Posted on 06/09/2011 9:16:20 AM PDT by wagglebee
TORONTO, Ontario, June 8, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a major attack on parental rights, and a direct violation of the stated policy of the Ontario government, the Toronto District School Board is forbidding parents from opting their kids out of classes treating homosexuality.
Their policy suggests children are forced to join the board’s comprehensive “anti-homophobia” curriculum that promotes Toronto’s raunchy Pride parade to kindergarteners and aims to transform students into social activists by the end of high school.
The school board’s curriculum on “equity” for homosexuals, called ‘Challenging Homophobia and Heterosexism’, says parents cannot have their children removed from “human rights education” because of religious reasons.
“If a parent asks for his or her child to be exempted for any discussions of LGBTQ family issues as a religious accommodation, this request cannot be made because it violates the Human Rights Policy,” the document reads.
Religious freedom, they write further, “is not absolute” and religious accommodation in the school board “is carried out in the larger context of the secular education system.”
Similarly, the document says teachers are not allowed to opt out of treating controversial issues in the classroom that would violate their religious beliefs. “The TDSB is part of the secular public education system. …Teachers refusing to create an inclusive classroom that is safe and supportive for all students would create a poisoned learning environment.”
Furthermore, it says schools ought not to send home notes or permission slips to parents before dealing with “LGBTQ issues” because treating sexual orientation differently in this way could be deemed “discriminatory.”
Phil Lees, the leader of Ontario’s Family Coalition Party, which is the province’s only pro-life and pro-family party, said the Toronto board is acting as though their “authority supersedes the Ministry of Education.”
While Ontario’s Ministry of Education has vigorously promoted “anti-homophobia” education, particularly through their controversial equity and inclusive education strategy, they have also guaranteed parents the right to opt out of controversial classes.
In a 2008 letter, former Education Minister Kathleen Wynne told pro-family activist Ken O’Day, “Should a component of any course conflict with a religious belief held by a parent or a student aged eighteen or older, the right to withdraw from that component of the course shall be granted on the written request of the parent or student.”
“As usual, Toronto is being influenced by only one side of this issue,” said Lees, noting that the board is promoting the government’s “equity” agenda for homosexuals while flouting the government’s call for religious accommodation.
Though the Ministry affords them the right to opt their kids of controversial classes, parents would likely find this difficult to carry out in practice without completely leaving the system. The Toronto board points out that their “anti-homophobia” plan is a long-term “process” that “permeates the curriculum in all subject areas” and so is not restricted to individual classes.
Their anti-homophobia curriculum employs a pedagogical model called the “James Banks Continuum”, which aims to move the children from merely recognizing the contributions of homosexual “heroes” to a point where they are themselves prepared to engage in “social action” on the issue.
The document profiles major homosexual activists like Brent Hawkes, the Toronto pastor who pushed homosexual “marriage” on Canada through the back-door of the judicial system, and it recommends such controversial organizations as Planned Parenthood, Pride Toronto, PFLAG, and Egale.
Beginning with kindergarten, children are expected to have an initial grasp of homosexual family structures, and are familiarized with terms such as “gay” and “lesbian”.
Activities for junior kindergarten to Grade 3 include a discussion aimed at convincing students of the importance of participating in Toronto’s annual Pride Parade. Though billed as “family-friendly,” the event has often been labeled a “sex parade,” as it regularly features people walking down the streets semi-nude or completely naked, and homosexuals engaging in public sex acts.
The young students read “Gloria Goes to Gay Pride”, teachers are asked to bring in photos from the parade, and the students are encouraged to make posters for the school board’s parade float.
Other books recommended for JK-3 include “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “King & King & Family”.
In grades 4-6, teachers are encouraged to bring in the raunchy homosexual newspaper Xtra!, which is known for featuring prominent ads with naked men, as part of an activity on stereotyping in the media. Another activity has students develop an “action plan” to challenge “homophobic attitudes” in their school.
By grade 7, students are engaging in an activity designed to question the notion that homosexuality is a “choice”, and another has students running surveys to assess the “heterosexist/homophobia temperature” of their school and then formulating an action plan to challenge identified “inequities”. In the end, students are encouraged to organize school-wide activities to raise awareness of “homophobia”.
Lees said that while the school board is treating the Ontario Human Rights Code as absolute, “there are many attending the secular public school system who believe that absolutes are God’s prerogative, not government’s.”
