Common Sense vs. Censorship I do not know which is more disturbing: the fact that Florida had to sign into law the anti-grooming of K-2 students making sure they are not indoctrinated until at least 3rd grade, or that some people are actually mad about it. Most people would consider this reasonable. To me, I am left to assume that those who allow this indoctrination at such an early age are the same ones who either cheat or think that cheating is ethical, and make sure they attack any vulnerability of their opposition. As a high school teacher, I have no problem with students disagreeing with me or challenging me on a position. In fact, I welcome this because it usually results in me giving the student a very memorable lesson or the student giving me a very memorable lesson. I call that a win-win. This is an excellent opportunity to teach slant, spin, and bias in the media. Everything is written in a slant, including this article. I reviewed an excellent example of spin about a headline that read those Transgender studies are banned in some grades. Now, to be fair, the headline is not wrong, but it is very misleading and that is the point. I want to make sure that students are aware of slant, bias, and media in all its forms. I am not an advocate of censorship, but I do believe there should be some guidelines. I actually believe that debates and exchange of controversial ideas should take more space in the public discourse, especially in academia, but I also believe that those who are exposed to ideas should have a durable foundation to absorb these ideas, and first graders are not strong candidates-not yet anyways. If you want to discuss Transgender Studies, fine, but have some common sense. There is no need to push any of this on children that young. Let’s allow these youngsters to grow up a little and solidify their academic foundation, so that they are equipped to participating in debates and dialogues for the rest of their lives.
