Parents Cautioned, Offered Advice on Controversial School Video
by Jim Brown and Ed Vitagliano
March 23, 2005
(AgapePress) - Yet another Christian teachers group is urging families to oppose a controversial "diversity" video that has been distributed to more than 60,000 U.S. elementary schools. Meanwhile, the family advocacy group that brought the controversy to light reports it has been threatened with a lawsuit for doing so.
Christian Educators Association International is warning parents there is a subtle message behind the "We Are Family" video that features more than 100 popular children's characters. CEIA executive director Finn Laursen says the video may prompt teachers to promote tolerance for homosexuality and other deviant lifestyles -- topics he says are certainly not appropriate for young children to discuss.
"It's not really that the content of the video itself that bothers me," Laursen shares. "[It presents] animal characters and cartoon characters that the children recognize. But it's opening the discussion in the public school setting about what a family really is, what it could be, what's the purpose of a family, and what constitutes a family."
Laursen warns that the video is a ploy by homosexual activists to introduce students to discussions about families with homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals.
"It's not a topic that needs to be brought into our schools and ... introduced to our children," the CEAI spokesman says. "Those are issues that could be dealt with at home with parents, to lead the children in the moral upbringing, lifestyle, and view of the family that they want their children to have -- and not some special-interest group to come in and interject other issues into the discussion."
According to Laursen, schools should be teaching academics -- not non-traditional lifestyles.
WAFF Threatens Lawsuit
The "We Are Family" video was produced by the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF). In late January, WAFF threatened a lawsuit in federal court against the American Family Association because of an article that appeared in the January AFA Journal, which exposed pro-homosexual content on WAFF's website.
The letter from WAFF attorneys charged that the statements of fact within the AFA Journal article were false, malicious and "clearly uttered with a reckless disregard for the truth." WAFF demanded that AFA recant its statements, remove the article from its own website, and in its place post an apology. AFA refused.
The AFA Journal article focused on a video project involving the 1970s hit song, "We Are Family," co-written by WAFF founder Nile Rodgers. The remix of the song, which was produced in November 2004 as a music video using over 100 characters from children's television, was distributed via DVD format to over 61,000 elementary schools in early March. A teacher's guide accompanied the DVD to encourage discussions after children view the music video "We Are Family."
Music Video OK, but Classroom Follow-Up Is Primary Concern
"The video itself is fine," says AFA chairman Don Wildmon. "But a teacher's guide that promotes the homosexual agenda is not acceptable. All we've ever said is that parents should know how their school will use the video to teach values."
Under the guise of promoting tolerance for other categories such as race, gender, age, disabilities, etc., the WAFF website openly promoted homosexuality as a normative lifestyle. There was a "Tolerance Pledge" that encouraged signees to pledge respect for homosexuals, and work against "ignorance, insensitivity and bigotry." The site included a teacher's guide that aggressively normalized same-gender attraction and same-sex marriage. There was also a recommended reading list for children and adults that included such illustrated children's books as the lesbian-themed Heather Has Two Mommies, which discusses artificial insemination, and Daddy's Roommate, with an illustration of two men in bed together.
As well, the WAFF website had a list of "allies" that virtually ran the gamut of homosexual advocacy groups: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation; Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network; Human Rights Campaign; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; and Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians & Gays.
Interestingly, subsequent to the publication of the AFA Journal article, the controversial materials on the WAFF website were removed from public viewing. The only exception was the tolerance pledge, which was itself altered from its original format.
"We stand by the article as written, and frankly are not surprised by the threat of a lawsuit from the We Are Family Foundation," says Wildmon.
AFA Suggests Parents Contact Schools
Because of the "We Are Family" video/curriculum and other materials found on the WAFF website, AFA is concerned that discussions about homosexuality may be initiated with students.
"A good school system will always work with parents, not against them," says Wildmon. "We are encouraging parents to simply find out what, if anything, will be going on in their schools in connection with the We Are Family video."
AFA is recommending that parents take the following simple steps -- always ensuring that communications with school officials be conducted in a Christian manner: contact the school principal; ask if any discussions with students will be initiated after the DVD is viewed; ask to review the teacher's guide if it is to be used in any of those discussions; ask if the subject of homosexuality will be brought up by teachers or discussed if brought up by a student; and act accordingly.
Portions of this article appeared in the February issue of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association.
