I was watching a special on Fox News about public schools and the current situation regarding the dated textbooks that are being used. Due to luck of funding, the schools have no choice but to use old books with false information in them. But what really scared me is the crazy “political correctness” that goes into what teachers can and cannot say in class when it comes to topics like religion and sexual orientation. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous that a textbook cannot have a picture of a woman cooking because that is in some way degrading but could have an image of a woman with a hammer. In California, one of the mandatory reading books in the first/second grade is a book about two gay penguins that are raising a baby penguin. I have nothing against our gay brothers/sisters but I don’t think that this topic should be taught at a first/second grade level. I agree that homosexuality should be discussed somewhere during sexual education classes, but it is not something I want to explain to my son in the first grade. The same goes for religion; in the public school system there is supposed to be a separation between church and state. While it is important to cover types of religions in school, religion itself should not be tough in a public school. I remember when my brother took world history back in the 8^th grade he had a fight with his teacher cause the teacher wouldn’t accept that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel (because the book was from the early 1960s).

I’m not against political correctness and not offending people, but some how every good idea is always taken overboard. What kind of world are these schools preparing our kids for?

As a parent I am planning to get very much involved with my son’s school through the PTA or any other sources that are available. And I would probably cut on the funds we donate to public charities and pass a share of our donations towards our public school.

Any thoughts?