Lots of buzz in New England and from parentbloggers about this book:

The book, “Who’s in a Family?,” teaches preschoolers about “multicultural contemporary family units” including nuclear, intergenerational, mixed-race, and lesbian and gay arrangements. David Parker, father of a 5-year-old boy in Concord, Mass., was arrested Wednesday at his son’s kindergarten over a disagreement about the appropriateness of the material for his child. (His son brought home the book as part of a “diversty” reading bag. Parker had requested that he and his wife be notified of such controversial curricula in advance.) Parker spent the night in jail when he refused to leave the school until officials assured him they would abide by his wishes.

That’s the thanks you get from government schools for being a responsible, involved parent.

More details from the Boston Globe:

[T]he dispute arose because [Parker and his wife] asked school officials to notify them about classroom discussions about same-sex marriage and what they called other adult themes. They also wanted the option to exclude their boy, now 6, from those talks.

Parker said he met with school officials to gain those assurances and then refused to leave until he got them. Parker stayed at Estabrook School for more than two hours, according to Superintendent William J. Hurley, as officials and Lexington police urged him to leave. Finally, they arrested him for trespassing.

Parker, who refused to bail himself out of jail Wednesday night, said he spent the night in custody to prove a point.

”I chose to stay, which I’m not sure was a wise move,” he said. ”But I wanted to see how far they would go for asking something simple.” Parker said he wanted to control ”the timing and manner” in which his son learned about ”adult themes.”

”This is not about creating a forum for hate . . . for any segment of society,” Parker said after his arraignment. ”I’m just trying to be a good dad.”

E-mail exchanges between the Parkers and the school have been posted here.

Unbelievable that we’ve come to this. Parker is treated as a troublemaker and a bigot –and now a criminal–for refusing to cede parental control to p.c. public school educrats. Meanwhile, “diversity” brainwashing and Moral Equivalence 101 have seeped effortlessly into government kindergarten classrooms.

I don’t know about you, but we are preoccupied enough as it is teaching our four-and-half-year-old daughter to mind her manners, share, remember her phone number and address, and put the caps back on her markers. She can’t even tie her own shoes. No way is she ready to start learning about “alternative lifestyles.”

The issue isn’t intolerance. It’s about the assault on childhood innocence and parental authority. No wonder more and more parents are taking back their kids and taking matters into their own hands.

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Others blogging…

Jay Tea at Wizbang writes of Mr. Parker: “We need more parents who feel as protective of their children as he does.”

Kimberly Swygert at No. 2 Pencil weighs in. She also has a valuable related post debating kindergarten standards.

Kellipundit recounts a similar experience.

Sue Bob’s Diary shares a relevant vignette.