“It would seem that the Toronto District School Board has neither the will, intention, nor the ability to deal with religious accommodations in schools,” he continued.
“This entire problem is the result of a ‘monopoly on education’. It can only be solved by funding of separate religious school boards,” he added, calling on voters to question candidates on this issue leading into October’s provincial election.
A spokesman for the Toronto District School Board was unavailable for comment. LifeSiteNews.com did not hear back from the Ministry of Education by press time.
See the Toronto District School Board’s “anti-homophobia” curriculum here.
Contact Information:
Hon. Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Education
Mowat Block, 22nd Flr, 900 Bay St
Toronto, ON M7A 1L2
Tel: 1-800-387-5514 (TTY 1-800-263-2892)
Fax: 416-325-6348
Email: ldombrowsky.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Elizabeth Witmer, Education Critic
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
Rm 422, Main Legislative Building
Toronto ON M7A 1A8
Tel: 416-325-1306
Fax: 416-325-1329
E-mail: Use this form.
Chris Spence, Director of Education
Toronto District School Board
5050 Yonge Street - 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M2N5N8
Email: chris.spence@tdsb.on.ca
Find contact information for all Toronto District School Board trustees here.
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Brave New World, Volume II
They tried that crap with one of my kids, after signing all the opt out paperwork at the beginning of the school year, they added a “special learning experience” during the last semester. My daughter walked out of the class and texted my wife about what was going on, needless to say they won’t be teaching that curriculum anaytime soon. The wife organized 125 sets of parents in a matter of 30 minutes to meet at the school and demand a meeting with the principle and the teacher, coolest part was that 8 sets of the parents had one or the other sitting on the school board. Including the president of the school board. Don’t mess with wife’s kids she’s worse than a momma grizzly.....:-)
Religious freedom, not absolute.
Gay agenda, absolute.
The main Homeschool Ping List handles the homeschool-specific articles. I hold both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping list. Please freepmail me to let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from either list, or both.
I certainly believe that it is coming here as well.
FRiends,
Know your legal rights in your state of residence. Be prepared to take legal action if/when you are faced with this. Know how to withdraw your child from public school. (The legal requirements vary by state.)
Get prepared to homeschool if you are not already doing so. Get in touch with homeschoolers in your area. Have a backup plan if you need to quickly withdraw your child from school but are not prepared or set up to homeschool your child by yourself. You can form a cooperative effort with other homeschool families. They will be happy to help you.
For those who are afraid to tackle homeschool or don’t have the ability or opportunity to teach homeschool courses, there are online and DVD-based homeschool curriculums (curricula) taught by certified educators. In those circumstances, your responsibilities are usually limited to grading papers.
Don’t be caught off guard. Be prepared to do what you must to protect your child from the State and the Department of Education.
FRiends,
Know your legal rights in your state of residence. Be prepared to take legal action if/when you are faced with this. Know how to withdraw your child from public school. (The legal requirements vary by state.)
Get prepared to homeschool if you are not already doing so. Get in touch with homeschoolers in your area. Have a backup plan if you need to quickly withdraw your child from school but are not prepared or set up to homeschool your child by yourself. You can form a cooperative effort with other homeschool families. They will be happy to help you.
For those who are afraid to tackle homeschool or don’t have the ability or opportunity to teach homeschool courses, there are online and DVD-based homeschool curriculums (curricula) taught by certified educators. In those circumstances, your responsibilities are usually limited to grading papers.
Don’t be caught off guard. Be prepared to do what you must to protect your child from the State and the Department of Education.
I think that putting the two words, “Progressive Conservative,” together would be classified as an oxymoron.
Next step is mandatory participation in field trips and all that entails.
Yep, I’m getting FReepmails from the same sodomite.
The military here usually sees a large influx of high school grads in May, June. So, how bout it recuiters, and the 2007 grads who will be completing their 1st. hitch. Are they going for the queer military?
Maybe the parents can allege that the teachers are passing out pornography to children and start suing them all.
What these folks need is to stir up the Muslims. The Canadian commissars of political correctness routinely laugh in the face of Christians, but nothing scares them more than an angry Muslim. Divide and conquer.
So how is this different from what is going to happen in CA if Brown signs the homosexual curriculum bill?
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