National PTA Out of Touch
by Hans Zeiger

The National PTA Convention, held June 26-28, 2004 in Anaheim, California, featured a workshop by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays called, "All for One and One for All: Ending Anti-Gay Bullying." PFLAG's description of its workshop says, "Speakers will identify issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender students and their families. Through the presentation and discussion, an understanding of how an "anti-gay" climate impacts the entire school community will be explored."

Other workshops included "Bias-Free Foundations in Early Childhood" by the Anti-Defamation League, "Sex Education and Parents" by anti-family professor Jane DiVita Woody, "Effective Parent Involvement for the Divorced and Blended Family," and "Represent That! Effective Advocacy for the Hip-Hop Generation" for (presumably hip-hop brand liberal) students only. National PTA lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. are decidedly opposed to parental choice in everything from school vouchers to sex education. For years, the National PTA has lobbied Congress for increased federal funding for all manner of social welfare programs.
In 2000, then-National PTA president Ginny Markell announced that the PTA would be promoting the homosexual film "That's A Family" as a resource for schools to teach "tolerance." Markell told a Clinton White House audience that the video was "a starting point for all of us to understand our differences."

Clearly, the PTA is out of touch with America's mainstream parents and teachers.
Hans Zeiger is president of the Scout Honor Coalition and a student at Hillsdale College. www.hanszeiger.com. National PTA president Linda Hodge can be contacted at info@pta.org or 1-800-307-4PTA.