Deerfield High School 'Confidentiality Agreement': How the anti-gay industry distorts reality

In my last post, I talked about the Deerfield High School controversy (see last post). Central to this controversy is a "confidentiality agreement" that students were supposedly made to sign.

The American for Truth (in name only)web page just posted the alleged confidentiality agreement.

And if this is the document that has been causing a lot of controversy, then Americans for Truth (in name only), Concerned Women for America, and all of the bloggers who have been hyping the Deerfield incident up as an attempt by the lgbt community to "indoctrinate" children have a LOT of explaining to do.

The so-called confidentiality agreement is a small part of the list of rules that those participating in the program agree to follow. These rules govern their conduct in the program.

No one is encouraged to keep things from their parents. In fact, they are encouraged to seek help if there is a problem.

This is what the part about confidentiality says (and I am transcribing):

Our agreements and commitments to each other

Confidentiality

Every person keeps what comes up in class confidential, unless it is dangerous to do so - that is unless a situation in class requires us to get outside help.

We do not repeat what someone says in class outside of class except if we have permission of the person that said it.

We will not continue a conversation outside of class without permission from all the people that were involved during the class.

Bottom line: What happens in our classroom stays in our classroom.

Exceptions to the confidentiality in which case (the teacher's name - I will not repeat it) will get outside help are:

If someone in the class reports being hurt;

If someone reports that they are hurting someone else; or

If someone reports that they are hurting or want to hurt themselves.

The rest of the two page document continues to give rules about respecting each other's right to talk and not making judgements on someone because his or her opinion. If students agree to abide by all of these regulations, they sign the form.

There are four other attachments to the commitment agreement that was posted. Americans for Truth (in name only) makes the claim that they are a part of the agreement.

But I doubt it.

It obvious that they were added by whoever posted the agreement on the webpage in order to enhance the lie of "gay indoctrination."

In short, the Deerfield Confidentiality Agreement controversy is yet another lie by members of the anti-gay industry.

Let me simplify the situation:

Deerfield High School has been conducting this program for years to help students adjust to high school. Five years ago, it added a panel discussion about gay students.

Parents got angry over the fact that gay students are going to be open about themselves. They sought help from anti-gay industry groups to stop the panel.

Someone from the either the parents group or the anti-gay industry groups took the list of rules that the participants of the program agreed to abide by and hyped the portion about confidentiality into a lie that claimed students were "encouraged" to sign a confidentiality agreement about one particular part of the program (the gay panel discussion.)

This lie was spread by various anti-gay industry groups, web pages, and bloggers all over the internet.

Boom! You got yourself a moral panic.

Let me predict what happens next.

I noticed on the Americans for Truth (in name only), it is announced that one of the parents opposing the gay student panel discussion will appear on the Laura Ingraham Show.

This parent is obviously going to repeat the lies of "gay indoctrinations" and "confidentiality agreements" until it is hyped all over talk radio. Then comes television.

And this is sad because the program that started all of this is a good idea. Students entering high schools should have some way to speak their minds and clear their heads.

More programs like this would mean less Columbine incidents.

But all because a group of parents do not like the fact gay students are encouraged to speak about their lives, the program is in danger of being misconstrued.

In pursuit of their so-called moral image, these parents have sold out their integrity.

I sincerely hope they don't regret what they have done.

A dash of inneundo, a smidgen of manipulation and you got yourself a conspiracy theory

The latest cause celebre of the anti-gay industry is occurring at Deerfield High School in Illinois. Here are the basic facts:

At Deerfield High School, there is a program that is geared to helping students adjust to high school. One component of this program is a panel discussion that includes speakers from the school's gay/straight alliance. These students talk about such things as being bullied because of their orientation.

Some parents are upset over this, claiming that their children are being "indoctrinated" by the supposed "gay agenda." These parents are demanding that the school end the gay panel discusssion. Naturally groups like Americans for Truth (in name only) and the Concerned Women for America are assisting in this effort. Now as far as it has been reported, the gay panel discussion is the only thing these parents object to.

