Instigator / Con
0
1500
rating
5
debates
30.0%
won
Topic
#4888

Should LGBTQ+ topics be discussed in high schools?

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Winner
0
2

After 2 votes and with 2 points ahead, the winner is...

Bella3sp
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
4
Time for argument
One day
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
One week
Point system
Winner selection
Voting system
Open
Contender / Pro
2
1524
rating
54
debates
74.07%
won
Description

No information

Round 1
Con
#1
Theory: LGBTQ topics are harmful to children, up to the 6th grade.

1. Children that have not yet hit puberty have no reason to be taught about what it means to be gay or straight, as they have no sexual desires yet.
      a) Children often will make friends with both genders. They do not develop feelings until much later. If we do not teach children about straight crushes until they are ready, why gay crushes?
      b) There is simply no need for them to learn about it. Their time should be spent on earth science and their times tables. Taxpayers money should not be funding this unnecessary education that takes up valuable time.

2. People have a right to their own opinions.
     a) Parents should be able to opt out of classes that indoctrinate these subjects. They know their child better, or simply do not feel comfortable with their children being taught LGBTQ ideas before they have even heard that word.
    b) Epperson v Arkansas ruled that the most scientifically validated theory should be taught. LGBTQ ideas have no scientific basis, so why are teaching them?

3. Indoctrination is a serious problem.
    a) Just because it started out well meaning doesn't mean it ended that way. Far-left teachers will confuse and encourage children to "explore their sexuality", which indoctrinated the children's easily molded minds, and sets them down the path of that teacher's choosing. It's better to just stay away from those ideas entirely.
   b) If these topics can be discussed by far-left teachers, what's to stop far-right teachers from inputting their own, hateful, ideas into those children's heads? Once again, sexuality and gender topics should stay away from children entirely.

Conclusion: The risks far outweigh the benefits. We should not be making exceptions for LGBTQs that we don't make for straight talk.

Pro
#2
All websites are in english, let me know if I used the wrong website in my language.

Let's dig into this argument a bit slow.

Point:
Case:
This will consist of a few things.

Kritik (or well not really): 
"Should LGBTQ+ topics be discussed in high schools?"

Discussed in high school means being discussed period.
Therefore meaning, this debate is not "Should LGBTQ+ be taught in high schools" it is being dicussed or mentioned in general.

I believe this is a human right, and espically in the United States, to be able to dicusss anything. 

1) (Kritik or not really) Humans should have free speech about discussions
2) Teens deserve to know and understand their feelings
3) Teens in high school are starting to mature into dating 
4) Exterior activities 
C3) Teens should be allowed to dicuss

Burden:
The burden is on both users.

Pro must prove that LGBTQ+ topics should not be discussed in high school
Con must prove that LGBTQ+ topics should not be discussed in high school


Definitions:

High school
and high school is grades 9-12 (ages 14-18). 

Contentions
I have ideas on how you will counter my rebuttals and contentions, but here we go.

Humans should have free speech
Many countries have free speech as a law.

As I know most on this site live in the US i'll use those examples.

Free speech amendment:
The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without government interference or regulation. The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification for interference with the right of free speech when it attempts to regulate the content of the speech.

Teens should always be alowed to dicuss the topics they would like. LGBTQ+ topics in high school is no reason for concern.
As the amendment states, nobody should not allow student's to dicuss topics they would like. Its free speech! "We" cannot and shouldn't not allow students to dicuss such topics because of stigma or bias.

Later, con talks about equality of "straight talk". Students should be allowed to dicuss LGBTQ+ topics, just like straight topics.

Teens deserve to know about their potential feelings for now or in the future 
"By age 10, many children are showing the first signs of puberty, and their interest in what this means increases. Middle School/Junior High. At this time, children become increasingly aware of their own sexual feelings that naturally go along with puberty. Children may start masturbating for the sexual feelings."

"The age in which tweens develop romantic interests in other people varies tremendously from child to child. Some kids may start expressing interest in having a boyfriend or girlfriend as early as age 10 while others are 12 or 13 before they show any interest."

With both websites above, it's obvious teens have feelings even before high school. 
Schools should fully address student's sexual orientations or gender in order to address themselves. I know many student's may be unsure, worried, or confused about their feelings and often hide them. Teaching or dicussions one-on-one give a student an idea.

If it was taught, it would give student's a safe outlet to feel comfortable. I do agree, straight crushes should be talked about, but they already are to a degree. The missing piece is underneath that is additional. 

