I think this is over the top.

[me]

I'm sure glad I don't have anyone in the school system in Nebraska.  What's your opinion on this? 

http://www.snopes.com/politics/education/purplepenguins.asp

[Locutus]

My opinion is it's an article from Snopes that you obviously failed to read and comprehend. 

[me]

So are you saying they don't want to make it gender neutral?  Are you saying Snopes is wrong?  The thing is it was even considered or passed out to the teachers is totally off the wall.  I comprehend it just fine.  There are boys/men and girls/women and that's what they are no matter what the sexual preference or whether they choose to cross dress or not.  This politically correct thing is getting beyond ridiculous.

[Locutus]

I'm assuming the part you've taken issue with is the following which is clearly labeled as false.

   FALSE: The Lincoln school district has banned all reference to gender and discouraged use of gendered pronouns in favor of calling students "purple penguins."

[Henry Hawk]

I'm not sure if BAN is the right word, but the teachers were being encouraged to; "Don't use phrases such as 'boys and girls,' 'you guys,' 'ladies and gentlemen,' and similarly gendered expressions to get kids' attention,".   The teachers received a handout from the Lincoln Public Schools with this information.

I find it sort of frustrating that we are getting TOO "politically correct".  I think they are putting TOO much thought into what MIGHT offend someone. 

I'm sorry if calling a boy a boy or a girl a girl is offensive to someone........it offends me more that a teacher would be instructed to refer to my child as a purple penguin...but I wouldn't have a hissy fit and demand they never do that.

Why don't they get back to the basics and concentrate to teach our kids Math, English, History and Science?

[me]

I'm assuming the part you've taken issue with is the following which is clearly labeled as false.

You know what they say about assuming. 

[Bo D]

So are you saying they don't want to make it gender neutral?  Are you saying Snopes is wrong?  The thing is it was even considered or passed out to the teachers is totally off the wall.  I comprehend it just fine.  There are boys/men and girls/women and that's what they are no matter what the sexual preference or whether they choose to cross dress or not.  This politically correct thing is getting beyond ridiculous.

So ... to hell with those children who are different from you? Who cares about them anyway!

[Bo D]

I find it sort of frustrating that we are getting TOO "politically correct".  I think they are putting TOO much thought into what MIGHT offend someone. 

Again ... to hell with those children who are different from you? Who cares about them anyway!

Why don't they get back to the basics and concentrate to teach our kids Math, English, History and Science?

Haven't talked to a teacher lately, eh? Unfortunately teachers, whether they want to or not, have to play a daily dance with the psyche of students just to get them to learn what they are being taught.

[Henry Hawk]

Haven't talked to a teacher lately, eh? Unfortunately teachers, whether they want to or not, have to play a daily dance with the psyche of students just to get them to learn what they are being taught.

I am not down on the teachers, more-so our educational system.  I think they have a very difficult job to do, since many students have no parental guidance.  I think our educational system is too caught up on being politically correct.  Kids are kids.  They need to learn.  Lets get back to the basics.

Btw, I talk to teachers on very, very regular basis.

[Bo D]

many students have no parental guidance. 


Lets get back to the basics.

Do you see the conflict in what you just wrote?

Students have no parental guidance, so we expect teachers to step up to that role. Yet, you want to just "get back to the basics."

What are the basics???

[me]

So ... to hell with those children who are different from you? Who cares about them anyway!

The transgenders can still conform by wearing things that don't draw attention to themselves.  School is a place to learn not make a point about sexuality or gender. 

[Bo D]

The transgenders can still conform by wearing things that don't draw attention to themselves.  School is a place to learn not make a point about sexuality or gender.

And that is precisely the point of the handout in the article!

BTW, this isn't an issue of political correctness. It's an issue of learning to respect the differences in another persons' lifestyle. Something conservatives have a hard time learning to do.

[Henry Hawk]

Do you see the conflict in what you just wrote?

Students have no parental guidance, so we expect teachers to step up to that role. Yet, you want to just "get back to the basics."

What are the basics???

Take a board to their ass when they get rowdy or misbehave.  By the time they get into middle school and high school, they have an understanding.
That was a basic when I grew up, that stayed with me until this very day. 

Get back to smaller classroom sizes...instill a dress code....standardize testing so you can measure success or failure to all students. Teach them the significance of old fashioned virtues of hard work....to respect their elders, and last by not least, make time for patriotism and the significance it has on being an American.

THAT is what I mean by getting back to basics....

[me]

And that is precisely the point of the handout in the article!

BTW, this isn't an issue of political correctness. It's an issue of learning to respect the differences in another persons' lifestyle. Something conservatives have a hard time learning to do.

No, liberals seem to delight in pointing out the differences and making an issue of them rather than accepting them and allowing it to blend in.  Liberals tend to accuse others of the things they are guilty of.

[Anne]

So, aren't they just putting a different name to gender? All the purple penguins line up for the purple penguin bathroom and the green penguins line up for the green penguin bathroom? I know it isn't just about the restrooms, but it just seems juvenile to me, especially for middle school aged kids. Just say, "People, line up!" for crying out loud.