CRI In the News   Prev Readings Teach Students to Embrace Same-Sex Marriage Published on Apr 30, 2009 Email To Friend    Print Version Children’s books, assigned class readings, and summer reading lists are all ways that schools routinely teach students that they should approve of homosexuality. Some children’s titles -- popular among educators nationwide -- were recently posted with lesson plans on a San Francisco Unified School District “school safety” website.   In third through fifth grade, for example, students read And Tango Makes Three, a cute storybook about two real life male penguins who hatch an egg that their zoo keeper gives them. (After the book was written, these penguins separated, and at least one found a female mate.)   The learning objective is clear. By the lesson’s end, students should be able to “discuss different family structures inclusive of gay and lesbian parents.” Discussion questions like “can same sex parents take care of a baby” are designed to elicit a “yes” response from children.   And Tango Makes Three was the number one most challenged books in libraries during 2006, 2007, and 2008, according to the American Library Association. Reasons for challenging it include “Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group.” Schools use it anyway.   “Young kids learn from teacher that men and women are interchangeable,” said Raija Churchill, Policy Writer and Researcher for CRI. “Yet the very nature of same-sex desire illustrates that men and women are fundamentally different. These are conflicting messages.”   Here are other common titles for kindergarten and up, with San Francisco’s lesson plans.   Asha’s Mums: Respecting Differences (K-2) Asha is an African-Canadian girl who must explain to her teachers and classmates that having two mothers is not a big deal. According to the lesson plan, this is “an attempt to address name calling, point out the diversity of the class and school, and to discuss different family structures.”   Uncle Bobby’s Wedding (K-2) Chloe the guinea pig loves her Uncle Bobby, but when she finds out that he is marrying his boyfriend Jamie, she is worried that he won’t have time for her anymore. She eventually learns that she is gaining an uncle and appreciates the uncles’ love for each other. Vocabulary for this lesson includes “marriage,” defined as “a social or legal union of two people.”   King and King (3-5) The queen wants her son to marry, but he is not attracted to the princesses brought before him. Yet after he meets another young man, he marries, kisses, and can “live happily every after.” In a 45 minute lesson, kids compare this fairy tale with stories such as Cinderella, and they learn to “respect differences in families.”   Last fall, Proposition 8 opponents claimed that refining marriage would not impact our classrooms. A quick review of this curriculum shows that they are indeed targeting students. These lessons are from San Francisco, but marriage opponents are not content to stop there.   See the SFUSD lesson plans online