Changes

According to Jeralee Smith, caucus chair, the Ex-Gay Educators’ Caucus is entitled to apply for exhibit space at this summer’s NEA convention in Washington, DC. Ms. Smith intends to apply but is cautious in predicting how much impact the group can have. According to Ms. Smith: “We can apply to exhibit but the materials we present must be approved in advance by the NEA.” And what does the caucus want school children and other teachers to know? For one thing, promoting gay, lesbian or bisexual identification in middle or high school is not the role of the school. If students are presented with information concerning gay identification, they also should be presented with models of those who have left homosexuality as well. Given the NEA’s cold reception to other groups with this message, it remains to be seen if the NEA’s recognition of the caucus signals a true willingness to give ex-gays freedom to express their message.

According to Jeralee Smith, caucus chair, the Ex-Gay Educators’ Caucus is entitled to apply for exhibit space at this summer’s NEA convention in Washington, DC. Ms. Smith intends to apply but is cautious in predicting how much impact the group can have. According to Ms. Smith: “We can apply to exhibit but the materials we present must be approved in advance by the NEA.” And what does the caucus want school children and other teachers to know? For one thing, promoting gay, lesbian or bisexual identification in middle or high school is not the role of the school. If students are presented with information concerning gay identification, they also should be presented with models of those who have left homosexuality as well. Given the NEA’s cold reception to other groups with this message, it remains to be seen if the NEA’s recognition of the caucus signals a true willingness to give ex-gays freedom to express their message.

Here’s a more cynical scenario. By recognizing the Ex-Gay Educators’ Caucus, the NEA is attempting to head off a public relations problem during its annual convention heading into the nation’s capital during an election year. How so? The NEA is still a party to a discrimination complaint brought by the Parents and Friends of Ex-gays (PFOX) group over the NEA’s refusal to allow PFOX to exhibit at last summer’s convention. The complaint was made in Washington, DC and given the pace of deliberations by the DC Human Rights Commission may not be decided until this summer, about the time of the annual convention.

Here’s a more cynical scenario. By recognizing the Ex-Gay Educators’ Caucus, the NEA is attempting to head off a public relations problem during its annual convention heading into the nation’s capital during an election year. How so? The NEA is still a party to a discrimination complaint brought by the Parents and Friends of Ex-gays (PFOX) group over the NEA’s refusal to allow PFOX to exhibit at last summer’s convention. The complaint was made in Washington, DC and given the pace of deliberations by the DC Human Rights Commission may not be decided until this summer, about the time of the annual convention.

I really hope I am wrong. For the sake of teachers and school children, I hope the NEA leadership is going to be more open to the message of the Ex-Gay Educator‘s Caucus. So will the group fail the diversity test again? Or has the NEA gotten one right for a change?}}</ref>|group=note}} in order to educate the NEA concerning the existence of [[ex-homosexual|former homosexuals]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Teachers' Union Recognizes 'Ex-Gay' Educators |author=Susan Jones |publisher=CNSNews.com |date=7 Jul 2008 |url=http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/teachers-union-recognizes-ex-gay-educators |quote=A group of "ex-gay" educators has officially registered with the nation's largest teachers union, thus ensuring that its views will be heard. The Ex-Gay Educators' Caucus has joined the many other "registered" caucuses that lobby the National Education Association to make policy changes. "We regard it as their right to lobby the NEA," said NEA spokesperson Kathleen Lyons in a press release confirming the registration of the Ex-Gay Educators' Caucus. Lyons added that official recognition of the Ex-Gay Educators does not mean that the National Education Association endorses the group's viewpoint. In fact, the NEA has promoted a booklet that argues against the possibility of changing one's sexual orientation. By registering the "ex-gay" group, the NEA settles a long-simmering dispute. As CNSNews.com reported last year, an "ex-gay" group (PFOX) accused the NEA of discrimination for denying PFOX space at the 2002 NEA convention in Dallas and then again at the 2003 NEA convention in New Orleans. At the time, PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays) said the NEA was trying to silence ex-gay schoolteachers - while allowing pro-homosexual groups to distribute literature and other information at the NEA conventions. PFOX even filed a complaint with the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights. Jeralee Smith, chair of the new Ex-Gay Educators' Caucus, said the group hopes to educate the NEA about the needs of ex-gay students and teachers. "We feel that this group can help educate the NEA concerning the existence of former homosexuals," Smith said. Smith said the caucus plans to apply for exhibit space at this summer's NEA convention in Washington, D.C. It has just set up a website, promising "more information to follow." |accessdate=17 Jul 2017}}</ref>  The caucus believes that in [[same-sex attraction]], the [[ABC Theory of Emotion|feelings]] truly are real and that the choice comes in what a person does with those feelings.{{#tag:ref|cf. [[ABC Theory of Emotion]]|group=note}} Instead of saying that if you have same-sex attraction, you are destined for that pathway and there is nothing you can do about it, caucus mission is to say that if you have the feelings, but you’re looking down that pathway and you don’t like where it’s taking you, there’s hope. Thousands of people have changed, each with their own different/personal story of how they came away from homosexuality.

