Letters to the Editor: Parents boycotting school's Pride Day do their kids no favors

To the editor: To the parents at Saticoy Elementary who say regarding the Gay Pride and Rainbow Day Assembly, "Keep your kids home and innocent," I say this: Keep your kids home and keep them dumb, unaware and unprepared for life. ("Parents plan boycott over Pride Day at L.A. elementary school," May 24)

I don't think any parent wants to raise a bigot, but this is exactly how it is done. Exposing children to the idea that families come in all "sizes and shapes" (which us teachers know to be true) is not indoctrination. What is indoctrination is making children believe that their type of family is the only true family.

And as a former kindergarten teacher, I might add from experience: Even 5-year-olds these days are not totally innocent.

Rochelle Lapides, Simi Valley

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To the editor: As a Saticoy Elementary alumnus, I’m proud of the school’s legacy of welcoming successive waves of students and their families — the children and grandchildren of Armenian genocide and Jewish Holocaust survivors, Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, immigrants from many lands, and those of us who are LGBTQ+.

The diversity of Saticoy’s community today is reflected by special programs for deaf and hard of hearing, dual-language and gifted learners.

Parents who stand up to this shameful boycott and send their children to school on Pride Day will be teaching their children important life lessons about respecting and celebrating differences and valuing every individual and family.

Stephen J. Sass, Studio City

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.