New York City to open nation's first all-gay public high school in the fall

Jul 29 21:51 UTC 2003

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-gside29.html

New York City's board of education has announced plans to open the 
nation's first public high school for gay/lesbian/transgender 
students.  It is raising a bit of controversy here as the Board of 
Education was trying to do this quietly to avoid protests, and word of 
it leaked.  

I think this is a case of the Board of Education going overboard in 
trying to do the right thing.  There is a such thing as TOO much 
political correctness.  I don't think all-gay high schools in this day 
and age would be any better than all-black or all-hispanic or all-male 
or all female public high schools.  In any case like that, it is 
segregation, not de-segregation.  I don't think it benefits society.

But maybe it does provide gay students with a place to go to school 
where they won't be harassed or persecuted.   what do you think>?

response 2 of 241:

Jul 29 22:29 UTC 2003

re: #1...that would be FORCED segregation.  No gay can be required to 
go to this school if they don't wish to.  This is an alternative public 
high school for gays/lesbians/transgenders who may wish to attend it.  

There was a report on the local news where one official was complaining 
that they hadn't decided an acceptable means of determing if a student 
is gay.  This school will only have a couple of hundred students and it 
is possible some kids might falsely out themselves to get transferred 
tothere from the other much larger, overcrowded public schools.  So now 
the question becomes, is a student gay because he SAYS he's gay, or do 
they require a doctor's evaluation be done or such?    

response 4 of 241:

Jul 29 22:42 UTC 2003

#3...that is another matter being debated.  This high school is 
intended only for gay, lesbian, and transgender students.  It will be 
of a limited size (like 200-300 students) no more.  So they don't want 
straight kids going there, that is not its purpose.  The purpose of the 
school is to provide an environment where gay kids can learn and be 
openly gay without being harassed or ridiculed.  If they allowed 
straight kids in, would that not defeat its purpose?  

response 6 of 241:

Jul 29 23:14 UTC 2003

Where will it end?  Will they have a school for fat kids?  A school for kids
who wear "poor" clothes?

People will find ways to tease others for *something*, no matter what it is.
Even uniforms don't help because you can still find a way to pick on that
person.

While the idea is kind of cool, I also find it ridiculous.  They can't stay
sheltered their entire life, and they're going to have to learn to stand up
for themselves at some point, just like the fat kids, the kids with glasses,
the kids who suck at sports, the kids who wear the wrong jeans, etc.

What happens when they go to college?  Apply for a job?  Are they going to
create special universities and offices?

response 8 of 241:

Jul 29 23:49 UTC 2003

Right. By having special schools for gays, you're making it even harder 
for them to face discrimination when they move to the real world. This 
isn't the way to deal with a social problem.

response 10 of 241:

Jul 30 14:44 UTC 2003

re #4:  that's not the point.  Of course, if they go to the trouble of
creating a special school for gays, they would like to have only gays there,
and having straight kids would tend to defeat the purpose.  The point is, do
they have the legal authority to *enforce* that purpose?  If a straight kid
wanted to go there adn was denied, how would that be any less discriminatory
than rejecting a gay kid from a "straight" school?  

response 12 of 241:

Jul 30 15:50 UTC 2003

Kids are going to be taunted about something or the other, regardless 
of whether they're gay or not. Who's to say that these kids won't be 
taunted in gay schools for say, having no fashion sense, or not 
exfoliating (ok, stereotypes, but you get my drift). Segregating them 
into a different school isn't going to make the problem of being 
taunted go away. And it's going to make them even more ill-equipped to 
face discrimination if they are faced with it when they leave school.

When you talk about schools segregated for special education, or 
performing arts, you're talking about schools that provide a special 
type of education for students, who may be slow learners or more into 
the arts. That's understandable, you can't expect all schools to 
provide these benefits available, and it makes sense to have special 
schools for them.

Will these gay schools be providing anything specific to teaching 
these students about their life-style that ordinary schools cannot 
provide? If so, yes, maybe there is some sort of rationale to having 
such a school. However, if all this school does that is different from 
other schools is to provide a haven from bullies and taunts, then in 
my opinion it is defeating one of the fundamental purposes of a 
school - equipping children to live a fulfilling life later.

response 14 of 241:

Jul 30 17:33 UTC 2003

God I hope not.  I was a fat kid - I learned to hold my own.  But then, not
all people are like me.

response 16 of 241:

Jul 30 18:26 UTC 2003

What about charter schools?  Aren't they publicly funded?

response 18 of 241:

Jul 30 18:44 UTC 2003

I know you meant that tongue in cheek, but here in DC, they really ARE a
success story.

response 20 of 241:

Jul 30 19:15 UTC 2003

It seems to me that any straight kid who wanted to go to this school 
would be allowed to go if they said they were gay. I somehow doubt the 
school would bother checking into it. 

response 22 of 241:

Jul 30 19:41 UTC 2003

Which is an extremely useful skill for kids to know . . .