Americans for Truth

Was Troubled Teen Seduced by Adult Homosexual and Counseled by GLSEN Founder Kevin Jennings Really ‘Gay’?

“One Teacher in 10″ book exposes how Jennings used predatory seduction to confirm boy as “gay”

Folks, AFTAH has been on the story of Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) founder Kevin Jennings (right) for quite some time. A version of this article first appeared in the Fall-Winter 1999 issue of Lambda Report — then the flagship publication of Americans For Truth:

Was Troubled Teen Really ‘Gay’?

By Peter LaBarbera, Lambda Report, Fall-Winter 1999

Did the nation’s leading proponent of pro-homosexuality programs in schools help convince a boy seduced by an older homosexual man that he had a positive “gay” identity? Kevin Jennings, founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), writes in his book, “One Teacher in Ten: Gay and Lesbian Educators Tell their Stories,” about one of his students, Brewster, with whom he would have a special relationship.

The 1994 book, edited by Jennings, is a collection of testimonials by homosexual educators. In telling his own story, Jennings writes:

I remember Brewster, a sophomore boy who I came to know in 1987, my first year of teaching at Concord Academy [high school], in Concord, Massachusetts. Brewster was a charming but troubled kid. His grades didn’t match up with his potential, his attendance could be irregular, and he often seemed a little out of it. He was clearly using substance [drugs or alcohol] regularly, and was not very happy with himself. But I didn’t have a clue as to why — at least not at first.

Jennings continues telling how at Concord he decided to be open about his homosexuality with his students, including Brewster. He wore a ring “that symbolized my commitment to my partner,” and rather than hide its meaning, he chose to reveal its homosexual significance to his inquisitive students. To his surprise, Jennings writes, Brewster and the other students were not shocked by his revelation and “didn’t seem to care much at all about my being gay.”

Then Jennings recalls:

Toward the end of my first year, during the spring of 1988, Brewster appeared in my office in the tow of one of my advisees, a wonderful young woman to whom I had been “out” [as a homosexual] for a long time. “Brewster has something he needs to talk with you about,” she intoned ominously. Brewster squirmed at the prospect of telling, and we sat silently for a short while. On a hunch, I suddenly asked, “What’s his name?” Brewster eyes widened briefly, and then out spilled a story about his involvement with an older man he had met in Boston. I listened, sympathized, and offered advice. He left my office with a smile on his face that I would see every time I saw him on the campus for the next two years, until he graduated.

Jennings writes with satisfaction that he had helped Brewster realize that “It’s OK to be gay.” He said several years later he saw the former student at a Boston restaurant catering to homosexuals, but has not seen him since.

Jennings and other GLSEN activists are frequently invited to address teachers. He turned down request by this writer (publisher of Lambda Report and president of Americans For Truth) for an interview, and accused me of using “deceitful” reporting techniques — even though I have attended several GLSEN events, including this year’s [1999] “Teaching Respect for All” conference, openly.

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