Written by Barbara Smith,
Blogger and Social Justice
Activist and former chair of the Hamilton Democratic Town Committee
https://www.facebook.com/HWdemocrats/
My thoughts are in blue, bold.
framework-to-public-comment/
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/21/metro/sex-ed-massachusetts-maura-healey-lgbtq/ ( Read the proposed Framework at this link)
New Massachusetts governor Maura Healey wasted no time making her political lobbyists happy by revising how sex and health education should be taught. It is fine to improve content, accuracy, effective teaching styles and inclusivity, but that is a far cry from forcing teachers to take on the role of instilling values, being social workers, psychologists and spiritual leaders all rolled into one. Its no wonder teachers are fleeing the field given all these unreasonable demands.
The state should not be in the business of determining what emotional and social “competencies” to assess and instill in public schools.
Many parents are furious that the state wants to indoctrinate rather than teach….. and many of these families are seeking alternatives such as Christian Schools, Montessori Schools and other independent private schools, home schooling or relocating to a less intrusive community.
I am not a parent of a school aged child, but I am a Democrat concerned that Republicans will further exploit the culture wars to win office in Massachusetts and the next Republican may not be as mild mannered and somewhat Pro-choice as Charlie Baker was.
I am also a huge fan of free speech and free thought…..
Here is the Framework’s Vision (in black and italics) :
Massachusetts students will develop health and physical literacy through engagement in comprehensive, well-rounded, inclusive, medically accurate, developmentally and age-appropriate educational opportunities that include physical education, health education, and the development of social and emotional competencies. Students will develop self-efficacy and the agency to lead health-promoting lives and will understand the impact of health-related behaviors on current and future health and overall well-being. Physically- and health-literate students will be prepared to navigate the complexities of our global society by applying health-promoting skills to a variety of situations and recognize their role in shaping health outcomes at the personal, community, and global levels.
Parents have the job of teaching values, morality, religion or no religion… what is right and what is wrong…..
whatever, because that is
the job of parents or guardians and the state should not get involved unless the parents are deemed unfit. If parents just so happen to have biases against certain groups and that was taught to their children, it is not the job of educators to re-indoctrinate more to the state’s liking. Even African American attorney’s working for the ACLU recognize that hate groups must have free speech.
Maura Healey should not have the power to decide what “social and emotional competencies” need to be instilled and neither should political lobbyist, Anna Siedzik.
I do not know anything about the governor’s specific values, HOWEVER, I have been studying and documenting Anna Siedzik for 3 years now, ever since she called me a TERF and a Racist because I did not obey her demands. Siedzik cult followers are administrators of the Hamilton Wenham Community Facebook page and had me banned, but I recently came across this on a friend’s screen shot….
I’m against book banning, but required reading of “Gender Queer”…. really????
The Hamilton Select Board member Caroline Beulieu has stated that as elected officials, they have the right to police morality and therefore, they and their leader , political lobbyist, Ms. Siedzik should indoctrinate any way she pleases with flags, pledges, and Native American Proclamations before meetings because we must be reminded that our land does not belong to us…..
However, public schools are and should be obligated to teach accurate history, biology (i.e. condoms save lives and racism impacts health and mortality rates).
Very young children learn that there are 2 genders and that is still the truth. Its OK to teach that some children prefer to dress, play or use pronouns that are associated with the other gender. Some children even want to be the other gender and that’s OK, too. Heather Has Two Mommies is a sweet book about different types of families….
However, the morality or immorality of any lifestyle or preference is not something to be taught at public school. These are personal values that remain outside the public education domain.
Children should be exposed to art, stories, comics, movies and other media content that presents diversity such as 2 mommies or 2 daddies raising children and in fact, they may see that their classmates have these types of different families. But again, teaching the morality of these differences is not the public school’s responsibility. The only responsibility schools have is to foster kindness, prevent and address bullying as the need arises and referrals to the Dept. of Social Services when abuse is suspected.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/21/metro/sex-ed-massachusetts-maura-healey-lgbtq/
The new framework includes
introducing differences between biological sex and gender identity in Grades 3 to 5…. along with explanations of how one’s appearance does not define their gender identity or sexual orientation. In these years, students would also learn about reproductive anatomy and sexual intercourse.
At this age, students may be mature enough to learn about the history of discrimination against people who love or develop romantic feelings for someone of the same gender or that some people identify with the other gender, (perhaps they themselves!) . They should learn that even though these differences are often looked down upon by religious doctrines, perhaps within their own families, every student deserves respect and safety.
Schools may recommend that parents seek counselling to help their children cope with their emotional needs and anti-bullying policies must be adhered to. However, it is not the role of educators to tell students what to think or feel about homosexuality or choosing a different gender identity. Nor, should students be asked about this personal information and have their “social and emotional competencies evaluated” . It is not the business of teachers or the state to probe into a student’s value system, nor that of the family.
According to the framework High school students
will be encouraged to determine the role of personal views about gender, sexual identity, and sexual health, and discuss how to foster inclusiveness around issues relating to such topics.
It is NOT the job of school teachers, guidance counselors, psychologists or other personnel to tell students that they should determine their personal views about these highly personal matters. Public schools should focus on learning academics, Civics, art, music, physical health etc. not indoctrination.
While it is my personal opinion that hate is horrible, you don’t change minds with indoctrination and as long as students are respectful to one another….. then the state has done its job. Discussing and instilling values should take place in other settings- church, religious schools, an after school LGBTQIA support group etc.
Anna Siedzik, big Maura Healey ally for forcing values on parents and their children…. wants middle school children to read this book- Gender Queer
