On Not Declaring Victory

Today brings a curious combination of elation and letdown. Realize, we at TeachTheFacts.org have been fighting for more than two years -- we started in December, 2004 -- to see that a decent sex-ed curriculum is implemented in Montgomery County. We battled through the first round, which ended with the legal settlement that threw out the proposed curriculum and citizens advisory committee, and we battled through the second one: formation of a new committee and development of a new curriculum.

Yesterday the school board unanimously adopted the new curriculum. Though there are coalitions on the board, representatives of both parties and diverse philosophies, backgrounds, and special concerns, all the members raised their hands when the vote came. They knew that a lawsuit is likely, but they knew the world was watching, they knew their community was counting on them, they knew what their consciences demanded, and they did the right thing.

Did we make any difference? I don't know. I tend to be fatalistic about these kinds of things, but this time, watching how this all went down, I'd have to say yes, we made a difference.

We defined our mission early on as "supporting the school board." And basically, that's what we've done, even though I know there are times they wished we wouldn't. Sometimes supporting means cajoling them, scolding them, pushing them to do something they'd really rather not have to deal with. Call it tough-love, I don't know, but I think it made a difference for them to know that this organization was following the case every single day, commenting on the progress of the new curriculum, getting involved whenever the task started to veer off the path or when it needed a little push.

And again, I do have to thank our school board for having the fortitude to vote for this, even when they knew it'd put them back in court.

There are two main reasons not to declare victory at this time. First of all is the trivial reason: it's almost certain that the CRC is going to sue. We have not yet come to the page that says: The End. Of course, this time the school district got some high-priced lawyers involved from the start. The curriculum was developed by a team of pediatricians and educators, but nobody saw a lick of it until the lawyers had gone over it. You can bet, everything on those documents has passed through the fine-toothed comb.

The bad guys can complain about "viewpoint neutrality," but their lawyers know perfectly well that doesn't apply in the classroom. The precedents are out there for everyone to see -- the concept gives them hope, because the judge mentioned it last time, but it won't hold up in court. Presenting the scientifically and medically accurate viewpoints is enough, without dragging in the "ex-gay" hoax, or a bunch of stuff to make gay people sound dirty or creepy. Oh, and the idea that students' First Amendment rights are violated because they don't get to express their bigoted views in the classrroom, well, that's silly. Students have never had the right to say anything they wanted in a classroom. It's crazy to think the courts are going to support the idea that the classroom is the place for some punk kids to express their personal opinions. Can you imagine?

The other reason not to declare victory is that the curriculum is not quite complete. As far as sexual orientation and gender identity goes, it gives an objective and fair picture, even sympathetic. But the school district shied away from making the real point, which is that the scientists and the doctors don't see homosexuality as a sickness, or as a choice, and they don't think there is any problem with gay people having families and living normal lives. Most of us in TeachTheFacts, and most of the members of the citizens committee, really feel that this fact should be explicitly included in the course materials. Tell students that the AMA, the APA, the AAP all have said, for the record, that being gay is not a sickness, sexual orientation is not something you choose. Without knowing the source, this must sounds like another opinion, and you know what they say about opinions ... ending with "and they all stink." It's not just an opinion like yours or mine, these are statements reflecting years of research and debate among the most highly-qualified experts in science and medicine.

In the long run, it might be just as well to wait and see how pilot testing goes. But the fact is, the medical community has made it very clear that they can't find anything wrong with being gay in itself; gay people have the same problems the rest of us do. And knowing that could mean life or death for some worried kid.

So ... at this point it's fine to feel a little bit elated: MCPS did just vote, unanimously no less, to start testing a really good curriculum. The nuts have screamed and yelled, and the TV-news zombies were attracted to the noise, but in the long run that's all it was: noise. School district staff, the doctors, the lawyers, the citizens committee, the school board, all focused closely on the actual topic, which was not the noise but the education of our county's adolescents, and yesterday we passed an important milestone.

And it's OK to feel a little letdown. You know that, as much effort as has been put into this, the whiners are still trying like crazy to tear it down, trying to undermine it. Their defining characteristic is that they can't accept when they lose a fair vote. So you never get to rest. You're always going to have to pick up your mace and your broadsword and wade back into the carnage.