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By: Manuel Ocaño / Special for La Opinión Posted 03 Jun 2023, 19:18 pm EDT
The president of the governing council of the municipality of Los Angeles, Paul Krekorian, called for coexistence and tolerance after groups of parents of students from a North Hollywood elementary school clashed during protests for and against the reading a book that has two paragraphs mentions same-sex parents.
“The free expression of disagreement is a constitutional right, and civil debate is always welcome and will be protected; however, threatening neighbors and spreading hate are threats to public safety and will never be tolerated in the city of Los Angeles,” the presiding councilman warned.
Krekorian acknowledged that “the city of Los Angeles does not have a direct role in oversight of the schools, which is the responsibility of the Los Angeles Unified School District and its board members,” but said that “public safety is a great concern.” of the city government.
The official mentioned security because someone burned a small multicolored flag that a teacher from the LGBTQ community at Saticoy Elementary School had placed in a flower pot as part of LGBTQ pride month in California.
Then on Friday, when, as part of the celebration that same month, the school was going to read the Big Book of Families, a group of parents from Saticoy Elementary tried to boycott the meeting where the reading was given, while another group group of parents supported reading to children.
As a result, and despite the fact that dozens of police officers tried to keep the two groups apart, there were attempts at fighting, shoving, verbal abuse and at least a couple of exchanges of fists.
The police reported that there were no arrests, but at least one resident of the campus regretted that groups of parents who say they care about their children’s education have staged acts of violence in the vicinity of the school.
“I do not want problems, but I can say that, seen from a distance, it seems that the adults were the ones who were inside the school at that moment in class,” the woman who preferred not to identify herself said by telephone.
La Opinión reviewed the book whose reading originated the dispute, a volume that in English is titled “The Great Big Book of Families”, and found that the diversity of families is mentioned on only two pages, and has only one mention of a single phrase to same-sex parents.
This is exactly what the book says: “Many children live with mommy and daddy, but many others live only with daddy or only with mommy.” “Some live with grandma or grandpa.” “Some children have two mommies or two daddies.” “And some are adopted or fostered.”
The rest of the book is about what families do as a group, like going out for walks or on vacation, and what they do on their own, like when someone cooks or works in an office while someone else is in class in a room. school.
The group opposing the reading of the book called for a boycott weeks before with a message in several languages, which in Spanish read “Keep your children home and innocent on Friday, June 2 so as not to celebrate the Spirit of Gay Pride/Assembly.” .
The group held debates on private social networks although they left their Instagram account public,
Many parents, like Mrs. Rosa Patlán, chose to leave their children at home. The lady considered that this phrase in which it is mentioned that some children live with two mommies or two daddies, unlike others who live with their grandparents or their mommies and daddies “teaches our children sexuality at a very early age.”
The school superintendent in Los Angeles, Alberto Carvalho, that “the book makes a reference to families that exist in our community.”
He clarified that “it is not an offensive book, it is a book that was approved under the standards of the state of California.”
The parents who agreed with the reading of the book, which was carried out, expressed confidence in the education of the Saticoy school for their children.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) commented in writing that “as part of our commitment to school communities, our schools regularly discuss the diversity of the families we serve and the importance of inclusion.”
As for the mention of a same-sex parenting phrase being construed as sex education, the district stated that “families are always encouraged to discuss important issues with their children and families can also contact their schools for more information about any school program or activity.”
The Los Angeles police meanwhile are concentrating on investigating the burning of the multicolored flag that was in a pot. The teacher who placed it has not returned to class since it was burned between May 20 and 21.