By Ray Cardello for June 17, 2023, Season 20 / Post 13

Earlier this month, Marshall Simonds Middle School in Burlington, Massachusetts, was at the center of a conflict over a Pride Month celebration. Many students that protested the event are now the targets of criticism from Pride supporters and calls for disciplinary action against the protestors. I have many issues and concerns with both sides of this issue. I am on record as being against celebrating any group of people. I believe in equality, not equity, for everyone, and singling out a specific group of people defeats the spirit of equality. I am going out on a limb to start my arguments and say these protestors should be praised for having the courage to speak their minds. To discipline them sends a wrong message to all children in this school and beyond.

To be clear, this is a Middle School with students aged 11-14. At this age, I find it hard to believe they understand the concept of Pride Month and do not need to be taught the different lifestyles that make up the LGBTQIA+ community. The teachers and administrators of the school forced the Pride concept onto the student body, and I can guarantee that parental consent was not solicited. For teachers to say that the students do not have social awareness should be a reason not to push the Pride concept, but instead, it is used as an argument to hold the protestors accountable for their actions. That sounds like a double standard. Without social awareness, teaching “Pride” is indoctrination.

These students are adolescents, and labels, pro or con, should never be used to describe them. The protestors are labeled as homophobic. You can only be labeled as such if you understand homosexuality. You cannot be against or afraid of something unless you have a basic understanding of the basis of the issue. I cannot put myself into the heads of the protestors, and I lay the blame for this ugly situation at the feet of the adults. It was unnecessary and has put a spotlight and undue pressure on all the students in the school and system.

Proponents of LGBTQIA+ are calling for implementing a DEIJ committee and hiring a DEIJ Counselor for the school staff. They are seizing on this unfortunate circumstance to promote Pride further and push DEIJ into the middle-school curriculum. Just like there is no place for BLM, CRT or the 1619 Project in our schools, pushing DEIJ on children highlights inequality and even racism to children without these concepts. People that claim this country has a systemic racism problem are planting the seeds of racism in our children. They are the people who should be held accountable for their actions, not the few children strong enough to stand up and say no to indoctrination.

I hope the parents of these young protestors stand with their children and do not yield to the pressure of these WOKE teachers and administrators. The move by parents to regain control of their children’s education began during COVID and has to keep the pressure on educators. Parents must remain vigilant and end the injection of social beliefs into the curriculum. It may be trite, but we need less DEIJ and more ABCs. Our schools are failing our children. They have no place in co-parenting our children. They are our kids, not theirs.