The issue has been made stickier due to allegations that students were made to sign a confidentiality agreement. However, it is not known whether or not this agreement pertains solely to the gay panel discussion or the program in general.

In all honesty, I do not feel comfortable with the idea of students having to sign a confidentiality agreement.

However, I am made even more uncomfortable as to how the anti-gay industry and the bloggers who believe their lies have spun this story.

According to Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources for Township High School District 113 Suzan Hebson, the program has been going on for many years and five years ago, the panel discussion by the gay students was added.

She also said parents did have the choice of opting their child out of any session they feel uncomfortable with. Lastly, she said, the program was well advertised.

Members of the anti-gay industry and some bloggers still made claims that students were forced to participate in the panel discussion:

14 Year Olds Forced Into Gay Seminar and Gag Order by School

Officials at Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Ill., have ordered their 14-year-old freshman class into a "gay" indoctrination seminar, after having them sign a confidentiality agreement promising not to tell their parents.

Some teachers at Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Illinois are forcing 14-year-old freshmen to sign a confidentiality agreement saying they will not tell anyone, not even their parents, what they are taught in a pro-homosexual sensitivity training seminar. Martha Kleder spoke with Laura-Sue Hauser, head of North Shore Student Advocacy, a group of concerned area parents, and Matt Barber, CWA’s Policy Director for Cultural Issues

Notice how these sites link the confidentiality agreement with the panel discussion by the gay students. But again there is that question of what does the confidentiality agreement pertain to.

While I am not comfortable with the confidentiality agreement, did it pertain solely to the gay panel discussion or the entire program in general?

At first, this question may not seem like a big deal, but it really is. If the confidentiality agreement pertained to the entire program rather than just the gay student panel discussion, then all claims of "indoctrinating students into the homosexual agenda then demanding that they be silent about it" is yet another example of the conspiracy theory technique by the anti-gay industry.

By juxtaposing facts, the anti-gay industry is claiming, yet again, that gays and lesbians want "access" to children, as if we are some type of collective boogeyman cum Baba Yaga.

And speaking of manipulating, check out this allegation from One News Now (formerly Agape Press). I emphasized the connotative words:

Concerned Women for America is blasting an Illinois high school for urging students not to tell their parents about its mandatory homosexual indoctrination program. Deerfield High School in Chicago has a class called "Freshman Advisory," in which ninth-graders are required to attend a panel discussion led by the Gay-Straight Alliance Network. The panel features homosexual upperclassmen telling students about their sexual experiences.

In the interest of fairness and presenting both sides, I looked for and found a letter written by one of the students who participated in a past panel discussion:

For the last five years, the school has been giving a presentation to the freshman advisories about SAGA, the Gay-Straight Alliance at the school. During the presentation, a panel of students gives a combination of personal stories and statistics relating to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) life both in our school and in the world at large.

The stories are those of personal experiences students have had, and they are told by LGBT students and straight allies. The statistics provided are statistics from well-respected sources. Then, the panel fields questions from the students. Having seen the panel my freshman year and having spoken on it my sophomore and junior years, I can say that in no instance had anyone on the panel accused any other student of being a bigot for not agreeing with them; we present our personal stories as our personal opinions on the issue.

At no part during the presentation are kids encouraged to engage in homosexual behavior (indeed, we are of the belief that homosexuality is something you are born with, and thus it is logically impossible to ‘recruit’ people to a ‘homosexual lifestyle’) and at no point are kids told that they are wrong or deviant for having views different from those we present: we merely intend to clear up the stereotypes surrounding gays, and to encourage a tolerant environment.

. . . Just a few months back, my home was vandalized by a number of teens; this was an incredibly upsetting and hurtful experience, but despite this I have found support from friends, family, and those in the school to help me through this. There comes a point where all of us have our beliefs and morals challenged by those who believe differently from us. It is essential that we learn how to be accepting of those who disagree with us, and that we teach our children how to disagree with dignity.

Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, indeed.