I really hope I am wrong. For the sake of teachers and school children, I hope the NEA leadership is going to be more open to the message of the Ex-Gay Educator‘s Caucus. So will the group fail the diversity test again? Or has the NEA gotten one right for a change?}}</ref>|group=note}} in order to educate the NEA concerning the existence of [[ex-homosexual|former homosexuals]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Teachers' Union Recognizes 'Ex-Gay' Educators |author=Susan Jones |publisher=CNSNews.com |date=7 Jul 2008 |url=https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/teachers-union-recognizes-ex-gay-educators |quote=A group of "ex-gay" educators has officially registered with the nation's largest teachers union, thus ensuring that its views will be heard. The Ex-Gay Educators' Caucus has joined the many other "registered" caucuses that lobby the National Education Association to make policy changes. "We regard it as their right to lobby the NEA," said NEA spokesperson Kathleen Lyons in a press release confirming the registration of the Ex-Gay Educators' Caucus. Lyons added that official recognition of the Ex-Gay Educators does not mean that the National Education Association endorses the group's viewpoint. In fact, the NEA has promoted a booklet that argues against the possibility of changing one's sexual orientation. By registering the "ex-gay" group, the NEA settles a long-simmering dispute. As CNSNews.com reported last year, an "ex-gay" group (PFOX) accused the NEA of discrimination for denying PFOX space at the 2002 NEA convention in Dallas and then again at the 2003 NEA convention in New Orleans. At the time, PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays) said the NEA was trying to silence ex-gay schoolteachers - while allowing pro-homosexual groups to distribute literature and other information at the NEA conventions. PFOX even filed a complaint with the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights. Jeralee Smith, chair of the new Ex-Gay Educators' Caucus, said the group hopes to educate the NEA about the needs of ex-gay students and teachers. "We feel that this group can help educate the NEA concerning the existence of former homosexuals," Smith said. Smith said the caucus plans to apply for exhibit space at this summer's NEA convention in Washington, D.C. It has just set up a website, promising "more information to follow." |accessdate=17 Jul 2017}}</ref>  The caucus believes that in [[same-sex attraction]], the [[ABC Theory of Emotion|feelings]] truly are real and that the choice comes in what a person does with those feelings.{{#tag:ref|cf. [[ABC Theory of Emotion]]|group=note}} Instead of saying that if you have same-sex attraction, you are destined for that pathway and there is nothing you can do about it, caucus mission is to say that if you have the feelings, but you’re looking down that pathway and you don’t like where it’s taking you, there’s hope. Thousands of people have changed, each with their own different/personal story of how they came away from homosexuality.

==Core beliefs==

==Core beliefs==

The caucus is not saying that every gay person needs to change{{#tag:ref|cf. [[Natural_somnambulism#LGBTI_somnambulism|LGBTI somnambulism]] and [[Ideomotor effect]]|group=note}}, but that:

The caucus is not saying that every gay person needs to change{{#tag:ref|cf. [[Natural_somnambulism#LGBTI_somnambulism|LGBTI somnambulism]] and [[Ideomotor effect]]|group=note}}, but that:

*1. People deserve to hear all the facts so they can make their own decisions.

*1. People deserve to hear all the facts so they can make their own decisions.

*2. For those who truly want change, change is possible.<ref>{{cite web |title=FAQ |author=Susan Halvorson |publisher=Voice of the Voiceless |date=24 Jul 2014 |url=https://nea-exgay.org/faq/ |accessdate=17 Jul 2017}}</ref>

*2. For those who truly want change, change is possible.<ref>{{cite web |title=FAQ |author=Susan Halvorson |publisher=Voice of the Voiceless |date=24 Jul 2014 |url=https://nea-exgay.org/faq/ |accessdate=17 Jul 2017}}</ref>

The caucus wants school children and other teachers to know that promoting gay, lesbian or bisexual identification in middle or high school is not the role of the school. If students are presented with information concerning gay identification, they also should be presented with models of those who have left homosexuality as well.<ref name="Throckmorton2004"/>

The caucus wants school children and other teachers to know that promoting gay, lesbian or bisexual identification in middle or high school is not the role of the school. If students are presented with information concerning gay identification, they also should be presented with models of those who have left homosexuality as well.<ref name="Throckmorton2004"/> {{#tag:ref|For investigation of thinking patterns of school children and students who did not have chance to be presented with other information than [[gay agenda]] and indoctrination, watch the testimony from Johns Hopkins University:<ref>{{cite web |title=Meet Students Who Learn Relativism While Spending 47 K|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS-NYyO6LGU |publisher=TFP Student Action |date=14 Nov 2014 |accessdate=25 Jul 2017 |quote=The only exception to the rule of relativism is relativism itself. Relativism is the only acceptable absolute.Unfortunately, as the video painfully illustrates, students fall for it to the point of believing that men can "functionally become cows" and cease being men, if majority opinion were to subscribe to that illogical idea. Among other things, this video captures a discussion at Johns Hopkins University between TFP Student Action volunteers and students who use relativism to justify their support for same-sex "marriage."}}</ref>|group=note}}

==Founder and Chair==

==Founder and Chair==