Nightmare at Franklin
By Tom Mountain
The Newton Tab
November 8, 2006
Emer O'Shea knew something was wrong the minute she picked up her
daughter from Franklin Elementary School. The third -grader was normally
very perky upon seeing her mother and new baby sister, but this time she
glanced at her mother without indicating what was wrong, except to say that
the school's social worker had visited the class.
But Emer soon heard from another parent about what had happened in her
daughter's class that day, and she was both stunned and mortified. The next
day her young daughter finally opened up with a question that would baffle
most parents of an 8-year-old child, "Mommy, is it possible for a man to
have an operation to become a woman?"
Transgenders and transvestites. These were the topics that a staff member at
Franklin School in West Newton chose to teach to a class of third -grade
children. The school's social worker described to the children that some men
like to dress up as women, and yes, some men even have operations to
change into women.
The opportunity for this "teachable moment" - the kind that Superintendent
Jeff Young likes to portray as merely responding to some child's "random
questioning"- occurred when the social worker was describing various
families outside of the traditional mommy-and-daddy norm and showed the
class a picture of a woman with two children, asking what they saw in the
picture.
A child then raised his hand to tell her (are you sitting sit down for this?)
that he thought the picture was of a man who had a sex change operation and
was now a woman. Apparently, the child's own father was undergoing such
an operation (which he/she has since completed).
The social worker then elaborated on this "teachable moment." But this
wasn't just any social worker employed by the Newton Public Schools. This
was Laura Perkins, former board member of GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian and
Straight Education Network; or rather, "Laura Perkins, MSW, Franklin
School and the Newton Early Childhood Program," accordi ng to the GLSEN
Boston Conference, where she hosted a seminar in which the "Rationale for
integrating GLBT (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender) issues in the early
elementary years will be presented" and "classroom lessons demonstrated."
As a result of this particular "classroom lesson," Emer's daughter was
petrified. For an 8-year-old accustomed to a child's world of Santa Claus, the
Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny, the little girl had nightmares, and
explained to her mother she was scared that her baby si ster could turn into a
boy.
So Emer did what any normal responsible parent would do - she demanded
an explanation from the principal, Cynthia Marchand. She and several other
parents from this class met with the principal who, according to Emer,
responded defensively and fully backed her staff member.
Emer then went to Superintendent's Young's office with her concerns. She
handed Mr. Young a written description of what happened, whereupon the
superintendent promised to respond to her soon. He didn't. So a fter three
weeks, she called to make an appointment. As Emer described it, Mr. Young
remarked that the Parental Consent Law didn't apply to this situation
because, he claimed, the topic of discussion was not planned for. He
concluded that it was really jus t "a teachable moment." When I asked the
superintendent via e-mail if it is the policy of the Newton schools to teach 8 -
year-old children about sex change operations, he responded "No").
"Arrogant" is how Emer described the superintendent's demeanor towa rds
her. He declined to shake her hand at the meeting's end, and didn't even
bother to acknowledge the baby she was holding.
The superintendent wants us to believe that just because the class was taught
by a GLSEN activist who has specialized in "integra ting GLBT issues in the
elementary years" and even though the principal, social worker and probably
half the school knew that there was a child in that very class who just
happened to have a father who was undergoing a sex change operation, there
is no evidence that this was planned, or rather, set up. So, in Mr. Young's
convoluted logic, the state law which mandates that parents must be
informed whenever anything of a sexual nature occurs in the classroom did
not apply here.
It just happened, you see. A mere coincidence. Just like a few years before
when a Burr School first-grade teacher chose to out himself to his first -grade
class. This was a hide-from-the-media moment for the superintendent, since
it was later revealed in Bay Windows, the Boston gay we ekly, that the
teacher had discussed this probable scenario with his principal well in
advance of his proclamation to his class of 6 -year-olds.
Predictably, Emer got nowhere with the school administration. She went
through the typical phases that any pare nt who raises these issues is forced to
endure. The stalling, ignoring, belittling. The attempts to isolate her, put her
on the defensive, make her feel like the aggressor - the intolerant,
unsympathetic, backward parent: common tactics to make parents lik e Emer
go away. After all, Mr. Young and his cohorts now have years of experience
dealing with such parents.
But Emer would not go away.
Fed up at the lack of response from the school, she raised the issue in front
of a large audience of staff and parents at Franklin's curriculum night. "Can
we see the social worker's curriculum for this year, as last year there was
inappropriate information given to the elementary -age children?" she
publicly asked Cynthia Marchand. In other words, could the principal
guarantee that staff members would not teach the young children about men
having sex change operations?
To which the principal responded that she would speak to Emer in private
about it (a preferred tactic by Newton administrators). Emer would not back
down; after 10 months of being ignored she demanded an answer right then
and there. But the principal wouldn't budge.
As Emer described it, afterwards Mrs. Marchand coaxed her into her office,
whereupon she loudly chastised Emer for "her inappropriate behav ior." She
berated Emer because (you'd better sit down again for this) the Franklin
School father who had a sex change operation and was now a "woman" had
been sitting in the audience with his wife (they're still married) when Emer
broached this highly sensitive topic.
"Cindy, stop shouting at me!" Emer responded to her child's principal. (My
calls to the principal and social worker for comment were not returned, but
Mr. Young did respond by e-mail: "No," the social worker and principal
would not be suspended or reprimanded, he wrote. He ducked my question
as to whether or not he intended to apologize to Mrs. O'Shea, stating that he
and other staff had already "spoken with the parent already.")
Emer had enough. She decided to pull her daughter out of the N ewton Public
Schools and, at great expense, send her to a private school. (Mr. Young
again responded "No" when I asked if the school department would be
paying for the child's private school tuition). A few days later, she walked
into the Franklin office once again, this time with her now fourth -grade
daughter and infant baby to inform the principal and secretary that her child
would no longer be attending Franklin School. "Good," Mrs. Marchand
allegedly responded, in the presence of Emer, the secretary, a teacher and
Emer's daughter. The principal then turned and walked away.
Think of that. Think real hard.
