In The Days

• Source: Washington Post
• Author: Emil Steiner
• News Date: 6/28/07

Berlin Schools May Battle Homophobia by Teaching Students Gay Pick-Up Lines

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. ”
—Luke 17:26-30

They say you can’t understand someone until you walk a mile in his shoes. Perhaps with this in mind, Germany’s Regional Institute for School and Media has introduced a series of exercises in which students pick up same-sex partners. Pupils 14 years old and up will participate by practicing homosexual wooing techniques — and in the process, officials hope, break down age-old schoolyard prejudices.

Not everybody in Germany is enamored of this approach. “I think having such topics on how to pick up gay men in role-playing games for youths is completely wrong,” FDP Party education spokesman Mieke Senftleben was quoted saying. “We are talking about 14-year-old pupils,” she added. (Was she implying that youngsters should wait until they have reached the age of consent, 16 years old in Germany, before participating?)

In the United States, conservative groups such as the Citizens for Community Values are on the record against so-called “homosexuality education” programs. In a 2004 report, the group says such programs are “nothing more than a deceptive ploy designed to preach safety while actually encouraging sexual behaviors.” The Cincinnati-based CCV has not commented specifically on this latest German innovation, but it’s a safe bet that it would oppose any programs on the gay pickup scene in American schools.

But is it likely this program will be adopted by any schools here? Not without a little tweaking, of course. I suggest that this program be expanded to include straight students as well. After all, adolescents — especially boys — of every sexual orientation and proclivity need help picking up a mate. If the program is to be true to its mission of teaching understanding and tolerance, it should ensure that no child is left behind.