The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation provides a variety of resources undermining traditional pro-life and pro-family values.
The BCTF authored a Reproductive Rights Lesson Plan, which includes a timeline with historical information about birth control and abortion. The lesson plan incorrectly attributes adolescent “reproductive rights” such as access to contraceptives and abortion to Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The source for these “rights” was actually the 33rd session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, a body that oversees implementation of the convention.
Much of the unions’ actions, however, are devoted to advancing the homosexual cause. The union has a Committee for Action on Social Justice, which contains smaller action groups focusing on particular issues, including an action group on “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ).” The LGBTQ action group’s web site lists a variety of “anti-homophobia” actions teachers can engage in, such as helping students make a presentation about homophobia to school trustees, use “LGBTQ references” in lesson plans and resources, and lobby for the school board code of conduct to protect against harassment specifically under grounds of “real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.”
There are also links to “Celebrate Diversity” posters commemorating the Day of Pink. The back of the posters include tips about how to celebrate the occasion. Primary school students are to read We Share Everything by Robert Munsch and criticize the “teacher’s negative reaction to the boy who wears pink.” In the intermediate grades, students are to make Day of Pink posters which “are not about wearing pink, but about ending gender-based bullying,” which is linked to “homophobia and transphobia.”
Some of these ideas are mentioned in a Day of Pink! lesson plan from February 27, 2013 for elementary students. The lesson also suggests that men teaching primary students wear pink to school. Students may also create “Think Pink!” posters, while the teacher compares all “forms of oppression” to homophobia and teaches students about the meaning of “gay.” Intermediate students are encouraged to make a “Sea of Pink” by writing “stories about life in a world of pink where homophobia doesn’t exist.” Students may also “create “Pink Panther” cartoons or story boards in which the Pink Panther challenges foes who use homophobic slurs.”
The Pink Day poster for high school students offers tips on how to incorporate homosexuality into all aspects of the curriculum. In literature class, students may study novels dealing with homophobia or write short stories with a homosexual character. In math class, students compare statistics about homophobic bullying to hate crime statistics.
The Think Pink Day! lesson plan from February 23, 2013 for secondary students suggests that teachers discuss the difference between “sex” and “gender” and encourage students “to see gender as a spectrum.” Students also read and discuss The Harvey Milk Story (about an openly homosexual San Francisco city councillor) using it as an opportunity to brainstorm gay politicians and gay rights.
Another teaching resource by the BCTF is a poster listing comebacks teachers should use if they hear, “That’s so gay!” One option is to ask, “How would you feel if part of your identity was inserted instead of gay? E.g., That’s so Punjabi, Catholic, Korean, etc.” Another response is: “How can a book/idea/song have a sexual orientation?” Teachers can also say “Gay is OK” and explain what the word means. Some of these suggestions are also printed on a “Stop homophobia” bookmark.
BCTF has a Week Against Homophobia from May 12 to 16. A special lesson plan for the occasion focuses on homosexuals in sports. One activity for elementary students is to make posters about “great LGBTQ athletes” and answer questions about how their orientation made their careers more challenging. Secondary students are led to question whether school sports teams should be organized by skill level instead of gender. They also study “homophobic comments” in the sporting world, and compare “equality rights of LGBTQ people” to those of African Americans.
BCTF also links to a variety of organizations promoting homosexual education. These include lesson plans from Advocates for Youth, UNESCO (International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia), Pride Education Network (Dealing with Name Calling as well as lesson plans about gender roles in fairy tales and homosexual families) and lgbthistorymonth.org.uk (Gender Variance). For secondary students, the BCTF provides its own lesson plans on Brokeback Mountain, First Nations’ Perspectives of Gender, Intersex Conditions, and Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” Project.
The teachers’ union pre-empted parental opposition to this emphasis on homosexuality by issuing a web page of tips on how teachers should respond to complaints. If parents have religious or cultural objections, they are to be told that homosexual education is no different from education against racism. If the concern is that students would learn about sex, teachers are instructed to respond that “no one suddenly chooses to become lesbian or gay simply because they heard about the topic in school” and that discussion about “safe sex” is required for secondary students.
To deal with parents concerned about their rights to transmit family values, teachers should say, “You can teach your child your own values at home. Public schools teach everyone about respecting diversity and valuing everyone.”
