CHARLOTTE, NC (AgapePress) - “You can forget trying to persuade the masses that homosexuality is a good thing. But if only you can get them to think that it is just another thing, with a shrug of their shoulders, then your battle for legal and social rights is virtually won.” So wrote Marshall K. Kirk and Erastes Pill in Guide magazine, November 1987.

All too often, that battle, promulgated by homosexual activists, is being waged and won in area schools, according to veteran educator Dick Carpenter, Focus on the Family’s education policy analyst.

Carpenter told the crowd at a recent "Love Won Out" conference in Charlotte that schools across America are being flooded with literature, videos, and testimonials advocating the pro-homosexual perspective in public education.

As evidence, he showed videos of actual school classes. In one, a physical education teacher used a soccer illustration to explain to second-graders that he was a homosexual man. After placing a "gay pride" sticker on his lower leg, he asked the students what would happen if he had to keep it covered up while he tried to play soccer. Holding his hand over the sticker and folding his leg behind him, he hopped on one foot and tried unsuccessfully to kick the ball. Then he revealed the sticker, used both legs to control the ball and showed them how much better he could play, announcing that in the same way he could be a much better teacher since he could reveal the truth that he was homosexual.

In another illustration, a young elementary class was told to listen as a student read her Mother’s Day essay describing what it was like to have two mommies and proclaiming her pride that her mommies were lesbians. After her presentation, the teacher followed up with questions to make sure that students had gotten the message that families headed by homosexuals are at least equal to, if not better than, traditional ones.

“If you think this kind of thing is not happening in your schools, you’re probably wrong,” Carpenter said. “And if it isn’t happening yet, it’s on the way soon.”

He said the pro-homosexual agenda has so invaded curricula that teachers are often forced to teach things with which they disagree or know to be false. And often, if they resist, they are labeled as "hate-mongers" or "homophobes."

Using information from The Overhauling of Straight America, Carpenter revealed the tactics of homosexual activists who, he said, had gone to great lengths to spread inaccurate data in an attempt to portray homosexuals as victims and help give protectors a just cause.

He said homosexual organizations such as GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) get a stronghold on school systems by volunteering to educate school officials about the need to pass non-discrimination policies in schools, to train teachers to prevent "anti-gay" name calling and to serve as community resources on sexual-orientation issues.

Once inside the door, activists proclaim myths about homosexuality as fact, encourage homosexual teachers to come out of the closet, and start as many Gay Straight Alliances as possible. These GSAs, billed as student clubs that help kids discuss sexuality issues, are in fact just another avenue for homosexual propaganda, Carpenter said.

He said activists also work to change district policies, sometimes in the name of “safe schools,” to offer specific protection to homosexuals, making it possible for the schools to quell all opposition to the lifestyle.

Perhaps most disheartening to those at the Love Won Out conference was news regarding the National Education Association. Bob Chase, president of the 2.6-million-member teachers' union, has pledged NEA support to the homosexual movement, Carpenter said, describing Chase’s speech at a GLSEN conference.

“He said that homosexuals were protected under civil rights and compared conservative opposition to homosexuality to gang violence,” Carpenter said. “Furthermore, he said that NEA would be promoting gay issues via teacher training in every state.”

So what can parents do to keep their children from homosexual influences in school? Plenty, Carpenter said, beginning with talking with your child to make sure he gets information about sexuality from you and does not have to rely on his peers.

In addition, he suggested that parents get involved with what is happening at the school through volunteerism, talking with school leaders, etc., and that they take time to review curriculum or resources being used in class.

“You should be reading what your kid is reading,” Carpenter said. “Not only as a way to support him, but to see what is being taught.” He said if unsuitable curricula are found, parents should assemble a group of supporters first and avoid going in alone, so as not to be labeled a “religious kook.”

Perhaps, most importantly, he urged parents to protect their children by supplying administrators early on with a letter asking that the school not teach about homosexuality at all and asking to be notified prior to any classroom discussions regarding sexuality, so that they could choose to have their child opt out. He suggested making sure a copy of the letter was placed in the student’s file as well as distributed to each of his teachers.

As for educators trapped in schools where homosexual issues are promoted, Carpenter also had some advice. Be aware and alert in meetings so that you know what is going on, and do not hesitate to speak up, he said, suggesting that teachers find allies among like-minded staff and faculty as well as parent groups.

He said if a pro-homosexual curriculum is prescribed, teachers should demand that equal time be given to the other side of the issue so that children are exposed to both perspectives.

Most of all, Carpenter said, “be a positive role model for students, and target hurting with love.”

L.A. Williams writes for The Charlotte World, a weekly Christian newspaper in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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