According to the GECDSB, “2SLGBTQIA+ students are harmed by absences,” so teachers should be on the look out for “signs of distress” tomorrow.
Teachers are also instructed to welcome students back “without judgement,” as “they may not have had a choice,” or they might have been absent for “other reasons.”
No willingness to engage at all. Label all criticisms and concerns as “hate” that is “causing harm,” and double down. That’s the strategy.
Same at the TDSB:
The PDSB:
The HWDSB:
You’d think they’d at least pretend to be mildly interested in understanding the concerns from the community. But no. Sad state of affairs & no leadership at all from @Sflecce.
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Here’s the new “Transgender Awareness Week” display made by students at Sunningdale Public School in Oakville, ON.
I think the school should send copies of these posters to parents.
It would be a shame to let all this hard work go to waste, after all.
What do you say, @sunstingray? Let’s see what the parents think of the ideology you are foisting on 5 to 14 year old children.
See thread for an easier time reading what’s on each (legible) poster…
“Polygender is a term for anyone who experiences more than one gender identity. It can be used as a gender identity in its own right, or can be on umbrella term for other identites which fit this description. Some polygender people shift between genders while others are multiple genders simultaneously.” 2/
“Does someone’s gender match their pronouns?
Not necessarily, due to the fact that gender is not fixed (?), and is based on how you feel. Just because someone uses binary pronouns (he/him, she/her) does not mean that person identifies as a binary gender. On the other hand, some people also prefer no pronouns, and just want to be referred to by name.” 3/
Come along for a quick thread and see what teachers at Taylor Creek Public School (Toronto) did at their last PD day on “Becoming Anti-Racist Educators” (April 8th).
First, they watched a TED talk by an American journalist who refers to Ibram Kendi as a “leading historian”and claims race, as a concept, was “invented” in the 1450s by Portuguese man named Gomes de Zurara.
15:30: “Let me talk in particular to the white folks, for a minute. Once we understand that people who look like us invented the very notion of race, in order to advantage themselves, and us, isn’t it easier to see that it’s our problem to solve? It’s a white people problem.”
Full video:
2/ The following quotes/ideas from his talk were written on big sheets of paper for teachers to respond to or reflect on (see sticky notes):
“Race is not a thing biologically, it is a story people decided to tell”
“People told the story to justify the brutal exploitation of other human beings for profit”
“Race as a tool to divide us and to prop up economic, social, and political systems”
“'Tool of whiteness' [i.e. capitalism] is still doing the job it was invented to do lesson - in order to advantage themselves people like us invented this white tool to ensure a better life for them… it would make sense that it's our problem to solve.”
“If I'm not joining the struggle then I am complicit in the struggle”
“Strong feeling of responsibility to make a change”
“We all benefit of a society that is void of oppression, because it is the right thing to do”
3/ Teachers then watched a TED talk—from 14 years ago—called “The Danger of a Single Story,” which is talk by a Nigerian woman who explains that it is important to try not to reduce other cultures/countries to simplistic/stereotypical/limiting caricatures.
Unfortunately, the perfectly reasonable ideas she presents, which should simply lead to increased knowledge about/sensitivity to cultural differences, are now used to justify and prop up endless Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy (CRRP), which has teachers obsessing over the identity of characters in books (which becomes the central idea of the lesson), getting rid of books that don’t feature “marginalized” identities, and having kids hyper-focus on their own identity.
Here’s what all teachers at the Greater Essex County District School Board were taught in their “professional development” session this morning.
See thread.🧵🧵🧵
“As language evolves, a person's name for their gender may also evolve. This does not mean their gender has changed, but rather that the words for it are shifting.” 2/
Oh, and apparently when a person transitions, it is actually OTHERS “who are transitioning in how they see the individual’s gender, and not the person themselves.” 3/
This slide was part of a presentation on “Identity and Allyship” for grade 7s at @StMattsTigers and grade 6s at @Amalgamated_NL.
See more in thread.
Maybe @AndreaHurley7 can explain what makes her think it’s a smart idea to teach 10-12 year olds about “gender affirming surgeries” and how their “gender identity” can be “male, female, both, neither or something else entirely.”