LGBTQ+ topics can and in lots of cases, should be discussed. 
Straight topics can as well, but that doesn't mean LGBTQ+ topic's shouldn't.

I could agree all day that straight topics could be dicusssed but that would also mean adding LGBTQ+ topics which is my resolution.

Exterior relvent topic activities 
Debates

(Writing this after rebuttals and running out of characters)..

Exterior after-school activities, such as debating should be allowed. There are debate clubs, and controversial every day heated arugments like this should be allowed. If they decide to debate in future years, they will come across a debate with LGBTQ+ debates. In order to be prepared, they should dicuss. 

Perhaps it even just comes up. It's a debate after all.


Rebuttals
LGBTQ topics are harmful to children, up to the 6th grade
Let me stop con there.

6th grade? Refer back to the definition of high school.


Children that have not yet hit puberty have no reason to be taught about what it means to be gay or straight, as they have no sexual desires yet.
Countered in my contentions.

      a) Children often will make friends with both genders. They do not develop feelings until much later. If we do not teach children about straight crushes until they are ready, why gay crushes?
 This is what is called stigma. 

Con shows us here, "if we do not teach children about straight crushes.." the topic of LGBTQ+ is not just talking about crushes.
And in fact, I counter this by most middle schools will talk about puberty, reproduction, relationships, and sexual things.

We already talk about crushes. But I can see where your getting at about "straight crushes and lgbtq+ crushes dicussions then", and I agree! But this debate does not really regard that.

LGBTQ+ dicussions could pretain the understanding you're gay/bi/etc feelings, how to comfortably come out, etc. 
Teaching about it is just helpful for the people struggling with understanding their own feelings.


Teens in high school have already gone through relationship conversations.

b) There is simply no need for them to learn about it. Their time should be spent on earth science and their times tables. Taxpayers money should not be funding this unnecessary education that takes up valuable time.

Plus, like I said in my contentions, "dicussions" don't always mean needing to be taught by a teacher.

2. People have a right to their own opinions.
     a) Parents should be able to opt out of classes that indoctrinate these subjects. They know their child better, or simply do not feel comfortable with their children being taught LGBTQ ideas before they have even heard that word.
    b) Epperson v Arkansas ruled that the most scientifically validated theory should be taught. LGBTQ ideas have no scientific basis, so why are teaching them?
I love when the title is "people should have a right to their own opinions" but really it's "parent's should have the right  overule all opinions".

Repeat: "Plus, like I said in my contentions, "dicussions" don't always mean needing to be taught by a teacher."

Besides that.. 

First off, I believe parent's could opt out just like the sexual health curriculum.
Second off, you can clearly see that parent's wouldn't want their child knowing about lgbtq+ because they have biased opinons! Like you said "people should have the right to their own opinions", I agree! Teens are people. I wouldn't understand a parent that is that selfish to deny a teen of their own physical, sexual, emotional attraction comfort. And schools are there to teach, if they want to teach, enable students to understand themselves.

Indoctrination is a serious problem.
    a) Just because it started out well meaning doesn't mean it ended that way. Far-left teachers will confuse and encourage children to "explore their sexuality", which indoctrinated the children's easily molded minds, and sets them down the path of that teacher's choosing. It's better to just stay away from those ideas entirely.
   b) If these topics can be discussed by far-left teachers, what's to stop far-right teachers from inputting their own, hateful, ideas into those children's heads? Once again, sexuality and gender topics should stay away from children entirely
I just wanted to clearify, nurses in the sexual health curriculum have non-bias. That is why teachers step aside and let nurses do their job. They are specifically trained in order to answer questions with no bias opinions. Science and research based answers.

Also, nurses are there for only a few weeks to a month. 
Exploring their sexuality means to understand yourself. 

Like I said, nurses are trained for this type of thing.

QUICK MENTION:
We should not be making exceptions for LGBTQs that we don't make for straight talk.
This is con's real problem. They want equality.

My problem with this is, this debate is not "LGBTQ+ topics be discussed in high schools because straight topics aren't", it's "LGBTQ+ topics be discussed in high schools". It's like black lives matter, saying "all lives matter", instead of showing that "black lives matter just like everyone else". 

LGBTQ+ taught subjects could help with understanding yourself and understanding its okay.
Round 2
Con
#3
As PRO has stated, my burden is to prove that LGBTQ topics should no be discussed at all in High School. This was not what I was actually trying to prove originally, but as PRO has pointed out, "discussion" includes not only teachers but also students. Alas, I now will switch my arguments and prove why it should not be heard at all in a school.

