintain sexual privacy. Clearly then, I hold the opinion that any high school organization that proclaims the sexuality of its members to the public ought not to exist.

Now, I do not say this because of any desire to ostracize any one based on their sexual orientation. I don't want to know. I especially do not want to have someone shoving their sexual orientation into my face every time I have dealings with them.

Second: Superintendent Cowne is correct. The law as it is currently written and enforced requires that if the school allows any clubs it has to allow all clubs that meet the qualifications. The school's only choice is to permit all or none of them. In order to shut down the Gay-Straight Alliance they will have to close the Library club, Spanish Club, FFA, and all other student organizations. These clubs are vital in preparing students for their future. Their loss would be very damaging to the students who take part in them.

So where does that leave the parents? What can they do?

Ideally, parents around the nation should band together to force government out of the school system and leave them in control. Government controls and programs force our schools to devote more time to social engineering than to basic education. But that would take a vast amount of time and effort to achieve.

Parents only other option is to pull their kids out of public schools and either enroll them in private schools or become home schoolers. I like the idea of home schooling. With parents actually conducting classes, the are assured that the kids are doing the class work and not goofing off. Parents would have full control of what subjects beyond the basics their kids learn. And before they can teach their kids any subject, the parents have to learn the material themselves. Home Schools teach the parents as much as it teaches the students.

Clubs like the Gay-Straight Alliance have no place in a public or private school. Schools, especially public schools, are there to provide basic, fundamental education to the students. Schools are supposed to teach writing, math, science, history and the arts.

In order to be successful, schools should not allow any organizations that disrupt or interfere in the process of basic education. Sexual orientation should be dealt with, when necessary, in the home, the church and the community, not in school.

Copyright © 2005 by Frank Gillispie
frankgillispie@charter.net, Hull, GA