LAUSD Schools Get Ready to Add Gay History
Host:
Produced by:
Subscribe to this Podcast:
Listen to/Watch entire show:
What is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History? That's the question raised by a new law requiring all schools in California to teach a subject teachers and administrators say they can't define. LA Unified enacted rules against slurs about gender identity in 1988. In 2005, it adopted a health textbook saying sexual orientation is not a choice. But LGBT History? Should parents have the right to opt out when classes begin come January? Also, Detroit is the poorest city in the United States. What's number two? San Bernardino. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, are unmanned drones changing the nature of warfare?
Banner image: San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978 at Mayor Moscone's desk. Photo by Daniel Nicoletta
Main Topic
What Is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History? ()
In July, Governor Brown signed a bill making California the first state in the nation to require lessons about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in public schools. Republicans who opposed the bill called it well intentioned but ill conceived. For better or worse, school districts are wrestling with how it should be implemented.
Guests:
- Judy Chiasson: Los Angeles Unified School District
- Debra Chasnoff: GroundSpark
Links:
Reporter's Notebook
San Bernardino Right behind Detroit in Poverty ()
The Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey has grim news for the Inland Empire. After Detroit, San Bernardino is the poorest big city in the United States. More than one third of residents, 34.6 percent, are below the poverty line. That's $22,000 a year for a family of four and $11,000 for an individual.
Guests:
- Marlene Merrill: Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County
- Bill Watkins: California Lutheran University
Main Topic
The Pros and Cons of Drones ()
Wars are vastly expensive in blood and treasure. The outcomes are always uncertain, and continued public support is not guaranteed. Witness Iraq and Afghanistan. Faced with the threat of terrorism, the Obama Administration has "decisively embraced the drone… as a cheap, safe and precise tool to eliminate enemies." But the Obama Defense Department isn't the only one adopting unmanned drones for reconnaissance and, ultimately, for targeted killing. Is it legal? Will the US be vulnerable when China, other countries or terrorists develop their own technologies?
Guests:
- Scott Shane: New York Times, @ScottShaneNYT
- Michael W. Lewis: Ohio Northern University School of Law
- Noel Sharkey: University of Sheffield
- G.I. Wilson: Palomar College
Links:
Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
Engage & Discuss
Further the conversation with your thoughts and comments. Agree, disagree, present a different perspective -- engage.
For information and guidelines click: Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
Please note, comments are moderated. KCRW reserves the right to edit and or remove posts deemed off-topic, abusive or not in accordance with KCRW's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
