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.