McInerney+Debate

"A tale of bullying, sexual identity, and the limits of tolerance." "Even as homosexuality has become more accepted, the prospect of being openly gay in middle school raises a troubling set of issues. Kids may want to express who they are, but they are playing grown-up without fully knowing what that means. At the same time, teachers and parents are often uncomfortable dealing with sexual issues in children so young. Schools are caught in between. How do you protect legitimate, personal expression while preventing inappropriate, sometimes harmful, behavior? Larry King was, admittedly, a problematical test case: he was a troubled child who flaunted his sexuality and wielded it like a weapon—it was often his first line of defense. But his story sheds light on the difficulty of defining the limits of tolerance. As E. O. Green found, finding that balance presents an enormous challenge." from [|Newsweek article] ([|larry-king-newsweek.pdf])

BRANDON, LARRY, AND E.O. GREEN JUNIOR HIGH: WHAT WENT WRONG? WHY? WHO'S RESPONSIBLE?