School is not the place to discuss illnesses. In fact, gender dysphoria is a legitimate disease/illness: "Gender dysphoria is the feeling of discomfort or distress that might occur in people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics [1]." So a teacher giving advice on how to treat it, and solve it is illegal: "Providing medical advice without a medical license is an unauthorized practice of medicine [2]." The same goes for a student advising surgery, or hormones. The place for talking and mental health issues is a licensed therapist. If a school has one, then that is the only place these topics should be discussed.

Next, I would like to revisit my last argument showing how teaching or encouraging LGBTQ topics is unconstitutional. Teachers cannot teach studenst about the biblical creation story or other religious creation stories because they are a belief and not scientific [3]. As such, all beliefs and unscientific should not be taught by teachers or forced on other students by their peers. There is no science to support the TQ+ part of LBGTQ+ [4, 5]. Therefore, it should not be considered an exception, a phrase I will inevitably have to use many times for this debate.

Last paragraph showed why the TQ+ part should not be discussed in schools. Now I will show why the LGB part should not be discussed in schools either. It is considered a sexual topic [6]. I will also group this with a rebuttal to PRO's claim that high school students are ready for sexual topics once they hit puberty or even before. This is not true. The part of the brain that deals with sex drive, the hypothalamus [7] "doesn’t fully develop (in men*) until age 25. Meanwhile, women experience a maturity rate of 21 years-old [8]. Therefore, we should not be teaching sexual topics until the students are fully mature [9].

*Added to clarify context.


Over to you.
Pro
#4
My argument deleted, I currently don't have enough time. 

I'll proceed next round, but for the most part, extend. Everything I've said mostly has trumped over. Human rights, freedom of speech, trumps over. You don't need treatment for the LGBQ part of LGBTQ because they don't revolve around Gender dysphoria, it would be sexual orientation. So what you says only accounts for a small part. No medical treatment required for that part. 

I'll explain this more next round.
Round 3
Con
#5
Forfeited
Pro
#6
School is not the place to discuss illnesses. In fact, gender dysphoria is a legitimate disease/illness: "Gender dysphoria is the feeling of discomfort or distress that might occur in people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics [1]." So a teacher giving advice on how to treat it, and solve it is illegal: "Providing medical advice without a medical license is an unauthorized practice of medicine [2]." The same goes for a student advising surgery, or hormones. The place for talking and mental health issues is a licensed therapist. If a school has one, then that is the only place these topics should be discussed.
First off all, this only relates to one part of the LGBTQ. 

It only relates to T, for transgender. As the rest are sexual orientations which have no relation to gender dysphoria. 

Further, I said licensed nurses would be teaching children. Not teachers for this exact reason. That being said, if teachers talked about transgender they do not need to mention medical advicement. Simply, "gender dysphoria is a medical condition and you should refer to a doctor for treatment". Something along those lines. 

Next, I would like to revisit my last argument showing how teaching or encouraging LGBTQ topics is unconstitutional. Teachers cannot teach studenst about the biblical creation story or other religious creation stories because they are a belief and not scientific [3]. As such, all beliefs and unscientific should not be taught by teachers or forced on other students by their peers. There is no science to support the TQ+ part of LBGTQ+ [4, 5]. Therefore, it should not be considered an exception, a phrase I will inevitably have to use many times for this debate.
There is evidence for transgenderism, and queer us questioning their sexuality. Lots of people question their sexuality. that is most definitely backed up.

I don't have enough time to support transgenderism, but queer is obvious.

Also, they are not beliefs.

Last paragraph showed why the TQ+ part should not be discussed in schools. Now I will show why the LGB part should not be discussed in schools either. It is considered a sexual topic [6]. I will also group this with a rebuttal to PRO's claim that high school students are ready for sexual topics once they hit puberty or even before. This is not true. The part of the brain that deals with sex drive, the hypothalamus [7] "doesn’t fully develop (in men*) until age 25. Meanwhile, women experience a maturity rate of 21 years-old [8]. Therefore, we should not be teaching sexual topics until the students are fully mature [9].

I have already countered this with my contentions. You don't have to be fully mature to have sexual orientations, attractions, or urges. 

Teens still feel all those things, it isn't like an awakened urge that pops up when you're 25. 


Running out of time.. Have a debate to vote on.. One day is just not enough. 
Round 4
Con
#7
Forfeited
Pro
#8
Forfeited